The Chief Rabbi is absolutely right when he says the soul of our nation is at stake. Boris Johnson is appealing to the far-right in his bid to secure power, and we must do everything in our power to stop him.
The reality is that the only alternative to a Labour victory next month is a Conservative one. We understand why so many in our community feel unable to vote for the Labour party, however we must not make the mistake of thinking the Conservatives are a safer alternative.
This is a party which is courting nationalist votes by demonising and threatening minorities, and undermining the rule of law. The idea that this would be a safe environment for Jews is incredibly dangerous.
If we want to be genuinely safe, we know that we must unite in solidarity with all other communities experiencing oppression. The Chief Rabbi has made clear that he believes Labour’s issue with antisemitism makes it uniquely worthy of having anti-racists vote against it.
This sends a message to the Muslims, travellers, immigrants and people of colour targeted by the Conservative party that the racism they face is not important enough for people to change their vote.
It serves to erase the Jews in our community who experience multiple oppressions and to drive a wedge between us and our natural allies, just as the Conservatives have been trying to make happen throughout the election campaign. They are stronger when we are divided.
We understand the Chief Rabbi’s urge to speak out against antisemitism, but this is the wrong approach. The right thing to do is to unite with everyone who is threatened by the direction Boris Johnson is taking the country in, and organise to remove him from power next month.
