I wasn’t going to wade in on Kelechi Okafor. I don’t know what happened behind the scenes on Woman’s Hour & I wasn’t aware of her comments before today. But given how vociferously people are defending her, I beg you to listen to what she actually said https://soundcloud.com/the-jewish-chronicle/kelechi-okafor

I’m not going to defend Emma Barnett because I can’t - I don’t have enough knowledge of what was said & how it was said. I do know that she is also Jewish & as a Jewish person, listening to the diatribe in the link above made me feel lightheaded with distress.

That feeling when someone launches into a rant where they honestly think they’re saying an unsayable truth while spouting a litany of racialised hatred. That awful pulse quickening when you realise what’s happening & that you’re the target. I imagine that’s what Barnett felt.

Yes, there should absolutely have been Black women represented in today’s discussion. But I think it’s disingenuous not to address why what happened today happened. It’s also astronomically unhelpful to pit minority communities against each other like this.

It’s been about twenty minutes since I listened to that clip and I’m still shaking and feel sick. It’s very hard to control that reaction when you hear someone ranting like that about your community. It brings up the trauma from every other time someone’s turned on you like that.

If you want to defend her after listening to that, fine. Whatever. You do you. But at least listen to her words and imagine what it would be like to be on the receiving end of them first before you make this about something it isn’t.

Further very important context here https://www.thejc.com/comment/opinion/this-is-what-happens-when-you-challenge-antisemitism-1.450843

Ya know what? If you can’t be bothered to listen I’ll make it real easy for you. This is who you’re defending: