6 British Jews and the Race Relations Acts
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Joseph Finlay
Abstract
This chapter uncovers the forgotten Jewish contribution to the Race Relations Acts of 1965, 1968 and 1976. It discusses the Jewish lawyers who helped draft the Act, the actions of Jewish bodies such as the Board of Deputies in lobbying for it, and the parliamentary discussions of Jews in the debates preceding its implementation. It shows that the protection of New Commonwealth immigrants from discrimination was not the only, or even the main, impetus for the 1965 Act; another key parliamentary motivation was the early 1960s upsurge in neo-fascist activity. Protection from incitement was the key concern of Jewish organisations in lobbying Parliament, and the eventual legalisation provided much stronger sanctions against it, in comparison to the conciliation mechanism provided to deal with complaints of discrimination. Whilst discrimination against Jews continued to exist, both MPs and Jewish bodies behaved as if it only impacted Black and Asian citizens. Ultimately, the Act had several consequences for Jews: they were brought under the legal umbrella of race relations, without ever having sought to be covered by it; they never enjoyed protection from discrimination or incitement on religious grounds, as religion was excluded from its remit; and the measures designed to protect them were placed in a separate part of the Act from those designed to protect Black and Asian Britons from discrimination. This separation, and the associated divide between antisemitism and racism, would continue to reverberate throughout subsequent decades.
Abstract
This chapter uncovers the forgotten Jewish contribution to the Race Relations Acts of 1965, 1968 and 1976. It discusses the Jewish lawyers who helped draft the Act, the actions of Jewish bodies such as the Board of Deputies in lobbying for it, and the parliamentary discussions of Jews in the debates preceding its implementation. It shows that the protection of New Commonwealth immigrants from discrimination was not the only, or even the main, impetus for the 1965 Act; another key parliamentary motivation was the early 1960s upsurge in neo-fascist activity. Protection from incitement was the key concern of Jewish organisations in lobbying Parliament, and the eventual legalisation provided much stronger sanctions against it, in comparison to the conciliation mechanism provided to deal with complaints of discrimination. Whilst discrimination against Jews continued to exist, both MPs and Jewish bodies behaved as if it only impacted Black and Asian citizens. Ultimately, the Act had several consequences for Jews: they were brought under the legal umbrella of race relations, without ever having sought to be covered by it; they never enjoyed protection from discrimination or incitement on religious grounds, as religion was excluded from its remit; and the measures designed to protect them were placed in a separate part of the Act from those designed to protect Black and Asian Britons from discrimination. This separation, and the associated divide between antisemitism and racism, would continue to reverberate throughout subsequent decades.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- Series editors’ foreword vii
- List of abbreviations viii
- Introduction – Anti- racism in Britain 1
- I Domestic, imperial and global anti-racist alliances and encounters 23
- 1 Countering racial discrimination in Britain, 1880s–1913 25
- 2 From racist humanitarianism to colonial human rights 44
- 3 George Orwell, pan-Africanism and reconciling antiimperialism with ‘Britishness’ 64
- 4 British anti-racism in Australia 79
- II Anti- racism and the making of post imperial Britain 101
- 5 Celebrating African culture in the north- east of England, 1930s–40s 103
- 6 British Jews and the Race Relations Acts 124
- 7 South Asian political Blackness in Britain 143
- 8 ‘Unfinished activisms’ 164
- III Anti-racism, memory and identity 185
- 9 Memory, multiculturalism and anti- racism in east London, 1990–2006 187
- 10 Tartan inclusivity or workers’ internationalism? The St Andrew’s Day Anti-Racism March and Rally in Scotland 207
- 11 ‘Martin Luther King fought for a colour-blind society’ 228
- Afterword 247
- Index 254
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- Series editors’ foreword vii
- List of abbreviations viii
- Introduction – Anti- racism in Britain 1
- I Domestic, imperial and global anti-racist alliances and encounters 23
- 1 Countering racial discrimination in Britain, 1880s–1913 25
- 2 From racist humanitarianism to colonial human rights 44
- 3 George Orwell, pan-Africanism and reconciling antiimperialism with ‘Britishness’ 64
- 4 British anti-racism in Australia 79
- II Anti- racism and the making of post imperial Britain 101
- 5 Celebrating African culture in the north- east of England, 1930s–40s 103
- 6 British Jews and the Race Relations Acts 124
- 7 South Asian political Blackness in Britain 143
- 8 ‘Unfinished activisms’ 164
- III Anti-racism, memory and identity 185
- 9 Memory, multiculturalism and anti- racism in east London, 1990–2006 187
- 10 Tartan inclusivity or workers’ internationalism? The St Andrew’s Day Anti-Racism March and Rally in Scotland 207
- 11 ‘Martin Luther King fought for a colour-blind society’ 228
- Afterword 247
- Index 254
