Mrs Berkman said the Liberal Jewish community in the area, which comprises fewer than 50 members, had “felt relatively safe for quite some years”, but in the wake of Ms Forbes’ victory, “some of our members are saying that they feel rather more vulnerable than they used to.”
But she said that after Labour’s by-election win, the community had received “messages of support from people within the local area – not just Jews – expressing concern on our behalf.”
Speaking after her win, Ms Forbes described antisemitism as “abhorrent”, apologising for her actions and saying she hoped “that people will understand that I don't have a bad bone in my body towards any race of people.”
But Mrs Berkman told the JC that “there has been no contact" with her community nor the national Liberal Judaism body.
She said: “We have said…that what we want to see is action, not words. And we want her to make the first move. If she is sincere, then we want to see her making the first steps and the first moves to engage with the broader Jewish community and possibly with ourselves.”
