Concerns for the future of Gateshead Leisure Centre have sparked a “disturbing” rise in antisemitism, a local councillor believes.
The beloved centre has been earmarked for closure under controversial council budget cuts, though there are hopes that it can be saved by a local group bidding to take over the at-risk site. But Saltwell ward councillor Robert Waugh has spoken out to condemn claims “stirring up hatred against the Jewish people in our area”.
The Labour representative told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that he had been troubled by allegations that the leisure centre land was being sold to members of Gateshead’s prominent Jewish community. Coun Waugh said that multiple residents had repeated the accusation to him during campaigning for next week’s local elections and that the number of antisemitic views he was encountering had become “noticeably different”.
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He said: “Certainly on Facebook there have been antisemitic comments about the Jewish community buying the land and it all being a done deal. That was uncomfortable enough with people hiding behind an online profile.
“But when I have been door-knocking over the last week it has been one of the main issues that has come up. For a start, it is just not factual [that the Jewish community is buying the land]. People are collecting all Jewish people into one and associating them with the tropes of money and all that.
“It is all completely untrue stuff and it is stirring up hatred against the Jewish people in our area. In fact, the Jewish Community Council of Gateshead (JCCG) is helping us with the community asset transfer and is a part of making sure that the leisure centre stays open for the whole community.
“This is disturbing behaviour and I want it to be stamped out quickly before it takes hold.”
Coun Waugh is part of the Gateshead Active group which is hoping to arrange a community asset transfer of the leisure centre to avoid it being shut down, which also includes members from the JCCG. He added: “It seems to me that the level of antisemitism is noticeably different. At every local election you do get a bit of this – I know some people in the area hold these views and I always want to challenge that.
“But this year it feels like there are a lot more people going down that route. On Sunday I had five or six people say that to me, rather than the one a week that I used to get. It has added an extra level of concern for me.”
The Bensham area is home to sizeable community of Orthodox Jews and the huge array of concerns about the potential closure of the leisure centre have included the loss of unique facilities like single-sex swimming sessions. Jonathan Klajn, project director at the JCCG, said: “When news broke of the proposed closure of the Gateshead Leisure Centre, the full gamut of the local community recognised the potentially serious negative impact on the health and wellbeing of all its users.
“Gateshead Active is a local group that was formed to contribute towards efforts to avoid a closure at all costs. It includes a range of local stakeholders including Councillors, residents, school leaders, Jewish community representatives, and professionals who bring a wide range of skills to assist in giving the project the best chance of success.
“The group's focus is to effect a Community Asset Transfer. This will enable the centre to continue functioning - and hopefully flourish - for the benefit of the entire wider community in Gateshead.”
A decision was due to be made back in January on the future of Gateshead Leisure Centre and the rest of the borough’s council-run leisure facilities, with Birtley Pool also under threat of closure.
The local authority granted a temporary reprieve, keeping all of its sites open until the summer to allow for further public consultation and talks about the potential for community asset transfers. The matter is expected to come before the council’s cabinet again in June.
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