Manifesto gaps leave Tories on the back foot
THE CONSERVATIVE Party was forced to reiterate its commitment to tackling antisemitism and its support for Israel after both issues were left out of its election manifesto.
The 88-page document unveiled by Theresa May last Thursday did not refer to the position a Tory government would take on the Middle East, or outline policies on challenging Jew-hatred.
While the manifesto concentrated largely on Brexit and domestic social reforms, it was in sharp contrast with the Labour and Liberal Democrat election documents on Jewish issues.
A Tory statement issued 12 hours after the manifesto launch attacked Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, and said the Tory position had “always been clear — the Conservative Party will take a zero tolerance approach to antisemitism”.
It said the party had “taken firm action to stop counter-productive and damaging municipal boycotts against Israel”, adding: “As part of Theresa May’s plan for a stronger Britain, the manifesto sets out a number of policies for our Jewish communities.
“For example, we will establish a Commission for Countering Extremism to root out extremism and antisemitism in society, and push forward with our plan for tackling hate crime committed on the basis of religion.”
Mrs May had outlined plans to make CCTV recording in slaughterhouses mandatory, a policy which would have an impact on the practise of shechita.
Meanwhile new rules proposed in the manifesto could make it difficult to set up strictly Orthodox free schools.
While the Tories promised to give new faith schools more control over admissions, schools will still have to “prove that parents of other faiths and none would be prepared to send their children to that school”.