Dale Farm Travellers get Jewish backing

Rabbi compares ‘vilification’ of Travellers to the discrimination Jews faced in the first half of the 20th century Members of the Jewish community were due to visit Dale Farm Travellers’ camp on Sunday to offer their support to 400 people facing eviction from the green belt site in Essex. On Friday a UN committee called on the government to suspend the “immature and unwise” eviction, saying it would “disproportionately affect the lives of the Gypsy and Traveller families, particularly women, children and older people”. The camp has also received support from Franciscan monks, who last week blessed the site, as well as Anglican and Catholic bishops. Rabbi Janet Burden said: “People may not be aware that the Travellers, along with the Gypsies and a limited number of other groups with similar lifestyle patterns, are officially recognised as ethnic minorities, just like our own Jewish community. As such, they deserve protection under European human rights law.” Burden compared the “vilification” of Travellers to the discrimination Jews faced in the first half of the 20th century. “The language used clearly echoes the rhetoric of antisemitism,” she said. “If you don’t believe this, have a look at the website jewify.org for examples of newspaper articles which substitute the word Jew for Gypsy or Traveller. The results are quite chilling. I believe that the obligation to protect this ethnic minority’s way of life is a human rights issue that, in this particular and unusual case, may need to trump the planning law designed to protect the green belt.” Thomas Hammarberg, the Council of Europe’s commissioner for human rights, warned last week that there was a great risk of human rights violations if the eviction went ahead. “If they go ahead with the eviction that would be very immature and unwise,” Hammarberg said. “The only way to do this is for the government or the authority in Basildon to appoint people who have trust on both sides to find an agreed solution.” Tony Ball, leader of Basildon council, has repeatedly defended the eviction saying the proposals have been tested through the courts. “Everyone is entitled to their views,” he said last week. “I’m clear that the overwhelming majority of residents of Basildon and in the country support what Basildon council are doing. Local authorities are expected to uphold the law.” Camp residents said representatives from the UN would be visiting the site on 14 September. Jenny Clapham said the growing support for the campaign had given people a boost, but residents were aware they faced an uphill battle to remain on the site. “There is a very serious mood in the camp about the challenges we face if we are going to win this and overturn the eviction decision,” she said. Dale Farm Roma, Gypsies and Travellers Judaism Matthew Taylor guardian.co.uk

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