There are a number of reasons for this. The main one, of course, is geography. Growing up in Ilford as so many of us did, Orient’s Brisbane Road ground was just three or four stops down on the Central Line. When I was too young to go to Spurs away games, I would go to Orient when my team was away. So, too, did friends of mine who supported Arsenal (and yet they were and are still friends of mine – beggars can’t be choosers) and even Hammers – in their case the football was probably better than they were used to.
Back then Orient’s Jewishness was underlined by being ‘the cab driver’s second team’ as the up to a third of London’s cabbies were Jewish and around half of them were said to live in Redbridge and many more in other parts of north London and if they weren’t going to go south of the river to take a fare home then they certainly weren’t going there for football.
Another reason is rivalry. Rarely have Arsenal or Spurs had to play Orient competitively, at least not in living memory. A couple of cup games including a semi-final or two against Arsenal and a brief, one season stay in the seventies when both Spurs and Orient were in the old Second Division.
Orient has also been a welcoming place for Jewish football fans going back decades. There was a time West Ham could seem intimidating to Jews in the days when skinheads sold copies of the National Front magazine Bulldog outside Upton Park and Dagenham and Redbridge didn’t even exist.
The Os also have an enviable record of British-born Jewish players over their history, perhaps the best known to my generation (I’m 62 but look much older – I blame Spurs) being Bobby Fisher, Mark Lazarus and Barry Silkman.
Last year Orient set up a Jewish supporters’ club – the MeshuganOs – among the founders were Eddie Gershon and Jonathan Glass who, coincidentally, went to both the same primary and secondary school as me. Lazarus and Fisher are among the patrons.
Orient’s kitman, Ada Martin, is also one of the patrons. Speaking on the club’s website (leytonorient.com/news/2023/november/16/MeshuganOs-officially-launched-by-Leyton-Orient/) , he said: “Like my fellow Jewish supporters, I love Leyton Orient and am proud of its connections with the Jewish community.”
Meshuganos founders Jonathan Glass (left) and Eddie Gershon[Missing Credit]
Eddie Gershon added: “If you ask football fans which club is most associated with its Jewish supporters, the answer will likely be Spurs. While it is true that Spurs has always been the favoured club for a large number of Jewish fans, we believe that Leyton Orient runs it pretty close, and as a percentage of its overall support, the O’s might well be one of the, if not the best-supported club amongst the Jewish community in England.
Is there anything more Jewish that reaching a zenith of joy before descending into the nadir of despair within just a few days?
“The club’s association with the Jewish community goes back decades. When Orient were Clapton Orient and played at Millfields, large swathes of the Jewish community resided in Hackney, Stamford Hill, and Stoke Newington as well as the East End. These locations were a couple of miles (in the case of Hackney, Stamford Hill and Stoke Newington) away from the ground, with the East End (places like Whitechapel) less than four miles away.
“As a result, the Os were the local club for tens of thousands of Jewish people and many of them chose to support the team. That support passed on through the families and it is fair to say that the movement of the Jewish community in the 1950s onwards to areas including Gants Hill, Redbridge, Barkingside, Newbury Park only buoyed that support.”
Jonathan Glass commented: “The Os have also had a number of Jewish players including Mark Lazarus, Dave Metchick, Bobby Fisher, Barry Silkman and Scott Kashket, who between them played almost 650 games for the Os.
One thing I am very proud of is that in all of the years of coming to Brisbane Road, I have never experienced any antisemitism
“Two of the club’s most high-profile chairmen, Harry Zussman and Brian Winston were also Jewish. One thing I am very proud of (and I am sure it is the same for my fellow Jewish supporters) is that in all of the years of coming to Brisbane Road, I have never experienced any antisemitism.”
The past couple of weeks have seen a typically up and down period for both Spurs and Orient fans. For us it was the elation of winning our first trophy in 17 years and for Orient it was getting to the League One play off final at Wembley. Then on Sunday we lost 4-1 at home to Brighton and Orient lost 1-0 to Charlton.
Is there anything more Jewish that reaching a zenith of joy before descending into the nadir of despair within just a few days?
