Adam Margolis

I’m curious about the sweet spot between too much antisemitism and just enough to get antisemites to vote for you.

Very powerful letter from Highgate Synagogue to Mark Blake, the Green leader of Haringey council. He tells them he is ‘embarassed’ by the ‘Zionism is racism’ motion. This synagogue, where I saw British/ Israeli @EmilyDamari1 being welcomed has responded in blistering form: ‘If this motion does not mean that Jews in Haringey who have family or friends in Israel, or who attend our synagogue, or who maybe aren't religious but believe that there is a place for a haven for the tattered remnant of the most persecuted race on earth, are considered by you and your party as racists and by implication fair game for ostracism, intimidation, violence or worse, please explain to us what else it means. ‘And if that is indeed what it means, and we are pretty sure that those who voted for it believe that is precisely what it means, how can we as Jews feel safe when the largest party of the borough we live in, entirely peacefully up to now, publicly align yourself with the most virulent jew-hating racists of all, Hamas and the Nazis. ‘As it is, despite living in one of the most peaceful and crime free parts of the borough, we have had as a synagogue to invest substantial sums in building terrorism-proof fences round our premises, and employ both volunteers and professional security with stab vests to ensure we can continue to function not just as a place of worship but as a focus for our community. ‘In addition to our daily threat of the kind of lethal attacks we saw in Manchester and closer to home in Golders Green, we are having to cope with myriad, not so trivial, microaggressions such that our elderly are frightened to identify as Jewish when going into an NHS hospital, parents are worried about sending their children to universities for fear of the abuse they are likely to receive, and young Jews starting their careers are hiding their identity in case it damages their prospects or leads to ostracism and abuse in the workplace. ‘That is a direct result of you and your comrades' obsessive and ignorantly one-sided view of one of the world's most intractable conflicts and your determination to bring that obsession into every facet of life here in Britain.’