Ed Miliband, the Jewish English Patriot
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- Published: Thursday, 07 June 2012 16:55
- Written by Jonathan Walker
His Jewish identity is something he has chosen to highlight. In his keynote speech to the Labour conference in September 2010 , days after being elected party leader, he described how his parents "fled the darkness that had engulfed the Jews across Europe, and in Britain they found the light of liberty".
Recently, he spoke again about being Jewish in a moving article about his family in the New Statesman , and in a speech entitled " Defending the Union in England ", delivered at the Royal Festival Hall on 7 June.
Of course, Jewish identity can be complicated, as Mr Miliband pointed out in his New Statesman article.
Judaism is a religion but he is an atheist. He plans to teach his children (his wife is not Jewish) about their heritage, but rather than dragging them to a synagogue, he said: "I will sit down and watch Woody Allen with them".
Perhaps this all makes Mr Miliband just the man to tackle a question which makes "what does it mean to...