Leader of Britain’s Sephardi Jewish community backs Chief Rabbi over Jeremy Corbyn

The Senior Rabbi of Britain’s Sephardi Jewish community has issued a statement fulsomely backing the Chief Rabbi over his unprecedented intervention, in which he warned that Jeremy Corbyn was “unfit for office” and that “the very soul of our nation is at stake.”

Rabbi Joseph Dweck wrote: “As a rule we as rabbis are careful to keep out of national politics. But as Chief Rabbi Mirvis said, this comes to an issue of racism and a large portion of the Jewish community does not look at the potential election of Corbyn as a question between liberal and conservative politics, but rather, the difference between the safety and peace of Jewish life in this country, and G-d forbid, the alternative.

“My community is the oldest in this country, dating back to 1656. We have over the last 364 years contributed greatly to every sector of British society, and in turn, Britain has been very good to our people. Given the history of antisemitism in Europe, the hateful spectre that casts a shadow over the rhetoric and ideas of Mr Corbyn and his party gives us significant reason for concern and so the Chief Rabbi has raised his voice in concern and caution. I stand with him and his message.”

Rabbi Dweck is one of the most respected voices in the British Jewish community, representing the Spanish and Portuguese Sephardi Jewish community which was the first to return to Britain following the expulsion of all Jews in 1290.

Earlier today the Archbishop of Canterbury also backed the Chief Rabbi.

On 28th May, the Equality and Human Rights Commission launched a full statutory investigation following a formal referral and detailed legal representations from Campaign Against Antisemitism, which is the complainant.

In recent months, thirteen MPs and three peers have resigned from the Labour Party over antisemitism, along with a large number of MEPs, councillors and members.

Over 58,000 people have now signed our petition denouncing Jeremy Corbyn as an antisemite and declaring him “unfit to hold any public office.”

On 8th December, regardless of religion, race or politics, Jews and non-Jews alike will gather in Parliament Square to declare that they stand together against antisemitism in the face of Jew-hatred in politics and mounting anti-Jewish hate crime.