There is no such thing as a Jewish vote in the United Kingdom, with just over 400,000 Jews spread across 635 constituencies. If they were all to vote for the same party, which they are not likely to do, of course, they could only sway the results in four or five constituencies. As it is, with Jews voting Conservative, Liberal and Labor, and also canvassing for all the three major parties, there will be no Jewish impact on the results of the general elections this Thursday, as there has been no Jewish impact on election results in the past.
Nevertheless, in a critical election, and with very small margins in most constituencies, if the public opinion polls are to be believed, no candidate can afford to ignore even a single vote This is why all of them are anxious to cultivate the Jewish vote by being nice to Israel; or the Black vote by being determinedly against color discrimination; or the Catholic vote by being in favor of support of Catholic schools. All this is part of the election exercise.
In some 20 constituencies, Jews face a very difficult choice. Devoted Jewish Socialists in Woolwich, South London, for example, have a problem because the Labor candidate is Christopher Mayhew, a disciple of Ernest Bevin and an enemy of Israel. Jewish Socialists in Stret-ford, Manchester, face a problem of a different kind. The Conservative candidate there is Winston Churchill Jr., a life-long and devoted Anglo-Zionist but to support him they would have to vote Conservative.
On the other hand, Jewish Conservatives, or Jewish Liberals for that matter, in central New castle-on-Tyne, will have great difficulty in making up their minds whether to vote for Ted Short, deputy leader of the Labor Party and president of the Labor Friends of Israel, or for his Conservative or Liberal opponents. The same dilemma will face Jewish Conservatives in Stepney, East London, where the Labor candidate is Peter Shore, also a life-long Anglo-Zionist.
It could easily be argued that to support Israel, and to refuse to be blackmailed by the oil sheikhs, is good for Britain. But few Jews bother to explain their commitment to Israel these days. Let it be said, however, that no Jewish voter in the United Kingdom would vote for a Jew merely because he is a Jew. And this is liberating. (By S.J. Goldsmith)
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
