Naz Shah Goes To Synagogue

Naz Shah, MP of Bradford West (unseating the odious George Galloway to get the seat), became one of the earlier figures in Labour's anti-Semitism scandal after old Facebook posts emerged where she urged that Israel be relocated to the U.S. and complained that Zionism was a tool to "groom" Jews to dominant other countries. She then apologized for these comments, an apology which I discussed in this post. Though I couldn't rate it (because there were actually two apologies floating around), I did note that her remarks had a lot of promise and seemed to go beyond some of the normal platitudes that one sees too often in these sorts of things. In particular, I was impressed that Shah admitted to a gap in her knowledge that needed rectification. While one should read too much into words (much less a single statement), I felt like Ms. Shah seemed like the sort of person who was open to change.

Ms. Shah has since done a public forum at a synagogue in Leeds. And while of course everyone is entitled to their opinion, my own view continues to be quite favorable.

Ms Shah told an audience at a synagogue in Leeds she wanted to make a “real apology” rather than a “politician’s apology”.

She said: “I looked at myself and asked whether I had prejudice against Jewish people. But I realised I was ignorant and I want to learn about the Jewish faith and culture. I do not have hatred for Jewish people.

Appearing at Sinai Synagogue in Leeds on Sunday night, she insisted her views had changed since the 2014 post as a result of engaging with the local Jewish community – something she insisted set her apart from her predecessor George Galloway.

Attacking Mr Galloway she said: “He used Palestine as a political tool and he never engaged with people. When I engaged with the Synagogue and had conversations that is when I changed. Until we have those conversations we won’t achieve change,” she told the audience during her first public appearance at a Jewish event since the controversy erupted.

“It is my job in the Muslim Community to highlight the issues of anti-Semitism. Going to Auschwitz is a fantastic idea but it won’t fix the problem. We need to educate the community. It’s up to me to own the narrative. To have conversations with the Muslim community [about anti-semitism] and that’s my responsibility.”

Those are words with teeth in it. To me, they are not platitudes, but commitments. Commitments that she needs to be held to, obviously. But commitments that it does not strike me as implausible that she intends to uphold.  And while I bow to nobody in the seriousness with which I fight anti-Semitism, part of that fight means figuring out how to reform persons who have held anti-Semitic views, if they genuinely seek change. Just as one doesn't make peace with one's friends, one doesn't fix prejudice by only talking with those already pure of heart.

What keeps on coming to my mind is the case of Ulysses S. Grant, who as a general in the Civil War authored one of the worst episodes of official anti-Semitism in American history when he attempted to expel all Jews from a large swath of the southern United States (contending that they "as a class" were traffickers and profiteers). But while this event is worth remembering, it is equally worth remembering what Grant did afterwards. He was genuinely repentant for issuing the order, and demonstrated his contrition not just in word but in deed. His time as President saw a golden age for American Jewry, with Grant visiting a DC synagogue, speaking out against anti-Semitic violence in Europe, and appointing more Jews to public office than any other president to that time. And so it came to be that, when asked about Grant's expulsion order, Rabbi Isaac Mayor Wise simply remarked "the wise also fail."

Perhaps one day we will say the same about Ms. Shah.

The Wise Also Fail

I knew of then-General Ulysses S. Grant's "General Order No. 11", which expelled all Jews from a huge swath of America. The order proclaimed that "The Jews, as a class violating every regulation of trade established by the Treasury Department and also department orders, are hereby expelled from the department within twenty-four hours from the receipt of this order." It was one of the most prominent examples of officially condoned anti-Semitism in American history (though the order itself was reversed by President Lincoln 11 days later).

What I didn't know was the story of the rest of Grant's career vis-a-vis the Jews (via TNC). Grant, it seems, was sincerely and genuinely repentant over what he had done. He recognized that it was incompatible with his broader commitments to human equality. And he committed himself, particularly while as President, to protecting the equality of Jews and fostering their inclusion as full Americans. This included visiting newly opened synagogues in DC, speaking out against abuses of Jewish human rights in eastern Europe, and appointing more Jews to public office than any President up to that point. At the end of his life, Grant was exceptionally proud of the fact that he counted Jews and non-Jews alike amongst his friends and visitors.

This was all the more impressive because Grant was not simply responding to a change in social attitudes. In fact, he was actively resisting social tides, which were trying to aggressively declare America a "Christian nation" and viewed Jews with distrust and contempt. Grant's overt and repeated gestures towards Jewish inclusion helped foster in a "golden age" of Jewish life in America paralleling the high point of reconstruction. Unfortunately, like with reconstruction, this era faded when Grant left office, as other national leaders were not committed to keeping equality on the front-burner.

Grant's response to the depravity of General Order No. 11 wasn't "but I have Jewish friends!" By all accounts, Grant exhibited genuine remorse and genuinely worked to make things better. It was not cheap grace. It was a true impressive commitment by Grant to make up for an acknowledged wrong. And so it was after Grant died that one of the great Jewish leaders of the era, Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, remarked "that the wise also fail." They do, and when they do they do so on a more public stage than most. But the wise also repent, and set out to make things right. And the ability to do that, consistently, in public, over the course of a long and powerful political career, is the sign of a great American patriot.