What should the crowd have done…

Earlier this week I wrote about the rally in London in support of the hostages where two progressive rabbis were booed of the stage.  Since then, a number of UK communal organisations have written a letter condemning the actions of the crowd and calling for less intolerance when it comes to disagreeing with those with alternative views.

I have thought about this and heard accounts from some who were there on the day.  The letter makes a number of points but it failed to address the key issues which were responsible for what happened.  The first was that the two rabbis made it clear to the organisers that they would only attend if they were permitted to criticise the Israeli government.  This was not an objectionable position for them to take, on the contrary it was commendable.  Better the organisers should know what it is going to be said in advance that it all coming as a big nasty surprise.

The problem though is that the said organisers didn’t pass this piece of information on to those attending.  Big mistake.  Huge.  In the event it did come as a big nasty surprise with frankly predictable results.

The second mistake was once the organisers learned what was going to be said, that they allowed the rabbis a platform at all.  This is not about censorship, it is about understanding the subject matter of the rally and the likely response of the crowd.  Where is the purpose in diverting attention away from the hostages?  None.

I am not sure I would necessarily describe the rabbis making a third mistake but it is clear that they did not appreciate the depth of feeling amongst their audience.  This was made up of people who were there to support those victims of a war crime, nothing more.  So when the subject matter turned to Palestinian statehood and Israeli government policy it is little wonder that the mood turned ugly.

Part of the letter states: “We may or may not all agree or disagree with the views of Rabbi Josh Levy and Rabbi Charley Baginsky. That’s really not the point here. What we do all agree on, is how shocking and upsetting it was to see the intolerance shown to two senior community colleagues. And we are concerned that this is another symptom of an increasingly febrile and divisive atmosphere within our community.”

What would have been a reasonable reaction to their views which were clearly unwelcome and crucially unhelpful to the purpose of the rally?  I don’t know, and the letter from the communal leaders is silent on this point other than to call for understanding of those with alternative views.  The letter is also silent on the failure of the organisers to inform the participants of what was coming and perhaps even asking for tolerance before the rabbis spoke.

I wasn’t there so I cannot say what might have worked.  I can say though that there is a time and place to talk about Palestinian statehood and Israeli government policy. A rally to support the victims of the worst attack against the Jewish people since the Shoah is absolutely not it.  That might have been worth mentioning as well.  At least we all now know for next time.