How the Tories' education shake-up risks alienating Jewish voters

Labour desperately needs to win over Jewish voters if Jeremy Corbyn is to make it to Downing Street. At the snap election, the party was damaged by underperformance in seats with large Jewish populations: Hendon (held by the Tories by a only 1,072 votes) and Finchley (Tory majority 1,657) are two examples. Labour’s summer of anti-Semitism has made winning over such voters even trickier. But while the Tories look well placed to keep hold of these seats, they appear to be doing their best to imitate Corbyn and alienate Jewish voters.

An increasingly bitter row between the government and orthodox Jewish communities across Britain is to blame for this. This confrontation has nothing to do with Israel, though, and everything to do with the education that pupils receive in both taxpayer-funded and private Jewish schools.