Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose? Part 1 in London
It's a beautiful day in London, just a little breeze for the month of May. It's morning here and the streets are starting to get busy . As I walk through the Embassy row, the scenes are picturesque in this area of London, just like in the movies.
A few days before, there was a massive rally, at least that's what I am reading in the Times of Israel in my Londonian Hackney taxi. Apparently, the rally started with a speech from the Leader of the Opposition, Jeremy Corbyn, calling for an embargo of arms against Israel followed by sporadic chants of "from the river to the sea." Hard to believe it happened right around the corner from here.
In a few hours, we will start a marathon of meetings and site visits for just 36 hours to get a sense of the situation on the ground in 2019.
Our first stop? Whitechapel, once a Jewish area, now an immigrant community with a large Muslim population. This morning, Robin Moss from UJIA, is leading us. He is a rising star in the Jewish community and a respected figure. As we walk through the neighborhood, between trucks and a few women in a Burqa, he tries to explain the ambivalence of being Jewish in the UK in 2019.
As we finish the tour, Robin shows us where the Yidish theater used to be: now in front of a massive Mosque. He asks us to join us singing a Yidish song, we timidly join him. Maybe because we all wonder if we should out ourselves as being Jewish in this area.
Behind the headlines and the anxiety we may feel reading the news, there is a strong community. This community is now far from the poverty in Whitechapel, and for the most part has fully integrated the United Kingdom.
Today, the relationship between the UK and Israel is at its peak. The Jewish community is well secured by an organization called CST and funded by the British government. Jewish day schools are also fully funded by the state. In fact, 50% of children in the Jewish community go to Jewish day schools. Tell this to any American Jew struggling to sustain Jewish day schools and secure institutions, they will ask you: "where do I sign up?"
In the quiet suburbs of London, we visit JCoss, a massive pluralistic Jewish high school where young shlichim (shinshinim) work. We later meet with leaders from the University's Union of Jewish Students. We quickly discover that we face the same challenges: how do we engage and build a connection with the next generation? how do we fight apathy despite growing anti-semitism?
The Jewish Agency delegation led by Lea Golan has to balance working on Aliyah and some anxiety in the community around it, while building engagement and connection between the community and Israel. Leah, working with Sigalit Freeman, are strategic in their approach, especially when it comes to working on campuses. The Jewish Agency is dispatching 3 shlichim for campuses in addition to 8 shinshinim working with schools and youth movements. This delegation bring years of experience in their approach, and work with community organizations like UJIA, JCoss or the Union of Jewish Students to reinforce the bond between Israel and the UK.
This balancing act is complicated in this uncertain context. We can't help but ask, what's on everybody mind: what are the chances of Jeremy Corbyn becoming Prime Minister? What would he do first? The answers vary, it's unclear, just like Brexit is.
A bit later, we are having dinner at Tish, a chic Kosher restaurant in the streets of Hampstead. It's a packed room, mostly local Jews, some are observant, some not. Is it the end of the golden age in London? Is Jeremy Corbyn an ephemeral phenomenon? Are we in Germany in 1933? Is it safe to wear this Tish kipa in the street of Hampstead?
As we visit the Jewish Quarter of London, between the Bevis Marks synagogue and Buckingham Palace, we venture and find a billboard near a bus stop in the streets of London, calling to boycott AirBnB because it supports "Palestinian stolen land." We can't help and take pictures, does any one really care? Why is it here, in the Jewish quarter?
As we leave London, we have more questions than answers for an uncertain future for this strong and proud Jewish community. It's by asking real questions and engaging rather than coming with answers that we can advance. Often, our large communities, whether they are Israel or the United States come with pre-determined answers. It's by exploring and exchanging that we can build a common story, a bond that will sustain us no matter what the challenges are. That's what we did and that's what our delegation of Jewish Agency shlichim do.
A few days before, there was a massive rally, at least that's what I am reading in the Times of Israel in my Londonian Hackney taxi. Apparently, the rally started with a speech from the Leader of the Opposition, Jeremy Corbyn, calling for an embargo of arms against Israel followed by sporadic chants of "from the river to the sea." Hard to believe it happened right around the corner from here.
In a few hours, we will start a marathon of meetings and site visits for just 36 hours to get a sense of the situation on the ground in 2019.
Our first stop? Whitechapel, once a Jewish area, now an immigrant community with a large Muslim population. This morning, Robin Moss from UJIA, is leading us. He is a rising star in the Jewish community and a respected figure. As we walk through the neighborhood, between trucks and a few women in a Burqa, he tries to explain the ambivalence of being Jewish in the UK in 2019.
As we finish the tour, Robin shows us where the Yidish theater used to be: now in front of a massive Mosque. He asks us to join us singing a Yidish song, we timidly join him. Maybe because we all wonder if we should out ourselves as being Jewish in this area.
Behind the headlines and the anxiety we may feel reading the news, there is a strong community. This community is now far from the poverty in Whitechapel, and for the most part has fully integrated the United Kingdom.
Today, the relationship between the UK and Israel is at its peak. The Jewish community is well secured by an organization called CST and funded by the British government. Jewish day schools are also fully funded by the state. In fact, 50% of children in the Jewish community go to Jewish day schools. Tell this to any American Jew struggling to sustain Jewish day schools and secure institutions, they will ask you: "where do I sign up?"
In the quiet suburbs of London, we visit JCoss, a massive pluralistic Jewish high school where young shlichim (shinshinim) work. We later meet with leaders from the University's Union of Jewish Students. We quickly discover that we face the same challenges: how do we engage and build a connection with the next generation? how do we fight apathy despite growing anti-semitism?
The Jewish Agency delegation led by Lea Golan has to balance working on Aliyah and some anxiety in the community around it, while building engagement and connection between the community and Israel. Leah, working with Sigalit Freeman, are strategic in their approach, especially when it comes to working on campuses. The Jewish Agency is dispatching 3 shlichim for campuses in addition to 8 shinshinim working with schools and youth movements. This delegation bring years of experience in their approach, and work with community organizations like UJIA, JCoss or the Union of Jewish Students to reinforce the bond between Israel and the UK.
This balancing act is complicated in this uncertain context. We can't help but ask, what's on everybody mind: what are the chances of Jeremy Corbyn becoming Prime Minister? What would he do first? The answers vary, it's unclear, just like Brexit is.
A bit later, we are having dinner at Tish, a chic Kosher restaurant in the streets of Hampstead. It's a packed room, mostly local Jews, some are observant, some not. Is it the end of the golden age in London? Is Jeremy Corbyn an ephemeral phenomenon? Are we in Germany in 1933? Is it safe to wear this Tish kipa in the street of Hampstead?
As we visit the Jewish Quarter of London, between the Bevis Marks synagogue and Buckingham Palace, we venture and find a billboard near a bus stop in the streets of London, calling to boycott AirBnB because it supports "Palestinian stolen land." We can't help and take pictures, does any one really care? Why is it here, in the Jewish quarter?
As we leave London, we have more questions than answers for an uncertain future for this strong and proud Jewish community. It's by asking real questions and engaging rather than coming with answers that we can advance. Often, our large communities, whether they are Israel or the United States come with pre-determined answers. It's by exploring and exchanging that we can build a common story, a bond that will sustain us no matter what the challenges are. That's what we did and that's what our delegation of Jewish Agency shlichim do.
Comments