Antisemitism Keeps Coming Back. So Must Our Unity

“It is time for action,” proclaimed Israel’s UN Ambassador, Danny Danon. Danon was addressing a UN conference on antisemitism with one aim: to smash it and stop its rising tide. Danon continued: “The words ‘Never Again’ were not meant to be a slogan. They were meant to be a commitment. Words, declarations and statements are not enough to fight the rising antisemitism on the streets, in synagogues, in universities and even here at the United Nations.”

A few days after this conference, another initiative was launched with the same aim, only this time by former Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer and Sylvan Adams, president of World Jewish Congress Israel. Both men called for Israel to utilise various strategies and resources to defend itself and Jewish people from rising antisemitism.

I have no doubt that these initiatives will have some impact and are well-meaning, but does anyone really feel that these tactics are the panacea for the problem?

Let’s face it: these proposals are not entirely different from similar strategies that have been employed in the past and are still in use today. Indeed, we can see many groups the world over—an almost innumerable number—who are engaged in similar tactics. All of these groups have one thing in common: they are drowning in a sea of antisemitism. Why would upping the ante on similar initiatives prove more successful?

Until now, we have tried to remonstrate with antisemites as best we can. We have tried to employ logic and reason to win the day, and clearly, it has not been enough to defeat the problem. On the contrary, antisemitism makes more comebacks than Rod Stewart—each time with more success than its previous manifestation. And if you still can’t convince people of its evils after the Holocaust, when can you?

This is why I think we need to add another focus to our fight: unity. Of course, I realise that this is no easy feat, especially in a group of people who have such a diverse range of beliefs and opinions, many of them antagonistic towards each other. But try we should, because Jews—whether Zionist, anti-Zionist, religious or secular—are all collectively in the crosshairs. David Ben-Gurion recognised the importance of this unity when he stated: “There is a necessity for unity—not totalitarian or forced unity. Differences of opinion can exist and are even desirable, but there must be a feeling of unity.” Unifying against antisemitism would at least mean that no one would be fighting it alone.

In the past, unity has brought success for us as a people. Indeed, when Jeremy Corbyn looked as though he might become Prime Minister, Jewish people in the UK came together as never before to face down the threat he posed, and that unity helped to defeat him at the ballot box. It led Marie van der Zyl, the former head of the Board of Deputies, to opine: “We’ll be glad to see Corbyn gone, but let’s hold on to the unity he brought our community.”

That was just one example. But is it not also the case that the vanquishing of Haman and the very receiving of the Torah at Mount Sinai have one common denominator: Jewish unity? If unity worked so well for us in the past, why don’t we prioritise it now?

Let’s come together and discuss this issue as a matter of urgency. Perhaps we could convene a dedicated forum for this purpose. If we were more united, would it not also be the case that our current efforts could be more effective? What exactly would we have to lose by trying?