At AIPAC, UK Chief Rabbi Urges American Jews to Unite Against Anti-Semitism

Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom Ephraim Mirvis called for American Jews to unite against anti-Semitism during his March 3 speech at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) Policy Conference in Washington, D.C.

Mirvis said that he had written an op-ed for the Times of London in November criticizing then-Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn with other Jewish leaders organizations because Britain’s Jewry has typically been unified against anti-Semitism.

“Please take a leaf out of our book and please speak with one voice,” Mirvis said, adding that “we cannot afford to be divided.”

Mirvis urged those on the political left and right to confront anti-Semitism within their ideological movements.

“There is only one path for us and that is the bipartisan route,” he said.

Mirvis touted the British government’s adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of anti-Semitism, which states that the demonization and delegitimization of Israel is a form of anti-Semitism. Mirvis said that while it’s perfectly valid to criticize individual Israeli government policies, “if somebody denies the right of the Jewish people to have their state, that is a different matter.”

He added that such criticism of Israel is intended to demonize Jews. “We must confront it and we must defeat it,” Mirvis said.

At the end of his speech, the rabbi told the AIPAC audience that they are in a position to influence the national discourse.

“Let us act with one voice,” Mirvis said. “Let us do so with a clear vision.”