Highgate Synagogue rejects Haringey Greens leader’s letter of “reassurance”. From Jewish News:
Councillor Mark Blake, the leader of Haringey council is understood to have written to a number of Synagogues in the borough following the passing of the “Zionism is Racism” vote at Green party conference, saying that “the motion does not change Haringey Council’s policies, priorities or ways of working – we remain committed to fighting antisemitism and working proactively with Jewish communities to prioritise community safety for all.”…
In response, Highgate United Synagogue told Blake that “we take it from both the tone and the content of your email that you are deeply embarrassed with the decision taken by your party to not only brand Zionism as racism but to call for the eradication by any means necessary including violence, of the only Jewish state, the only practising democracy in the Middle East, and also home to half of the world’s Jewish population.
“We are not surprised you are embarrassed. The policy decision which has not just been endorsed by but was publicly celebrated by the Haringey branch of the Green Party, of which we assume you are a member, is thus aligning itself with Hamas, a genocidal, homophobic and misogynistic Islamist terrorist organisation not only responsible for the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, but countless murders and torture of its own people. You may not be aware that members of our synagogue have close relatives and friends who perished in that pogrom… not to mention other horrendous terrorist atrocities carried out in the name of the resistance that your party supports.”
Ouch.
“Our synagogue, along with the majority of British synagogues, recites weekly Sabbath prayers for both the Royal Family of the United Kingdom and the State of Israel and will continue to do so, irrespective of what you or other Green Party members think”, the letter, which was signed by the Synagogue’s rabbi, Nicky Liss, and its co-chairs, Jennifer Josephs and Anthony Silverman, continued.
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