Zoom prayers and Jewish kids: UK Labour leader Keir Starmer tells all

• Published date: 29 December 2020
• Date: 29 December 2020
• Author: CNAAN LIPHSHIZ/JTA

But Starmer also opened up on a topic he hasn't shared much about: how he and his Jewish wife are raising his children to recognize their Jewish faith.

Starmer, who succeeded Jeremy Corbyn earlier this year, said Monday that he was "brought up Church of England, loosely, and my wife's family are Jewish, they came out from Poland."

Starmer, 58, and his wife, attorney Victoria Alexander, have two children, whom they are "bringing up to recognize the faith of part of their grandfather's family, and it's very important," he said. "Just carving out that tradition, that bit of faith on Friday is incredibly important, because we get together, and we do Zoom prayers now."

The family belong to London's Liberal Jewish Synagogue, which is situated in the St. John's Wood neighborhood and belongs to the Liberal movement, the more progressive of British Jewry's two liberal strains, which includes Reform. Starmer has hinted before that Alexander's family comes over for Friday night dinners at their London house.

Alexander's mother, who had converted to Judaism, died earlier this year.

"It's been a terrible year for my wife and her family," Starmer told Limmud.

Her father, who was born Jewish and has roots in Poland, lives on the same street as Starmer and his family, he said.

On the call, Starmer reiterated his criticism of how Jeremy Corbyn, a far-left politician who has called Hezbollah and Hamas his friends and supported a...