About 35 years ago I came up with a line which encouraged me to think I might be able to hack it as a writer. The line was: “I am a Jew by food; I worship at my mother’s fridge.” It wasn’t exactly Shakespeare, but it was tight and funny and most of all, it was true. As an atheist with no time for ritual or observance, who nevertheless was committed to his cultural Jewish identity, it did the job. Or at least it did the job until hate sprung eternal, for there is nothing better calculated to make you feel Jewish than overt antisemitism.
It came at me courtesy of a section of Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour party. Of course, it was countered with claims that antisemitism allegations were merely a smear by wealthy Jews to stop a leftwing leader gaining power, itself an antisemitic conspiracy theory. Which should be funny, but isn’t. And now we have the horrors of events in Israel and Gaza, inflicted upon civilians on both sides, bringing more unmitigated hate including against the Jewish community.
