#limmud panel on theology, post -Shoa

We need to talk about one of the most difficult things, God.  Christian thought needs a radical new theology, 70 years after the holocaust.
One thing i have found quite shocking is the out moded idea that suffering and illness happen because they sinned and had it brought upon them.  We call this victim -blaming.
In Jewish thought, Emmanual Levinas is a useful philosopher who is shaped by the Nazi horror He lived 1906-1995
He said that the justification of suffering is at the heart of all immortality.
Dr Tamra Wright also brought a feminist response to the holocaust, Melissa Raphael - The Female Face of God in Auschwitz: A Feminist Theology of the Holocaust.
Someone quoted Whitney Houston "what's God got to do with it?" and doesn't see (the late Reform Judaism Chief Rabbi Hugo Gryn) "where was God?" are we asking the wrong question?
Could any of you envisage having this conversation in Poland? The conversations that follow are very depressing. In arts, should we remain silent about it or speak about it?
See also,
Zoe Waxman Writing the Holocaust
Olivia who works for Holocaust Memorial Day Trust says a significant proportion of events are based on rituals such as prayer.  We have seen genocides since them which add in to the discussion.

What I will say at tonight's protest

Many voters in West Hendon did not vote for this government or this council. activists such as myself have been at the front line of Housing Struggles whether West Hendon in Hendon, Sweets Way in Chipping Barnet, or the Whitefields estate in Golders Green. The Government is taking steps to make more laws against public disorder, The Daily Mail screams that they want to scrap the Human Rights Act which they claim is aimed at Abu Hamza and benefit scroungers but we've been trying to meet these benefit scroungers but the millionaires are nowhere to be seen. Both Matthew Offord and the UKIP chap refused to come to West Hendon residents association for a hustings. And yet the conservatives have the chutzpa to claim they share British values of democracy. What is democracy when they are blind to the needs of the most vulnerable in our society? A Green Mayor of London --- would tackle air pollution head on, not try and hide the scientific evidence. A Green London Assembly member for Barnet & Camden would stop social cleansing - Kosovo style or Westminster style A Green assembly member from the proportional representation top up list would would continue to fight for every square inch of green spaces Dan ----- has done a grand job of getting an affordable deal including parking and so on. However, my mate --- is an accidental landlord in ------ Close and he does not know what to do because he is being told he has to take his private tenant to court in order for her to be re-housed. Where will she go? A Green Mayor of London would replace intermediate products such as "shared ownership" and "shared equity" that don't stay permanently affordable with co-operative home ownership and rental models. Our West Hendon is not a political organisation it is a community organisation. That's why I told Janette if we send a message out saying Vote Labour that would be a betrayal of the trust we have built up over the last year. But I campaigned on cutting VAT for refurbishment, that could cut your heating bills to less than a hundred pounds a year, and boost the economy. What has Labour and local politicians ever done for us? Did they sign the petition? NO! The Green Party signed it but, then Labour started their own petition against the rent hike. The email Paulette and Lubna sent out raised the question. If everyone is going to lose their affordable homes what is the point of this protest? At MIPIM UK alternative conference someone asked, What does victory look like? Well the Mayor and the Council have tried to divide and rule the community. We are here to show who is in charge. This land is our land. This is our town hall. It does not matter if Matthew Offord says wants to help lease holders over tenants, everyone has a human right to housing. And why would he say that? No one in this campaign feels like they are taking on the council on their own. Tenants have stuck together with lease holders through the inquiry. If we can just hand in the petition to the Council at 7 p.m. tonight, in a dignified manner, we can make them listen, and we can show what a strong position we are in. This is the first time that has happened that we take the fight to the Council and make them listen.

Imagine

Barnet Green Party, with over 300 members, can be trusted to represent you, based on ten core principles that define Green politics.

Here is the Green vision in terms readers "not interested in politics" can understand.

May 2nd, 2020, you are woken by your children walking to school, with the sun's rays lighting up your spacious home, reflected off solar panels.  Back in the "oil age" it was just garages out there but your Residents Association released it for 50 council homes, under the community right to build. Because TTIP was stopped back in 2015, you are able to take your coffee with fresh organic milk from Edgware, as you catch up with an elderly neighbour about the democracy you still enjoy.

You kiss your spouse goodbye as you both head to work, which is a ten-minute bike-ride through the regenerated town centre.  As you buy your daily "Hendon Times" the shop-keeper tells you about her railway tour through Europe's green and pleasant land - yesterday was a bank holiday.  You dock your bike in the cycle hire stand outside work as your eye pad logs in to the public wi-fi for a video conference.  Your colleague, who had another baby, feels happy with the community NHS and is enjoying free child care. After the 2014 Gagging Law was repealed, your colleagues were able to campaign with North London Citizens for a £10 Living Wage.  Poppy, the Council's leader, is on the line, listening to the concerns of local business about parking (some things never change).

At 28 and very much the new kid on the block, I am trail-blazing with a positive message and clean campaign. My priority is putting the community first, better transport, stronger society, fairer economy, for the common good.

Henry Wimborne

Henry died this year.  He used to attend Barnet Green Party meetings with support from his family who thought that the interaction was good excercise for his brain during dementia.  His last meeting began with introductions and welcomes and was the meeting of Francesco's election as Barnet Greens' first Youth Officer.  Henry was a member of the Young Communist League in Hampstead.  He was told never to apply for a job with the British Government again.  He attended Oxford.  He then worked as headmaster of a school in Ghana.  And then, of course, inspired by the Green Vision of "nationalise everything" as he put it, he joined us.

Here is a quote from Noel's Blog on Henry

"I am honoured to speak of Noel Lynch’s suitability to take a seat in the London assembly.

I have known Noel as a friend for some twenty years and since I joined the party some three years ago, in his capacity as a leading member of the East Finchley Group. Should he be successful in obtaining election to the Assembly it will be to the benefit of all. He is able, courteous and trustworthy, dedicated to perform that which he promises.
Henry Wimborne M.A. Cantab Llb Hons Lond. Dip. Ed Oxon.
(A keen leafleter, at 94 Henry is the Green Party’s most senior activist)"

Sam Coates joins Labour and Con-Dems in debate - "Coalition Government Has Failed"

London's debating society New Turn www.newturn.org.uk  whom I recommend you check out their programme, hosted a debate between the youth wings something Benali has been leading on for some time and seized the day with this one.  Also check out New Turn's facebook page with photos here.

I was disappointed not to see more of you London Young Greens at the debate but there was nevertheless a strong turnout of young up-and-coming people I can no longer keep tabs on.  Sadly it clashed with the final of the Great British Bake-off which is on iPlayer fyi.

The debate was live and un-amplified a 100-seater lecture theatre with New Turn live-tweeting but unfortunately Wifi was only for those with a KCL login.  It was an all-male panel due to the fact that the female co-chair Ash is busy in Norwich and the female chair of Liberal Youth (joint press release on fee hike) on the billing is down with tonsillitis. :-(

The Chair of the debate the president of KCL Politics society started off by pointing out it was a joint event with New Turn, Politics Society, Labour society, and Conservative society.

The first thing that struck me about the proposition's comments on what Labour would do is the focus on care for the elderly.  Spending thousands of pounds a day on bed-blocking makes no sense when the NHS budget and thousands of nurses are being cut.  Instead Gordon Brown would have merged social care and spend hundreds a day on residential care.

Our Green Friend spoke emotively about the equality impact of the cuts and how they are economically illiterate. His fourth point is that worse than when Thatcher sent a lost generation to the JobCentre, this Government is sweeping the benefits away for this lost generation, forcing us to accept precarious jobs.  
As you see from the twitter, Sam Coates, current 2013 co-chair of the Young Greens and Oxfordshire Councillor said, "We haven't heard much about global climate change for a while."
"We now have less than 5 years to reduce global gas emissions"
(The opposition from Conservative Future claimed that they have reduced the rich-poor gap in 6th-forms.)
"The coalition has succeeded in making the rich richer #NTCoalition"
"Thatcher recognised that when you put people out of work you need to compensate with macroeconomic policy. This hasn't happened #NTCoalition"
"We're making the country meaner as a result of this coalition #NTCoalition"
"We blame the unemployed, immigrants, etc when really its the policies of the government that have made us this way #NTCoalition"
Sam also mentioned the #bedroomtax.
Throughout Oliver made faces and muttered, and was forced to apologise "for distracting from the proposition's factually incorrect speech."
He faced LOLz from the left of the panel when he said "I am a conservative, I wish we had more opportunity to project our ... <ahem> values and power overseas but can't do that with deficit"

After the guest speakers (see  The hashtag for tonight's event #NTCoalition ) there were contributions from the audience.  The first came from the chair of Kings College London Labour society.  There was also a question about something Sam Coates @samcoatescymru raised earlier.  It was quite clever and climaxed in "That's why I joined the Green Party".  It was evident that she was struggling with these issues as a KCL student so I'm glad I didn't add my 2-cents with my great big Vote Green t-shirt.  She spoke about the difference between exchange value and use value in a way I understood.  The question was what would the Green Party do in government?  As a member of the proposition, Richard had a chance to reply as well.

There was a vote at the end, which did not include some Conservatives who walked out after the questions to attend Parliament.

The parties then stood in different corners of the room for a catchup while Sam snuk out.  I had a chat with @RichardAngell (who now heads up LGBT Labour) about Brighton which he'd raised earlier.  I really think that there should be localism and unfortunately we're seeing cuts from Westminster.  I am proud that Brighton & Hove Greens will be holding a referendum on raising council tax from the rich, and if he really believes in freezing council tax he should join in coalition with the Tories.  (Represented rather well in this debate by the cold-hearted @OliverCooper CF and @JoshDixonTweets from the Liberal Democrats)

I quite enjoyed the night...
(especially watching an all-male panel discuss the impact of the coalition's policies on women's lives)
The debate got me thinking about the Living Wage.  I will write something about this and "taking the poorest out of tax" next week.