High-profile speakers at this year’s Limmud Festival have warned of the potential danger of the community embracing populist right-wing ideology as a counter to the perceived pro-Islamist left.
Board of Deputies president Phil Rosenberg appeared at a session at the festival on Monday and suggested the community should use the period up until the next general election to make the case for “passionate effective centrism.”
He was joined by Lord Mann, the government’s independent adviser on antisemitism, in raising concern also about the growth of Reform UK as a political party, noting the number of candidates exposed for antisemitic views standing for Nigel Farage’s outfit in the July election.
Mann went as far to say Reform was likely to “create problems for the Jewish community” if it was not properly scrutinised.
He suggested Reform was likely to emerge as the main opposition to Labour at the next election, while the pro-Gaza independent MPs, now backed by Jeremy Corbyn, were likely to struggle to hold on to their seats next time around.
“Anyone who believes there are only problems on the Left, there are problems on the Right too,” opined Mann.
Rosenberg meanwhile said the Board would take an active role in “challenging” Reform over their candidate selections moving forwards.
At a session on Tuesday, Rosenberg also spoke of the close engagement the Board now had, both with the government, and with representatives of the Muslim community.
While the Board had raised concerns with the government about policies in relation to Israel, such as the arms sale suspensions, Rosenberg said Labour had responded seriously to concerns raised to senior ministers in meetings.
The Board president also spoke of the improved engagement with the Muslim community, at a time of fears over increased divisions in society.
Work had been done together between Jewish and Muslim leaders over issues such as burial, while frank conversations had also been held in which Board officials had made the case for Zionism, while Muslim leaders had explained the close affiliation to the Palestinian cause.
Echoing the views of Mann and Rosenberg was Rabbi David Mason, executive director of Jewish refugee and antiracism charity HIAS-JCORE.
Mason warned there was a risk that the populist right could “turn against us” and that the community should work towards the promotion of values that lead to a society “safe for all minorities, including our own”.
Lord Mann also suggested fears about the radicalisation of the Muslim community could be overstated.
He pointed to city’s such as Bradford, with its large Muslim population. Pro-Palestine demos are held in the city, Mann noted, but never on the scale that would be expected if all Muslims there took place.
As with the Jewish community, Mann said most Muslims “just want to go on with their lives”.
In an earlier session Rosenberg said the Board was pushing ahead with plans for a Jewish Culture Month in 2026.
He said wider society often only came to learn about Jewish contributions through Holocaust related commemorations, but a Culture Month would allow celebration of “living Jews in the UK and their contribution”.
Later on Tuesday, Rosenberg appeared at another session, alongside Rabbi Leo Dee, who tragically lost his wife and daughters in April 2023 in a terror attack in the West Bank.
Dee, who made several appearances at this year’s Limmud, argued that the future for UK Jews was in Israel as a result of antisemtic hate.
Rosenberg argued that while antisemitism should never be downplayed, Jews still had a bright and fulfilling future in this country.
