Why only empathy can end Labour's antisemitism crisis: a thread

At the end of what ought to have been a great day for the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn totalled his interview Andrew Neil by swerving his interviewer's request for an apology for Labour antisemitism. 1/

The reason Corbyn wouldn’t apologise was bc in that moment, he was only addressing Neil, the Spectator chair for whom Labour antisemitism makes good telly. The people Corbyn failed to address were the many Jews (inc historic Labour voters) hurt by his party's antisemitism. 2/

The Holocaust gave Jews reason to fear antisemitism. It also gave us an irrationally heightened (but still intensely real) fear of it. Jewish newspapers capitalise on this fear to sell papers & undermine a Labour project they object to on far larger grounds than antisemitism. 3/

Meanwhile, politicians like @michaelgove laugh all the way to the ballot box, as the antisemitism premier league kicks off just in time for an election. 4/

Yet this politicisation of antisemitism has abstracted it from the real feelings of ordinary Jews, many of whom are genuinely afraid by the (often exaggerated) news they read in Jewish (and consequently national) newspapers. 6/

The Labour Party thus approaches antisemitism as a purely political problem, rather than a human one, and so treats it as it does all political problems: with attack and rebuttal. 7/

In an effort to support Corbyn, many individuals & groups attempt to myth-busting antisemitism (lifelong antiracist etc). It’s an approach we might well platform in @_VashtiMedia—but one that can't be effective in isolation. In fact, it makes some Jews switch off entirely. 8/

What many Jewish people (including me) want from Labour is emotional engagement with our concerns—be they rational or irrational, founded or unfounded—before engaging in a dialogue about facts. 9/

While elder statesman like Corbyn appear principled yet cold when it comes to antisemitism, a younger generation is taking a gentler approach. People like the fantastic @zarahsultana, whose apology for antisemitism was among the most resonant and effective I’ve seen. 10/

Rather than relitigate the rightness or wrongness of her actions, Zarah simply apologised and acknowledged the hurt she'd caused. But not only this, Zarah acknowledged one of the reasons she’d caused that hurt: Holocaust trauma. 11/

Teshuvah (repentance) is an essential Jewish value for a reason: individuals, communities and societies need it to heal. But the first step to teshuva is empathy—and in its response to antisemitism, the Labour Party could do with more of it. 12/12 https://vashtimedia.wordpress.com/2019/11/27/antisemitism-labour-corbyn-sultana-rabbi-mervis-human-problem/