The Forde report offers a chance to the Labour party to move beyond factionalism over antisemitism if its advice is heeded (Antisemitism issue used as ‘factional weapon’ in Labour, report finds, 19 July). As professors of education within Jewish Voice for Labour, we welcome the encouragement in the Forde report for a shift towards participatory education about racism and a return to civility within the Labour party and beyond over contentious matters.
The report criticised the party’s antisemitism training for using didactic, non-participatory methods that are not “in accordance with best practice”. Such training sessions failed to provide “a space in which difficult issues, such as attitudes towards Israel, can be safely explored, in a nuanced way”. It called for education that encouraged “deep reflection” and expressed disappointment at the party’s “refusal to engage at all with Jewish Voice for Labour’s proposals for antisemitism education”.
