On 2 April, the right-wing media – led by Guido Fawkes – launched an attack on left-wing Jewish group Jewdas. The reason? Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn had attended the group’s Seder (a traditional Passover feast) in Islington. But unfortunately for the pro-Conservative media, the attack on Jewdas is now backfiring rather spectacularly.
A weak and misjudged attack
Guido Fawkes news editor Alex Wickham tweeted that Jewdas was “despised by mainstream Jews” and that Corbyn’s attendance at its Seder would be “very, very difficult for Corbyn to explain”.
But it wasn’t.
Apart from creating an arbitrary division in the Jewish community, Guido Fawkes ‘revealed‘ that Jewdas was anti-capitalist, critical of Israel’s crimes, and against using antisemitism as a political football. And as Jewish journalist Dimi Reider pointed out, it was hardly surprising that Corbyn would empathise with these positions:
And they chanted "Fuck Capitalism"?? With Corbyn there?! *clutches pearls* *faints.* Also, are you suggesting that capitalism is somehow a manifestly Jewish value? Bcz that's pretty fucking anti-Semitic, mate.
— Dimi Reider | dimireider.substack.com (@reider) April 2, 2018
And he clarified:
Oh, fuck the fuck off, @GuidoFawkes and @WikiGuido. Jewdas is poss most joyously Jewish non-Israeli group in UK. Linking them to anti-Semitism:laughable. Only thing I find offensive as a Jew & an Israeli is seeing a Jewish holiday besmirched for your slimy purposes, you muppets. https://t.co/Wh2iSAPXJF
— Dimi Reider | dimireider.substack.com (@reider) April 2, 2018
One Jewdas supporter, meanwhile, said:
If you’re interested in trying to play “good Jew, bad Jew” to for a cheap political attacks, it’s young Jewish people at tonight’s event you’re attacking, not Corbyn. It’s us you’re making less welcome in communal spaces, thus validating Jewdas’ very existence!
— Charlotte Nichols MP (@charlotte2153) April 2, 2018
Can non-Jewish people like Woodcock stop trying to paint a false dichotomy between the “mainstream Jewish community” and Jewdas? Many of us, like myself, are fully-paid up synagogue members and actively involved in the “mainstream community”. We just accept its limitations. https://t.co/IhaiIkM6Ie
— Charlotte Nichols MP (@charlotte2153) April 2, 2018
Another praised Corbyn and insisted:
…either way, he was a lovely guest and even brought us some maror from his allotment for our Seder plate. For everyone using this to slate him and Jewdas, consider that you are politically attacking a group of commited Jews on one of the most important festivals of our year
— Annie / חנה-בײלע (@annsplaining) April 3, 2018
Serious backfire…
In fact, by shining a light on Jewdas, Guido Fawkes actually drew attention to the group’s consistent work fighting against antisemitism (on both the right and left):
It's just a hunch but I think Guido are really going to regret their attack on Jewdas come morning… this has backfired on the right-wing spectacularly.
— Gary Spedding (@GarySpedding) April 3, 2018
P.S. Guido's attack on Jewdas has inadvertently signposted way more people than ever could have been expected to the Jewdas website and more crucially to their resources on tackling anti-Semitism on the left.
— Gary Spedding (@GarySpedding) April 3, 2018
Last tweet from me on this – as Jewish voices are WAY MORE IMPORTANT – but look at the date stamp: @geoffreyjewdas were tackling anti-Semitism in 2014… this was WAY BEFORE this problem came to the attention of many others. pic.twitter.com/lGB5qhlrjj
— Gary Spedding (@GarySpedding) April 2, 2018
ICYMI, @geoffreyjewdas literally wrote the book(let) on how not to be anti-Semitic on the left https://t.co/FXg2F6GVva
— Maxim Gertler-Jaffe (@MaximGJ) April 3, 2018
https://twitter.com/Red_Pleb/status/980958667527901190
https://twitter.com/Red_Pleb/status/980953228559908864
Jewdas supporters speak up
But Jewdas isn’t just a group fighting against antisemitism. It is also a place where left-wing Jews can come together without fear of judgement. For that reason, Jewdas supporters have spoken out on Twitter about just how much the group means to them:
Chuffed that Jeremy went to @geoffreyjewdas sedar. Jewdas are a pluralist cohort of young Jews on the left, united only by our opposition to Israeli human rights abuses and the Tories. Shame on you @WikiGuido for trying to smear these celebrations of the festival of Passover. https://t.co/tGUzJmpaCi
— Dr Tania Shew (@tania_shew) April 2, 2018
Thread: When I got involved in Jewdas four years ago, I had all but given up my Judaism. I felt excluded from the community I grew up in because of my views on Israel, and I was fed up of having to follow ‘I’m jewish’ with ‘but I’m not a Zionist’ in lefty groups…
— Annie / חנה-בײלע (@annsplaining) April 2, 2018
…with @geoffreyjewdas I and so many others have found a home. Believe it or not, our outlandish build-it-ourselves Judaism is as meaningful as it is hilarious. Through this community I have felt more in touch with and proud of my Jewishness than ever before …
— Annie / חנה-בײלע (@annsplaining) April 2, 2018
Jewdas has been the only space I've felt comfortable being a queer Jew in.
— Kara. (@KiraArghy) April 2, 2018
Moreover, @geoffreyjewdas gave me a meaning to be Jewish through learning about my cultural, and religious history.
It actively helps others through projects such as refurbishing old Shuls, Babel's blessing, food not bombs. It is truly amazing.
— Kara. (@KiraArghy) April 2, 2018
Young Labour women’s officer Charlotte Nichols, meanwhile, wrote on LabourList:
Last night I attended a Seder to celebrate the Jewish festival of Pesach (Passover), held in Islington by a group called Jewdas…
It is not for non-Jewish people, in criticising Corbyn’s attendance, to determine what is and isn’t a legitimate expression of the Jewish faith. Many of the criticisms I’ve seen are themselves anti-Semitic. For those in the community who want to paint Jeremy’s attendance as an act of provocation, rather than an attempt to listen, engage, and share our festival with us, it’s actually just alienating many young Jewish people further and validating Jewdas’ very existence.
And she insisted:
It’s absolutely right that, particularly when some community gatekeepers are refusing to meet with Corbyn, he nonetheless shows willingness to engage with the community at all levels, to listen and to learn, and be a gracious guest. If you want to see this for yourself, do as Jewdas did and simply invite him.
Corbyn has consistently made his opposition to antisemitism clear, and his attendance at the Jewdas Seder was a sign of his willingness to listen and engage with the Jewish community. The cynical attempts by the right-wing media to use antisemitism as a political football, meanwhile, are an absolute disgrace. But fortunately, their latest attack has totally backfired.
Get Involved!
– The Jewdas website is temporarily down due to an apparent surge of interest. But you can see this tweet if you’d like to show the group your support. Also see Jewdas’s official response and statement on the Guido Fawkes attack.
– Support The Canary, so we can keep exposing the propaganda and hypocrisy of political and media elites.
– Support the work of Hope Not Hate and the Stop Funding Hate campaign. Demand that advertisers withdraw funding from newspapers and websites that promote hate speech.
Featured image via Sophie Brown/Wikimedia Commons
