The
UK parliament has heard testimony from the leader of British Jewry’s major
community organization as part of a probe into antisemitism.
Jonathan
Arkush, President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, was giving evidence
at the Home Affairs Select Committee antisemitism hearing in the House of
Commons, which was called in light of rising antisemitism in Europe, and held
in the aftermath of an antisemitism scandal which engulfed the UK Labour Party.
Disgraced
former Mayor of London Ken Livingstone – who has been suspended from Labour for
remarks claiming Adolf Hitler supported Zionism – was present during Arkush’s
testimony, and also presented his own statements.
Arkush
told assembled MPs and officials of his concerns as a British Jew over the
looming threat of antisemitism in the UK. Although anti-Jewish hate crime is
nowhere near the levels seen in parts of mainland Europe, Arkush emphasized
that he feared antisemitism in Britain could potentially reach the unbearable
levels seen in France, if the phenomenon wasn’t stamped out.
He
noted that Jewish institutions, including schools and synagogues, were forced
to install 24-security systems and “look like fortresses” as a result
of the ongoing threat of antisemitic violence.
Arkush
also slammed Livingstone’s Hitler remarks, telling the committee he was
“horrified” by what he heard, which he described – along with other
anti-Jewish comments by Labour officials – as a “historic calumny.”
“I was horrified when I heard
them,” Arkush said. “In fact when I heard about them I felt a feeling
of complete disbelief – especially as the row was raging with suspensions at
the Labour party” over other members’ antisemitic remarks.
“As a British citizen, who lives and
works in this country as I have done all my life, I could not believe I was
hearing someone in political life say that… Hitler was a Zionist.
“It was not just the most absurd or
ridiculous statement, it was a hateful thing to say.”
Arkush
took on antisemites who dress their bigotry behind “criticism of
Israel,” noting that while it is of course possible to criticize Israeli
policies without being antisemitic, the obsession with the only Jewish state in
the world exhibited by individuals such as Livingstone was telling.
“I
think you absolutely can have a particular interest in the Middle East as a
region,” Arkush said.
“But
if you just have a focus on Israel that becomes obsessive, and you ignore
what’s going on the neighboring countries – which on any basis are the most egregious
human rights abuses you can imagine, compared to what in the end is a law-based
society, a democracy, in Israel – then I do wonder.”
Unsurprisingly,
Livingstone – who has a long history of antisemitic comments, and who has
remained unrepentant since his Hitler remarks earlier this year – was similarly
impenitent, and even repeated his Hitler theory to the committee.
