One of the UK's largest trade unions has claimed it erroneously organised its 90th anniversary event to commemorate the Battle of Cable Street on Shabbat – and with no mention of the Jewish community.
A page on Unite the Union’s website promoting the event prompted widespread outrage, including among several descendants of Jews who were on the front line of fighting fascists on the streets of the East End in 1936.
The web page promoting event on Saturday, October 3, states that Sir Oswald Mosley's fascists were chased off the streets by a “strong, organised working class who knew that the politics of hate and division offers no solutions.
“We are bringing together trade unionists, historians, musicians, artists and authors to make this a celebration of working class pride.”
The original Battle of Cable Street took place on October 4, 1936, when Mosley's British Union of Fascists (BUF), known as the Blackshirts, planned a march through London's East End, home to a large Jewish population.
Around 3,000 fascists were due to march, protected by 6,000 police officers, mounted and on foot.
In response, local Jews, joined by Irish dockworkers, communists, socialists and trade unionists, mobilised in numbers estimated to be between 100,000 and 250,000, blocking the route.
Unable to clear a path through the crowds, police called off the march, forcing the Blackshirts to abandon their plans. The confrontation has since been viewed as a defining victory against fascism in Britain.
This year marks the 90th anniversary of the battle.
A commemoration organised by members of the Jewish community is to take place on October 4, the anniversary of the original event.
Alex Hearn, co-director of Labour Against Antisemitism, criticised Unite and referred to the historical point that trade unionists supposedly “needed their arm twisting by Jews to turn up in the first place”.
“So it's no surprise they erased Jews and positioned themselves as heroes,” he said.
Unite previously faced controversy during Labour's antisemitism crisis under Jeremy Corbyn. In a 2019 interview, the union's then general secretary, Len McCluskey, said of the antisemitism row: “The whole thing is contrived”.
McCluskey, who led Unite for a decade until 2021, said the antisemitism crisis was “mood music” and accused the JC and other Jewish newspapers of “fear-mongering” around Corbyn, whom Unite was one of the biggest financial backers.
A Unite spokesperson said: “Unite is grateful to the JC for bringing this matter to our attention.
“We do not wish to exclude any community from the Cable Street anniversary event nor to downplay or ignore the critical role played by Jews in 1926.
“We will be speaking to the event organisers about the date and will amend the text on our website as soon as realistically possible.”
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