Boris Johnson cancels London Jewish cultural festival

From @LabourList

The annual Jewish cultural festival – Simcha on the Square – has been cancelled because Boris Johnson has withdrawn most of its funding.

Simcha on the Square became the largest festival of Jewish culture in Europe. Its location on Trafalgar Square ensured it a high profile and unambiguous status as an “official” London festival. But the festival now joins a growing list of Johnson’s cancelled events which celebrate the contribution of different communities to London: the Rise anti-racist festival, Africa Day on the Square, the Russian Winter Festival and the Oxford Street lighting display for Chinese New Year.

This is in spite of an election promise that such events would be safe.

In previous years the Simcha festival was strongly supported by Ken Livingstone’s Mayor’s Office, working with Jewish Culture UK, and providing an annual grant of £50,000 together with free use of Trafalgar Square.

Ken Livingstone said:

“Simcha on the Square officially celebrated the Jewish contribution to London and gave all Londoners an opportunity to share in the richness of Jewish music, dance and culture. London’s economic success depends on its international and cultural openness. The cultural festivals we supported were a great symbol of this, not only improving community relations in London, but giving London a open image throughout the world. Our relatively small investments reaped dividends for London. Boris Johnson’s Tory administration has adopted a narrow-minded approach which will harmful to London’s international standing and its many communities.”