Should Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn win the upcoming UK elections, set for December 12, “Jewish life as we know it” would be in danger, Rabbi Dr. Jonathan Romain warned his Maidenhead Synagogue community in a letter released on Wednesday, The Jewish Chronicle reported.
Calling for action ahead of the election Romain warned that Corbyn must not be allowed to rule the country. The upcoming elections are expected to be turbulent as current Prime Minister Boris Johnson vows to lead Britain out of the EU against Corbyn, who after a lifetime of Left-wing activism vows to radically alter British life and society,
It should be noted Corbyn also said in the past he would honor Brexit.
Romain was clear in his message that his concern does not stem from the Labour Party itself, but from the values and personality of the man currently leading it.
“The problem,” he wrote, “is Jeremy Corbyn. Corbyn-led Labour has at best let antisemitism arise within its ranks,” he said, “or at worst, has encouraged it.”
He suggested his readers vote for any party that may defeat Labour, even if they would normally not consider it, as Corbyn is such a dangerous element to the future of Jewish life in the UK.
The Jewish Chronicle published an article in 2018 in which they labeled the Labour leader an “existential threat” to British Jews. The article was published simultaneously by The Jewish News and The Jewish Telegraph, revealing the consensus in the general Jewish community on that issue.
In October Labour MP Louise Ellman resigned saying her party is no longer a safe place for Jews. She also said Corbyn is “a danger to the country.”
Maidenhead Synagogue is a Reform community in Berkshire.
Romain had written extensively on the history of British Jews, assisted dying, and inter-faith marriage in the UK.
Corbyn himself claims that not only is he himself not an antisemite but his party does not take the issue of hatred against Jews lightly. In 2018 a video of him speaking in 2013 and saying British Zionists have “no sense of English irony” was seen by former chief rabbi of the UK Lord Sacks as “offensive” and indicating of anti-Jewish feelings, the BBC reported, as it would imply the Jews of England don’t fully understand the society they inhabit.
Some suggested that Corbyn, having attained party leadership after decades of activism, sincerely sees himself as a champion of all minorities, including Jews, and deeply opposes all forms of nationalism, including Zionism, which is the Jewish aspiration for national independence in a homeland.
Corbyn expressed support multiple times to radical Islamic groups such as Hamas and the Islamic Republic of Iran. He seems to hold ISIS and the US on equal moral footing, saying that both have done “appalling” things – Foreign Policy reported in 2018.