Leibler - Anglo Jewish leaders and "Trembling Israelites"

Isi Leibler..
Candidly Speaking from Jerusalem..
08 March '12..




The simmering tensions associated with the “restrained” Anglo Jewish leadership approach to Israel advocacy, exploded at the last plenum meeting of the Board of Deputies of British Jews. Senior vice-president Jonathan Arkush launched a bitter attack on the Jewish Leadership Council (JLC) a group primarily comprised of wealthy British Jews and their acolytes who, although unaccountable, are allegedly determining communal policy.

To widespread applause from the plenum, Arkush accused the JLC of being “unelected, unaccountable and therefore unacceptable” as spokesmen for Anglo Jewry.

However he was immediately castigated by the president and members of the executive for “an intemperate outburst” and making “unhelpful and incorrect” comments. There were also calls for his resignation.

Candidly Speaking: 'Perfidious Albion' and Jewish leaders

Isi Leibler
JPost
02 November 09

The British and French foreign ministers, both of whom have Jewish ancestors, are now among the most vociferous European critics of Israel. This was reaffirmed by their odious "absence" from the vote on the Goldstone Report at the UN Human Rights Council.

Under these circumstances one would expect leaders of the well-established Anglo-Jewish community to have lobbied their government in advance and made it aware of the sentiments shared by the vast majority of British Jews.

However, the Board of Deputies of British Jews, which purports to be the voice of Anglo-Jewry, procrastinated until after the UN vote. This was no surprise because Anglo-Jewish leaders have a long tradition of burying their heads in the sand, determined not to rock the boat under any circumstances.

A few years ago, Henry Grunwald, the recently retired president of the Board of Deputies, even wrote an op-ed in The Jerusalem Post expressing pride in the effectiveness of a policy based on "whispering" rather than "shouting."

That approach is reflected by public demonstrations of solidarity with the Jewish state being deferred until forced under pressure from the Jewish street; inadequately confronting anti-Semites like the former mayor of London; and insufficiently opposing those seeking to boycott and delegitimize Israel.

THREE RECENT disconcerting events signal that the newly elected Board of Deputies president, Vivian Wineman (a former head of the UK branches of Peace Now and the New Israel Fund) is unlikely to deviate from this craven approach.
(Full Article)
.