Plans for Jewish eruv spark influx of antisemitism in small English village

Plans to build an eruv in the small northern English village of Hale have resulted in the local municipality dealing with an influx of antisemitism, according to British media reports on Saturday. 

An eruv is a halachic ritual wire that enables observant Jews the ability to maintain some otherwise forbidden activities on Shabbat (the Jewish day of rest) - such as pushing pushchairs, wheelchairs or carrying a walking aid. 

The plans would see 52 poles, only on public property, connected by nylon wire resembling a fishing line, according to the Daily Mail.

Major Planning Projects Manager at Trafford Council Sarah Lowes defended the council’s decision to proceed with the plans, according to Altrincham Today, insisting the eruv would cause no harm to "heritage assets" or "visual amenity," citing that the "slim" poles were only 8.9cm in diameter, significantly slimmer than telegraph poles.

“The Officer Report concludes that there are tangible and direct benefits of the resultant eruv that this planning application would facilitate to the Jewish community and to those who hold another protected characteristic, such as age or disability,” she said. "It is considered that this would outweigh any impact to those with other faiths or beliefs. It is considered that the overall impact of the proposals on equality would be positive."

“The physical infrastructure required to form the rruv are non-descript and are not marked or denoted in any way that would identify them as relating to a specific religion or group,” the architects behind the Shabbat Inclusion Project submitted in a report.

“Whilst it is recognized the eruv would be located where there are mixed communities with many people of different religions and those who do not identify with any religion, the formation of the eruv would not stop members of other religious groups or of no religion continuing to live within the area or to practice their own faith or none.”

“Similarly, the formation of the eruv would not prevent the integration of various ethnic groups into the area as it currently occurs. The formation of the eruv is considered to advance social cohesion and integration as it would enable certain members of the observant Jewish community to actively use the area on the Sabbath who had previously been unable to do so.

“Having regard to the public sector equality duty, a number of benefits and disbenefits have been identified, and the overall equality implications of the proposals would be positive.”

Complaints over the eruv

While many eruvs are designed to be hardly noticeable, often mistaken for telephone polls, over 1000 complaints over the plan the Labour-run Trafford council, according to The Mail, many of the complaints were dismissed by the council as “racist.”

Owain Sutton, Green Party councilor for Hale, told The Mail, “Many people have asked genuine questions about the eruv, but sadly we have also seen antisemitism come to the fore. So much so, it was necessary for the planning department to remove representations from the website.”

Despite the influx of antisemitism, Sutton stressed, “We are proud of the rich diversity across Hale, and the small minority who discriminate are far outnumbered by those who always welcome and appreciate people from all backgrounds.”

In addition to a large number of complaints, households in the area reportedly received leaflets complaining of a “permanent religious boundary” “for a tiny minority” - with some objectors claiming that 8,000 homes would be affected by the “religious enclave” in an unspecified way.

Property developer Mark Guterman, who claimed Jews didn’t want the construction of an eruv, claimed,  “With the heightened tensions of the Middle East and antisemitism on the rise, a small group of vigilantes are fronting for Hale Synagogue. This has made life much more uncomfortable for Jews that live in the area, and it is destroying years of inter-faith work for what purpose?”

“We have been advised that seven or eight members of the Hale community would use the eruv,” Guterman claimed. “We would not be opposed if there was a demand for the eruv, for say a couple of hundred people, but there is no need for it at the moment.”

Rabbi Yisroel Binstock from Hale Synagogue defended the eruv’s construction in a meeting, asserting, “Without an eruv any member of the Jewish community who are not able to walk unaided and rely on the assistance of a wheelchair, walking stick or buggy face a decision on whether they choose to compromise on sacred Shabbat observance or remain isolated from the rest of the Jewish community at the most important time of the week.

“With an eruv, they are able to participate in religious and social life. Hale has been a beautiful place for my wife and I to raise our family, and I understand why people might be concerned that an eruv could negatively affect this. I'm here to reassure you that we appreciate the beauty of the neighborhood, and we are not looking to change it.”