Sunday - Something I’m Delighted to Share and Something I Wish I Didn’t Have To

For those experiencing life as darker than we would wish, I have a recommendation. Come to Shul, Sunday evening for some glorious music. We are welcoming Sharqia, with guest artist Yoav, to share their Middle Eastern grooves. We have a hammered dulcimer, an oud, clarinets, saxophones and … Yoav is back. It will be a very special celebration of the Jewish music of the Middle East and North Africa. 

7pm, Sunday 10^th May. Advance booking is warmly appreciated - https://shulcloud.newlondon.org.uk/event/sharqiah-middle-eastern-grooves

 

This is the more painful piece.

There will be a major gathering in opposition to antisemitism also on Sunday, 1pm on Whitehall, opposite Number 10. It shouldn’t have to happen. Jews shouldn’t be being attacked for being Jews, and Jewish buildings shouldn’t be firebombed for being used by Jews. We shouldn’t be experiencing fear. Our concerns and demands must be clearly and publicly expressed before those who have the power and responsibility to ensure the safety of all the inhabitants of these isles. I’ll be there. If anyone wants to travel down and stand together as part of a New London Synagogue presence, please let me know.

The last major communal rally I attended, in October 2025, was exceptional. Powerful, united and moving. Others have been painful, complex and riven by the challenges of representing a British Jewish community that does not speak with a single voice on, frankly, anything. Speakers have been booed. Speakers have used the platforms at communal rallies to make what, to me, have felt inappropriate speeches. In general, I don’t like big rallies. But I’ll be there on Sunday. 

On Tuesday night, three local MPs, all taking the Labour whip, held a public meeting on antisemitism at St. John's Wood Synagogue. I went. There were moments of fractiousness, moments where the backdrop of national politics elbowed its way into the discussion – as was always to be expected. It wasn’t an easy space. I’m glad I was there.

The Board of Deputies and Jewish Leadership Council, who are leading the organisation of the rally on Sunday, have made decisions about who to bring into the list of sponsoring organisations. Those are hard decisions to get right. Political speakers have been invited, prompting an outpouring of disagreement about who should and shouldn’t have been invited. One of the original sponsoring organisations made a decision to pull out; again, that’s a tough call. I share many of these concerns. I don’t think the rally on Sunday will be an easy space, not in a physical sense – I’m confident the police and CST will look after our physical safety – but emotionally. There will be those on the platform and in the crowd who will take the opportunity of this rally to express views with which I disagree. But I’ll be there. I’m going to take a placard. I don’t really like placards. Mine will read, “Every Human Being is Created in the Image of the Divine.” It’s as close to a slogan as I am ever likely to feel comfortable standing behind.

The way that this mess of a societal problem gets better is that we learn to stand together when we don’t fully agree. We learn to handle the impossibility, or certainly the ineffectiveness, of only being present in places of pure comfort.

We need to remember that those who are working to bring us together are not our enemies, even if their means are misguided or even self-defeating in our own eyes. We need to put more effort into standing in uncomfortable places and hearing uncomfortable voices. And we need to wave our own placards high. As I say, I’ll be there on Sunday for the rally in Whitehall. With a placard.

Then I’m hugely looking forward to getting back home and then coming to hear Sharqia in the evening. Balance. It’s a narrow bridge, and aside from not being afraid, we need balance.

Shabbat Shalom