4.6 • 620 Ratings
🗓️ 12 July 2024
⏱️ 54 minutes
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This month, Keir Starmer was elected prime minister of the UK. He is something of a reformer in the Labor party, which, before him, had been led by Jeremy Corbyn. The two have a different public temperament and different public persona. They have a different attitude toward the Jewish people and the Jewish state. Corbyn normalized a degree of anti-Semitism within mainstream Labor politics that was so odious it forced ideologically committed Labor members who are Jewish to leave the party. Since Starmer took over, the party has made a conscious effort to put forward a different, more welcoming face toward Jews.
And what about beneath the surface? Is Starmer different in practice and policy toward Israel and the Jewish people? To answer that question, host Jonathan Silver speaks here with British journalist Melanie Phillips, who wrote an essay on the subject recently called "All Change."
Musical selections in this podcast are drawn from the Quintet for Clarinet and Strings, op. 31a, composed by Paul Ben-Haim and performed by the ARC Ensemble.
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0:00.0 | In 2010, voters in the United Kingdom brought the Conservative Party leader David Cameron into power, |
0:13.4 | bringing to an end 13 years of government by the Labour Party, then led by Tony Blair. |
0:19.6 | It was impossible to know it at the time, but the election |
0:22.5 | of David Cameron in 2010 would inaugurate a new era in British politics, one that would see |
0:28.3 | conservative administrations led not only by Cameron, but also by Theresa May, Orris Johnson, and |
0:34.8 | Rishi Sunak, governed the country for the next 14 years. |
0:39.1 | That era came to a close last week when British voters elected Kier Starmer of the Labor Party. |
0:45.4 | Welcome to the Tikva podcast. I'm your host, Jonathan Silver. Now, as it happens, |
0:49.8 | Kier Starrmer is something of a reformer in the Labor Party, which, before him, had been led by Jeremy Corbyn. |
0:56.4 | They have a different public temperament, different public persona, and what matters much to us, |
1:02.0 | they have a different attitude toward the Jewish people and the Jewish state. |
1:06.1 | Corbin normalized a degree of anti-Semitism within mainstream labor politics that was so odious that it |
1:13.2 | forced ideologically committed labor members who are Jewish to leave the party and to leave public life. |
1:20.1 | Several years ago, much was made in the press and in British political institutions of Corbyn and |
1:25.1 | the anti-Semitism of the Labor Party, and in selecting Starmour, |
1:29.1 | now Prime Minister Starmor, the party was making a conscious effort to put forward a different |
1:34.5 | face. But how different is he, in practice, in policy, in overall orientation toward Israel and |
1:40.9 | the Jewish people? That is one of the things that we'll all now learn, and to help us along the way is my guest |
1:47.1 | today, the journalist and author Melanie Phillips. Melanie Phillips.com. |
1:50.2 | Melanie's work can be found on her substack, melaniephillips.substack.com, and an essay that she |
1:55.5 | published there on July 5th, entitled All Change, is our point of departure for this discussion about the British |
2:01.9 | elections. If you enjoy this conversation, you can subscribe to the Tikva podcast on Apple Podcasts, |
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