Board of Deputies intervene in Brent anti-Semitism debate

Cllr Nerva during last night's Council debate on the Hate Crime and Anti-Semitism motions referred to a letter from the Board of Deputies of British Jews to Brent councillors. This is the letter.

Dear councillors,

 

This Jewish New Year, please help us make antisemitism a thing of the past

 

I am writing on behalf of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, the national representative body of the UK Jewish community, to ask you to pass tonight’s motion to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Definition of Antisemitism and its appended list of examples which give clarity about what does – and does not – constitute contemporary antisemitism.

 

As you may know, antisemitism is at its highest level since formal records began in the 1980s, with the Community Security Trust recording 1309 incidents in 2016, a 36% increase on the previous year. After the Government and the Official Opposition adopted the definition in December last year, we believe the adoption of the definition at every level increases the resilience of our society to hateful discourse about Jews, and helps educate people about the forms that antisemitism takes.

 

Our community is a diverse one, and on any topic there will be individuals with a range of views. However, on this issue there is a very strong consensus. While I understand that some individuals may have written to you, our organisation - with its 180 affiliate synagogues and Jewish charities, representing the range of Jewish observance and involvement – including all six synagogues in Brent – offers the most definitive view.   

 

Some people have been concerned that passing this motion will mean that nobody can ever criticise the State of Israel. In the UK, there are few stronger supporters of Israel and its people than the Board of Deputies of British Jews, but I can nonetheless assure you that this motion does no such thing. Indeed, the criticism of any government, including Israel’s, is a legitimate and necessary part of democratic discourse.

 

However, the IHRA definition gives a few examples of where criticism of Israel might, under certain circumstances and dependant on context, be antisemitic. This would include calls for attacks on Jews, Holocaust-related comments, talk of a Jewish conspiracy, or comments that single out Israel in a particular way with a standard not applied to other countries. We need to be clear: Making racist comments about Jews will not help Israelis or Palestinians to attain the peaceful or secure future that both communities so urgently need.

 

This Wednesday, Jews in Brent and around the World will start to celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. We hope that we can count on you to make Brent the 101^st local authority to pass the motion, and show the borough’s Jews that they have the full support of Brent Council in tackling antisemitism. Let us work together to make the coming year a year free of all forms of hate and prejudice.

 

Let me take this opportunity to wish you a Shana Tova u-Metuka, a Happy and Sweet Jewish New Year,

 

Phil

 

Philip Rosenberg

Director of Public Affairs

I am hoping to post a video of the debate later but here is a link to the Brent Council recording LINK

Progress as TUC takes on the issue of Climate Change

The TUC has unanimously passed the motion below on Climate Change. Although it does not contain everything Green Party members would want to see included it marks a step forward in trade union recognition of the issue. It is now even more important for the Green Party at national and local level to work closely with trade unions and local trades councils on practical policies to combat climate change and the promotion of a low carbon economy.

Congress notes the irrefutable evidence that dangerous climate change is driving unprecedented changes to our environment such as the devastating flooding witnessed in the UK in 2004.

Congress further notes the risk to meeting the challenge of climate change with the announcement of Donald Trump to withdraw the US from the Paris Climate Agreement.

Similarly, Brexit negotiations and incoherent UK government policy risk undermining measures to achieve the UK carbon reduction targets.

Congress welcomes the report by the Transnational Institute Reclaiming Public Service: how cities and citizens are turning back privatization, which details the global trend to remunicipalise public services, including energy, and supports efforts by unions internationally to raise issues such as public ownership and democratic control as part of solutions to climate change.

Congress notes that transport is responsible for a quarter of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions and believes that a reduction in carbon dioxide levels must be the basis of the UK’s future transport policy in addition to building public transport capacity and moving more freight from road to rail.

Congress believes that to effectively combat climate change and move towards a low carbon economy we cannot leave this to the markets and therefore need a strong role for the public sector in driving the measures needed to undertake this transition.

Congress notes that pension schemes invest billions of pounds into fossil fuel corporations. To this end, Congress calls on the TUC to:

i.                     work with the Labour Party and others that advocate for an end to the UK’s rigged energy system to bring it back into public ownership and democratic control

ii.                   . advocate for a mass programme of retrofit and insulation of Britain’s homes and public buildings

iii.                  . lobby to demand rights for workplace environmental reps iv. lobby for the establishment of a Just Transition strategy for those workers affected by the industrial changes necessary to develop a more environmentally sustainable future for all, and develop practical steps needed to achieve this as integral to industrial strategy v. consult with all affiliates to seek input into the development of a cross sector industrial strategy that works towards delivering internationally agreed carbon emission reduction targets

iv.                 . investigate the long-term risks for pension funds investing in fossil fuels, promote divestment, and alternative reinvestment in the sustainable economy.

Mover: Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union

Seconder: Communication Workers Union

Supporters: Fire Brigades Union; ASLEF; TSSA

All parties in Brent: We will not tolerate hate crime or any kind of attack based on ethnic origin

Brent Council tonight unanimously passed an all-party motion (from London Councils) in the names of Cllrs Butt, Warren, A, Choudhary, Maurice, Tatler, Kelcher, Shahzad, Carr, Mahmood, and Hoda-Ben:

We will not tolerate hate crime or any kind of attack against people because of their ethnic origin. We are proud to be a diverse city and we will stay that way. We will continue to work together for the security and prosperity of all Londoners.

The movers made heart-felt speeches often based on their own and their family's experience. Cllr Mashari struck a practical note when she said it was clear that in Brent the majority of the victims of hate crime were Eastern Europeans. She said that the Council and councillors had to reach out beyond their comfort zone to make contact with the Eastern European community and should ensure that it did not take as long to provide services for them as it had for the Somalian community.

Cllr Carr, Lib Dem, supported the motion but warned that at the saem time we should protect free speech and  'the right to offend.'

Cllr Butt said that he wanted to send a positive message to those who were worried about their status after Brexit: 'Everyone is welcome in Brent, we value your contribution and will stand side by side with you.'

A rare and welcome show of unity.

Could Brent Labour follow Newcastle's lead on ethical procurement?

Brent Council during the apartheid era took action over severing links with companies that benefited from South African contracts.  More recently they declined to take similar action regarding the Public Realm contract with Veolia which at the time was providing infrastructure support to illegal settlements in Palestine.

Now the government is seeking to curtail the powers of local councils to have an ethical pesnions and procurement policy.

Newcastle City Labour Party has passed the following motion unanimously and expect to get it through Full Council.

I hope that Brent Labour group will take a similar stand.

Here is the motion which could easily be adapted for Brent:

Response to Government’s attack on a Councils’ right to follow an ethical policy in relation to procurement and Pensions Fund investments

Council notes with alarm the recent statement from the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) confirming that new guidelines will be introduced early in the New Year which will curb councils’ powers to divest from or stop trading with organisations or countries they regard as unethical.

Council further notes that the new guidelines, which will amend Pensions and Procurement law, follow on from the government’s announcement made at the beginning of October 2015 that it was planning to introduce new rules to stop “politically motivated boycott and divestment campaigns” (Greg Clarke, Secretary of State for the Department of Communities and Local Government).

Council recognises that the focus of these new measures may be on procurement and investment policies and that they may have profound implications for Councils’ ethical investment policies more generally.

Newcastle City Council is proud of its’ commitment to human rights and to putting this into practice through such measures as an ethical approach to its relationship with business as outlined under  Newcastle’s Social Value Commitment.

Council believes that the proposed measures now being outlined by the DCLG will seriously undermine the Council’s ability to implement its commitment to ethical procurement and pensions investments.

Council also notes that the new guidelines represent a further, serious attack on local democracy and decision-making through a further restriction on councils’ powers. This is directly contrary to the government’s own stated commitment to the principle of localism, given a statutory basis by the Localism Act of 2011, which holds that local authorities are best able to do their job when they have genuine freedom to respond to what local people want, not what they are told to do by government.

Newcastle City Council therefore resolves to take all legal measures possible to oppose these new measures, including:

·      Writing to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government to express Council’s unequivocal opposition to the proposed changes as part of the consultation

·      Working with any other local authority, the NECA, the LGA or other appropriate forums as well other partner organisations (such as local trade unions and community groups) who share these concerns to raise awareness of the implications of the proposed measures and to campaign against their introduction

Newcastle City Council reaffirms its commitment to an ethical basis to its procurement and pensions investment policy.

Brent Council leader reiterates opposition to fracking

In a letter to Ian Saville and Pam Laurance, Joint Coordinators of Brent Friends of the Earth, Brent Council leader, Muhuimmad Butt, has reiterated his oppositon to fracking. He was responding to letters and postcards sent from residents.

Thank you for your letter of 15 March 2014 and the postcards that you enclosed. It’s heartening to know that so many Brent residents passionately oppose hydraulic fracturing as much as the Council does; as you say, “Fracking is a dirty word”.

I’m sure you’ve been as dismayed to read that the ConDem Government now intend to overhaul trespass legislation to make it easier for fracking firms to gain access without permission of landowners. We are currently exploring what new legislation regarding planning law gives us the opportunity to prevent contractors by law.

As you know, Brent has no intention whatsoever to grant contractors with licences to carry out shale gas extraction in our borough. I agree that a council motion would make a statement to communicate our opposition to all, inside and outside of Brent. Thank you for your draft wording, which will be considered by Executive Members.

In November, we decided to go beyond the standard motion. Hitting the headlines wasn’t just a stunt though – we are obligated to protect our residents from harm. When so many charities and organisations, including yourselves and Public Health England, were voicing loud concerns, the Council had no choice but to speak out. We will use what legal power we can to defend local residents, their homes and neighbourhoods against the dangers of fracking.