Published in the Hastings Independent Press 19 June 2024
Half of the candidates standing in the General Election for Hastings & Rye have agreed to a set of pledges around ‘respectful debate’ set by Hastings Jews for Justice (HJJ).
The recently-formed HJJ penned an open letter, signed by over 30 Jewish constituents, which asks Parliamentary candidates to agree to five pledges. These include: recognising that Jewish people hold a range of views on key issues which need to be respected; consulting with a range of Jewish community groups who hold different opinions on the occupation in Israel/Palestine; calling out and fighting all instances of racism – including Islamophobia and antisemitism; refraining from exploiting antisemitism and committing to measured and factual discussion about Israel/Palestine.
Four Parliamentary candidates for Hastings & Rye have now indicated their support and interest in meeting the group for further discussion: Liberal Democrat Guy Harris, Workers Party candidate Phil Colley, Becca Horn for the Greens and Nick Davies for the Communist Party.
“It’s an encouraging start,” said a HJJ spokesperson. “But we would dearly like to hear from the others, particularly Labour’s Helena Dollimore and our incumbent Conservative MP Sally-Ann Hart.
“It is vital at this time that our political discourse doesn’t resort to divisive and misleading rhetoric in order to stoke up fear and hatred. This is incredibly damaging to our communities. We, as Jews of conscience, are tired of being ignored and marginalised by politicians claiming to speak on our behalf.
“Given there is a small Jewish community in this area, the number of signatories to our letter demonstrates we are not outliers. We are part of the worldwide Jewish resistance to the current genocide in Gaza, as well as the ongoing occupation and apartheid across all of Israel/Palestine. Thousands of Jews across the world, including inside Israel, are out on the street every day protesting and showing solidarity with Palestinians.
“We want our local politicians to take seriously the views of Jewish people like us, proudly standing in our traditions of resistance and liberation.”
The group had a significant presence at the Hastings Assembles meeting at The Stade last Sunday [16 June] where several members held a banner reading: ‘Hastings Jews for Justice Stands with Palestinians’.
Israel’s eight-month assault on Gaza has killed over 37,200 Palestinians and wounded over 85,000 with most infrastructure obliterated and 70% of housing stock destroyed. Children are now dying from an Israeli-engineered famine and UN agencies say one million are at risk of death by starvation by mid-July.
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