As the first month-long celebration of Jewish British life kicks off this week, we ask whether such initiatives are an effective way to tackle antisemitism and foster understanding
These are challenging times for Jewish communities, so there is an obvious appeal in the idea of the Jewish Culture Month, which has been organised by the Board of Deputies of British Jews and launches in May.
The event’s website says that over 100 initiatives offer “the best of Jewish culture in the UK from our poets to our picklers, our star performers to our deepest thinkers”, in a programme “as diverse as Britain’s Jewish community”. Many sound stimulating. I like the sound of an interactive evening of ghost stories, a Klezmer by the ” Sea concert in Plymouth, a heritage trail in the Museum The idea of of Liverpool and a guided addressing walk exploring refugee history in Cardiff. Many ‘diversity’ only events could well attract goes so far non-Jewish audiences.
All this, and particularly ” the broad geographical coverage, is to be welcomed. Yet there are several elements that cause me concern. Deeply worried by “record levels of antisemitism”, the Board wants the event, which is part of a wider plan to tackle antisemitism entitled A Brighter Future for the UK Jewish Community, to “accentuate the positive experiences of Jews in this country and the positive contribution British Jews have made to our nation’s society, economy and culture”. Alongside Holocaust Memorial Day and Holocaust education, they hope to turn a “more upbeat lens on Jewish life in this country” and give non-Jews a chance to “experience all the light, creativity and laughter of Jewish life in the through “a strategic UK”-rebrand, which proclaims: ‘less oy’, and ‘more joy”.
