‘Openly Gay’ Brexit Judge Smeared by British Press
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
By Dan Friedman November 4, 2016
The famously combustible British tabloids were incensed by a decision by the U.K. High Court of Justice on November 3, that a simple majority in a referendum was not enough to change the de facto British constitution and leave the European Union without ratification by Parliament.
Though the court, and most legal scholars, view the decision as straightforward, if abstruse, the Daily Mail called the three judges in charge of the decision — “Enemies of the People.”
It went on to launch personal attacks on the individual judges, deciding that Sir Terence Etherton, Master of the Rolls, should be vilified for being ‘openly gay.’
The Daily Mail seems appalled that an “openly gay” judge was allowed to make such an important decision… pic.twitter.com/ja8yREhpxq
— The Media Blog (@TheMediaTweets) November 3, 2016
Unlike the public anti-Semitism and dog whistles in this U.S. election cycle, the main attacks on Etherton — the U.K.’s first openly gay senior judge and, as Master of the Rolls, head of the civil judiciary in England and Wales — have not featured the fact that he is Jewish and married his partner, Andrew Stone in a shul, “in a traditional Jewish wedding ceremony at West London Synagogue.”
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
