Yiddish flyers call London rabbi ‘a threat’ for criticizing Labour anti-Semitism
Avraham Pinter labeled a ‘rodef’ after speaking out against UK opposition party for not addressing Jew-hatred in its ranks
Cnaan Liphshiz is The Times of Israel's Jewish World reporter
LONDON (JTA) – An ultra-Orthodox rabbi from London was labeled “a threat” within his community for speaking out about the anti-Semitism problem of Britain’s Labour Party.
Avraham Pinter of Stamford Hill in northern London was called “rodef” in Yiddish-language flyers that were passed around last week in the heavily ultra-Orthodox populated area, Metro reported. The Hebrew word means “persecutor” and often is translated to mean a threat to society.
Some interpret it to mean the person in question may be harmed in self-defense, or even killed, though this interpretation is disputed.
The flyers followed several occasions in which Pinter criticized Labour for failing to address the proliferation of anti-Semitic incidents in its ranks following the 2015 election of its leader Jeremy Corbyn, a hard-left politician who has called Hamas and Hezbollah his friends. Corbyn’s Labour is seeking to unseat the Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson in Thursday’s general elections.
Shraga Stern, a pro-Corbyn ultra-Orthodox activist, called Pinter a “kapo” earlier this year over Pinter’s criticism.
Shortly before the flyers appeared, Pinter objected to remarks made by Diane Abbott, a close ally of Corbyn, who suggested that the Jewish community in Stamford Hill did not share the same concerns about anti-Semitism as mainstream Jewish communal organizations.
Pinter said Abbott was “out of touch with reality” over those remarks.
