I’m Jewish. I’ve talked, written and thought about that fact and its implications probably more in the last two months than I expected to in my whole career.
Two years ago, being Jewish didn’t feel like a political issue. But over the course of this election, Judaism and anti-Semitism were forced into an uncomfortable political spotlight by a media and an electorate that seemed to have suddenly decided they cared very, very strongly about the wellbeing of jews.
The spotlight has been hot. While those of us who supported Labour were hurt as cases of internal anti-Semitism came to light, worse to watch by far was the co-option of Jewish concerns about Labour by the Conservatives.
To Johnson, Jewish fear presented an opportunity to pop on a cheap mask of anti-racism. You don’t need me to recount the things that the prime minister has said and written – you know about the “letterboxes” and the “picanninies”, so you know that concern for minorities isn’t really on his radar. If you need more evidence that his concern for Jews, specifically, is a farce, just think about the fact that he’s publicly aligned himself with a US president who thinks that neo-nazis carrying torches and chanting “Jews will not replace us” are “very fine people”.
“With the election won, it’s no longer in the Tories’ interests to feign concern about racism.”
Nonetheless, people were apparently convinced. Various high-ranking Jewish officials and institutions including Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, the Jewish Chronicle and the Board of Deputies came out against Labour. The gentile public were urged to support the Jewish cause by voting Tory.
Rabbi Mirvis and the JC are entitled to their political views. They’re entitled, too, to speak them on a public platform. What they did, however, was present a homogenised picture of Jewish political sentiment, despite Jewish politics being as varied and complex as that of the rest of the nation. This homogenisation was then amplified by the mainstream press who, because of their already entrenched opposition to Corbyn, happily touted a narrative of a collective Jewish hatred of Labour.
Some of us tried to fight it. Various Jewish organisations aimed to draw attention to the ridiculous irony of Johnson characterising himself as an anti-racist option. Jews have historically been heavily involved with progressive politics, and this year was no different: left-wing Jews canvassed, published articles, wrote to newspapers. We were widely ignored.
Thanks to our community leaders and our national media, the story will stand that Jews, in the 2019 election, were decidedly in the Conservative camp.
Labour lost – spectacularly and heartbreakingly – and the consequences seem evident. Pressure on public services will continue to increase. Poverty levels will continue to rise. More people will become homeless. Multi-national corporations will continue to shirk their social and environmental responsibility. And Brexit almost definitely won’t be done by the end of 2020.
People, soon, are going to be angry, and they’ll want someone to be angry at.
Common anti-Semitic tropes revolve around Jews being rich, greedy, money-grabbers who manipulate global affairs without accountability. When Jews are depicted as unanimously supporting a party that is also generally believed to represent the rich and powerful, these tropes come all too easily to mind. A theory of Jewish conspiracy to keep the rich rich and the poor poor by blocking the first truly socialist national project in decades writes itself.
Many people who voted Conservative in this election did so against their own interests. When they come to ask themselves in whose interests they voted for, they may find an answer that seems to validate centuries-old stereotypes.
That puts Jewish existence truly in danger.
In fact, it’s already happening. Ken Livingstone was the first public figure to observe on Twitter that “the Jewish vote wasn’t very helpful” in Thursday night’s results. He was criticised widely for it, but this kind of sentiment is likely to become increasingly commonplace in coming weeks, as frustration with the new government grows.
What anti–Semitism already existed on the left will be amplified. But if the Jewish establishment look to Johnson for continued support, they will be disappointed. With the election won, it’s no longer in the Tories’ interests to feign concern about racism. Johnson’s most extreme right-wing followers are galvanised.
The reality is that British Jews’ leading figures and institutions fell shamefully easily for a false display of tolerance by a man famous for his lack of it. They have shown incredible myopia in aligning the British Jewish community with a right wing whose general disdain for minority groups does not exclude us – the opposite, in fact – and in creating a false image of a collective Jewish opposition to progressive, egalitarian political projects.
For this, regardless of personal politics, we are all going to pay the price. I wasn’t scared by the thought of a Corbyn-led government, but I am scared now.
Francesca Newton is a freelance journalist.