Board of Deputies Community Briefing 13 June 2019 copy-compressed copy

FOLLOW US FOR UP TO
THE MINUTE NEWS
COMMUNITY BRIEFING
Jewish community organisations issue joint
statement on election of Lisa Forbes as Labour
MP for Peterborough
The Board of Deputies, the Jewish Leadership
Council and the Community Security Trust issued a
joint statement following last week's election of
Labour's Lisa Forbes as MP for Peterborough, in
light of reports of antisemitic content in her social
media activity.
The statement read: “Before Lisa Forbes was
elected, the Board of Deputies, JLC and CST
commented that we were fed up of hearing that
Labour opposes antisemitism, yet simultaneously
hearing excuses that its members accidentally
missed the racism that was staring them in the
face. Anti-Jewish racism within the Labour Party is
being
normalised and fully supported by the Party. Our
organisations have had no direct contact from Lisa
Forbes and no response from the Party regarding
our concerns.
"The Party’s failure to even try to engage with our
concerns or to implement the changes for which we
have called is an ongoing symptom of the racist
mess for which it is now being investigated by the
Equality and Human Rights Commission.”
Read the Daily Telegraph article here and the Daily
Mail report here.

Board of Deputies welcomes YouTube decision to ban
Holocaust denial
Board of Deputies Vice President Amanda Bowman has welcomed the decision of YouTube to ban
Holocaust denial from its platform.
Amanda said: “In an era of fake news and extremism, countering the spread of false truths and conspiracy
theories has never been more important. For a long time, we have advocated to YouTube and other social
media companies that their policies do not go far enough, and those that are in place are implemented
weakly. It is therefore a positive step in the right direction that YouTube will ban Holocaust denial from their
platforms, as well as any material that glorifies Nazism. We will continue to press the case to other social
media companies that more needs to be done to combat hate.”
Read the JC report here.
Condemnation for decision to host Malaysian Prime
Minister at Cambridge
Board of Deputies Senior Vice President Sheila Gewolb has condemned the decision of the Cambridge
Union to host Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.
Sheila said: “The decision by Cambridge University Union to host Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, a
notorious antisemite who has made no secret of his distaste for Jews and Israel, is deeply disheartening.
“By inviting this divisive figure, Cambridge Union is creating a hostile environment for Jews, giving a
platform to a person who has repeatedly denied the scope of the Shoah, spread antisemitic tropes and
made straightforward racist comments.”
Read the JC report here.

Board of Deputies Senior Vice President Sheila Gewolb speaks at the Argentinian Embassy for the 25th
anniversary memorial event commemorating the 1994 bombing of the AMIA community centre in Buenos
Aires. Eighty-five people were killed and many more injured in the Hizballah attack. Read the report in the
Jewish News here
ACTIVITY REPORT
YOUTH ENGAGEMENT
Parliamentary Officer Joel Salmon, International Relations Officer Marius Bischoff and Education
Policy and Youth Engagement Officer Jake Berger attended a Jewish Civil Servants Network (JNET)
networking event for young people interested in joining the civil service. The guest speaker was Melinda
Simmons, the incoming UK Ambassador to Ukraine. The Board of Deputies sponsors JNET.
Education Policy and Youth Engagement Officer Jake Berger met with Mia Hasenson-Gross from Rene
Cassin to discuss youth engagement opportunities.
POLITICAL
Board of Deputies President Marie van der Zyl has reacted to reports in The Times that Labour MP Rupa
Huq is facing official complaints from former employees over anti-Jewish racism. Marie said: “If true, this
would be a damning indictment on MP Rupa Huq, especially in the context of Labour’s wider ongoing
antisemitism scandal. We call on her to fully publish the email trails so that the truth can come out. Racism
at work is never acceptable.”
Parliamentary Officer Joel Salmon and Education Policy and Youth Engagement Officer Jake Berger

met Annie Waddington from UK Parliament Week to discuss future collaboration opportunities.
EDUCATION
Education Policy Officer Jake Berger, Education Development Manager Sara Perlmutter and
Education Consultant Sandra Teacher held a call with colleagues from across the Jewish education
sector to discuss the latest public policy developments.
Education Development Manager Sara Perlmutter joined the Westminster SACRE meeting at the Hindu
Temple in London.
Copyright © 2019 Board of Deputies of British Jews, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you subscribed on our
website, or because you are a deputy or designated under-35 observer of the Board of Deputies. If you would like to unsubscribe
from this newsletter, please click here.