Last week, I led a UK delegation to Washington DC for meetings at the White House, State Department and Congress, and with Jewish community organisations, faith leaders, and diplomats.
The hook was the National Prayer Breakfast, a gathering of some 3,000 people – mainly evangelical Christians – who gather to focus on faith and religious freedom. Our delegation wanted to find new allies and learn from interfaith initiatives such as the Multi-Faith Neighbours’ Network.
Coming soon after one of Donald Trump’s lawyers made a highly publicised call for British Jews to be given asylum in the United States, I wondered whether we would be presented our immigration papers on arrival – and what a diplomatic response might be.
I needn’t have concerned myself. The president’s new forthright antisemitism envoy, Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, was blunt in his introduction. “We are not giving you all refuge,” he began the meeting, “But we will be calling on your government to take the necessary measures to keep you safe.” Fair enough. So, no green cards for the Greenbergs, nor gold cards for the Goldbergs.
There was certainly widespread concern across the Trump Administration about antisemitism in Britain, and a sense that the UK government had not been sufficiently robust in its response to the challenge.
We have been urging our government in the UK to move beyond piecemeal, if well-intentioned, measures to confront antisemitism, and to lead with its chest on issues such as public security, extremism, the marginalisation of Jews in parts of civil society, and in promoting cohesion.
In pursing this agenda there is an important opportunity to follow the United States’ lead in proscribing the Muslim Brotherhood, recognising the Islamist threat for what it is, and protecting Jews, wider society, and mainstream Muslims from their poison.
We heard too about the significant challenges facing the United States.
Those who see America as the “Goldene Medina”, with no troubles of its own, are making a mistake. There have been three fatalities from anti-Jewish attacks in the US in the last year alone, in Boulder, Colorado, and at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington DC. There are antisemites in America too. And they have guns.
One of the most moving sections of our trip was a visit to the Capital Jewish Museum. We were there with our colleagues from the American Jewish Committee, at whose event Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky were senselessly murdered. It was CEO Ted Deutch’s first time back inside the museum since the terror assault, and he was understandably emotional. Together we paid tribute to the slain young couple and pledged our mutual solidarity in the international struggle against antisemitism. Joined by British Christian and Muslim colleagues, it was a reminder that we are not alone in this fight.
Beyond the violent attacks, antisemitism in American politics is gaining ground. The hardline hostility to Israel in the left of the Democrat Party too often bleeds, as with the far left here, into Jew-hatred. Meanwhile, parts of the right of the Republican Party appear to have to have lost their historic firewalls against fascism and neo-fascism. Passionate and dedicated supporters of both parties expressed their concerns to us – and they need ongoing support from their respective leaderships to drive the racists out.
That is why I believe there are lessons to be learnt both ways.
At a time when there have been some ripples in the transatlantic relationship, from issues as diverse as Greenland, Nato, migration, climate change and trade, it is more important than ever to find issues in common, and our visit showed us that the shared fight against antisemitism is the Special Relationship’s time to shine. Indeed this is a time for Britain and the US, along with other close partners including, the EU, Australia and Canada, to more closely coordinate and align our responses to this global challenge.
Neither side of the Atlantic has quite gotten to grips with the challenge of online hate and extremism. We can all appreciate America’s commitment to free speech and to its tech industry, but it is hard to imagine that what is happening on the platforms is what the Founding Fathers intended. Algorithms drive the most polarised and emotive content to the top of consumers’ feeds, drowning out the more considered opinions, distorting the playing-field of ideas, and contributing to an atmosphere of incitement. This is, in turn, exploited by hostile states such as Russia, China, and Iran, who seek to undermine our free and democratic societies and turn our people against one another. We need to find a better means of safeguarding a healthy online eco-system.
Back at the Capital Jewish Museum, a bright and airy space which celebrates the outstanding contribution of the Jews of DC to the city, we were reminded too that combatting prejudice is not the only area where we should cooperate. Our hosts loved the sound of Jewish Culture Month, which will launch officially in the coming weeks and take place in the Hebrew month of Sivan (May 16 to June 15), and we swapped ideas about how we promote Jewish artists and philanthropists, Jewish cooks and comedians.
On both sides of the pond, our shared mutual mission must be to lead a global response to the anti-Jewish hate. But also to ensure: less oy, more joy.
Phil Rosenberg is the president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews
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