Michael Wegier: British Jews aren’t living in fear, but they’re certainly anxious

Welcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring one key issue currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World. This week, founding editor David Horovitz speaks with CEO of the British Board of Deputies Michael Wegier.

Wegier has been the CEO of the Board, the umbrella organization representing Anglo-Jewry, for the past five years — an increasingly fraught period, especially since October 7, 2023. Anti-Israel demonstrators routinely march through central London, Palestine Action activists have attacked Israeli targets, a cultural boycott of Israel has picked up steam…

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We discuss how things have changed for Britain’s Jews, especially amid a stream of antisemitic attacks, including deadly terrorism at a Manchester synagogue last Yom Kippur and the stabbing of two Jewish men in northwest London’s Golders Green neighborhood last month.

Wegier talks about who is behind the violence, how the police are facing up to it, and the role of Keir Starmer’s Labour government. We also look more widely at British politics from a Jewish context, with this month’s local elections marked by the dramatic rise of the hard-right UK Reform party, and unprecedented gains by a Green Party engulfed in antisemitism scandals, under a Jewish leader who made vicious criticism of Israel a centerpiece of the campaign.

Finally, we look at the relationship between Anglo-Jewry and Israel, and the degree to which what Wegier describes as the “anxiety” in the community about day-to-day life is prompting thoughts of potential emigration to Israel.

So this week, we ask Michael Wegier, what matters now?

What Matters Now podcasts are available for download on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Yitzchak Ledee. 

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