If there were an easy answer to combating the disturbing rise of anti-Semitism, the world’s oldest hatred, we might have been expected to find it by now.
But that hasn’t stopped some from grabbing on to the idea of banning pro-Palestinian marches as the means of stemming the surge in hatred towards Jews in today’s Britain.
Sadly, I do not believe that is the answer. Yes, we should all have listened to the Jewish community when it warned us that it felt increasingly afraid of mobs marching through central London shouting “globalise the intifada” in the wake of the October 7 attacks. And yes, these demonstrations should have been monitored – and policed – more forcefully from the start. But the right to protest cannot be compromised, even after the horrific recent attacks on British Jews.
So what can be done? How do we change the situation for Britain’s Jewish community? Here are five suggestions.
1. Stamp out ignorance
There needs to be a better understanding of how few British Jews there are – about 300,000 in total, some 160,000 of whom live in London – and the discrimination they face.
This means that lots of people in the UK will never have met a Jewish person, making them more susceptible to believing all sorts of anti-Semitic rubbish. Yes, the events took place in Ireland, but the chilling silence that greeted Boy George when he recently asked the audience of Irish state broadcaster RTE’s Late Late Show whether they knew any Jewish people could just as well have happened here.
I myself didn’t know Jewish people while growing up in Suffolk and the first time I heard of the community was in the form of a trope, when someone said Margaret Thatcher had surrounded herself with Jews because they were clever.
But as my life moved on I began to meet an array of Jewish people and – surprise, surprise – quickly realised they were not a homogeneous group. Some were religious, some were not. Some were Leftist, some were Right-wing.
We need more of this understanding now. Our collective ignorance about the Jewish community must be stamped out.
2. Celebrate Britain’s Jewish community
Anti-Semitism thrives when we – as a society – allow Jews to become evil fantasy figures and not the people you work beside, or buy your doughnuts from.
We can and must do better than this. British Jews have always made, and continue to make, an enormous contribution to this country and our way of life. This has to be acknowledged and celebrated.
Meanwhile, the loathsome interrogation of their relationship to Israel has to stop. Some Jews support the state, and some support its current government. Some support neither, and many are appalled by Benjamin Netanyahu. Their views shouldn’t, in this context, be of any relevance. They are British, and this is their home.
3. Stop turning a blind eye
On that note, it is time to end the debate over whether Zionism is in itself a form of racism – something Zack Polanski’s Green Party and others on the Left are seemingly desperate to indulge.
“But, Israel” is not an excuse for hatred. And yet since October 7, and the war in Gaza, the so-called anti-racist Left has increasingly turned a blind eye to the anti-Semitism which has infected their ranks.
The situation reminds me of a famous Mitchell and Webb sketch, in which comedians David Mitchell and Robert Webb play a pair of Nazi officers hiding in a foxhole, waiting for the Red Army to attack. “Are we the baddies?” one asks, bemused, as it begins to dawn on them that they are not the heroes they believe themselves to be.
All those who have marched besides masked idiots advocating for Hamas and defending murderous terrorists ought to be asking themselves the same question. The answer is clear.
That is not, however, to say that anti-Semitism is only a problem on the Left. Kanye West and an array of Nazi loons on the Right have pushed such hateful messaging too. There is work to do on all fronts.
4. Call out prejudice
While wrangling with this issue, we must also address the fact that sections of Britain’s Muslim community are anti-Semitic. Some are even Holocaust deniers and eliminationists.
Mosques across Britain need to be calling out this hatred. But some, unfortunately, appear to be intent on actively spreading it.
This is not a new problem, of course. In 2013, Mehdi Hasan, a British-American journalist, wrote in the New Statesman that “anti-Semitism isn’t just tolerated in some sections of the British Muslim community; it’s routine and commonplace”.
As a parent, I recall noticing with horror how each Holocaust Memorial Day, none of the Muslim parents at my children’s state school seemed to send their own kids to school. Nothing was explicitly said, but the message sounded nonetheless.
It is high time we finally tackled these prejudices.
5. Ask the hard questions
None of us should be beyond reproach. The attacks on Britain’s Jewish community are attacks on Britain itself, and we must all now play a part if we are to eradicate the scourge of anti-Semitism.
So my final suggestion is this. Ask yourself some hard questions.
Do you have a Jewish friend? If not, why not? And if you do, would you ever consider telling them to keep quiet about their identity, to not look so visibly Jewish?
Or, are you the kind of person who would demand another disavow Israel before you allow them into your house? Perhaps even before you hide them away from those who wish them dead.
In short, can you really say you’re doing your bit? And if not, think back to that sketch: “Are we the baddies?” If you’re not part of the solution, I’m afraid you’re part of the problem.
Czech
French
German
Hebrew
Noruegan
Russian
Spanish
Swedish
Polish
Portuguese
If there were an easy answer to combating the disturbing rise of anti-Semitism, the world’s oldest hatred, we might have been expected to find it by now.
But that hasn’t stopped some from grabbing on to the idea of banning pro-Palestinian marches as the means of stemming the surge in hatred towards Jews in today’s Britain.
Sadly, I do not believe that is the answer. Yes, we should all have listened to the Jewish community when it warned us that it felt increasingly afraid of mobs marching through central London shouting “globalise the intifada” in the wake of the October 7 attacks. And yes, these demonstrations should have been monitored – and policed – more forcefully from the start. But the right to protest cannot be compromised, even after the horrific recent attacks on British Jews.
So what can be done? How do we change the situation for Britain’s Jewish community? Here are five suggestions.
1. Stamp out ignorance
There needs to be a better understanding of how few British Jews there are – about 300,000 in total, some 160,000 of whom live in London – and the discrimination they face.
This means that lots of people in the UK will never have met a Jewish person, making them more susceptible to believing all sorts of anti-Semitic rubbish. Yes, the events took place in Ireland, but the chilling silence that greeted Boy George when he recently asked the audience of Irish state broadcaster RTE’s Late Late Show whether they knew any Jewish people could just as well have happened here.
I myself didn’t know Jewish people while growing up in Suffolk and the first time I heard of the community was in the form of a trope, when someone said Margaret Thatcher had surrounded herself with Jews because they were clever.
But as my life moved on I began to meet an array of Jewish people and – surprise, surprise – quickly realised they were not a homogeneous group. Some were religious, some were not. Some were Leftist, some were Right-wing.
We need more of this understanding now. Our collective ignorance about the Jewish community must be stamped out.
2. Celebrate Britain’s Jewish community
Anti-Semitism thrives when we – as a society – allow Jews to become evil fantasy figures and not the people you work beside, or buy your doughnuts from.
We can and must do better than this. British Jews have always made, and continue to make, an enormous contribution to this country and our way of life. This has to be acknowledged and celebrated.
Meanwhile, the loathsome interrogation of their relationship to Israel has to stop. Some Jews support the state, and some support its current government. Some support neither, and many are appalled by Benjamin Netanyahu. Their views shouldn’t, in this context, be of any relevance. They are British, and this is their home.
3. Stop turning a blind eye
On that note, it is time to end the debate over whether Zionism is in itself a form of racism – something Zack Polanski’s Green Party and others on the Left are seemingly desperate to indulge.
“But, Israel” is not an excuse for hatred. And yet since October 7, and the war in Gaza, the so-called anti-racist Left has increasingly turned a blind eye to the anti-Semitism which has infected their ranks.
The situation reminds me of a famous Mitchell and Webb sketch, in which comedians David Mitchell and Robert Webb play a pair of Nazi officers hiding in a foxhole, waiting for the Red Army to attack. “Are we the baddies?” one asks, bemused, as it begins to dawn on them that they are not the heroes they believe themselves to be.
All those who have marched besides masked idiots advocating for Hamas and defending murderous terrorists ought to be asking themselves the same question. The answer is clear.
That is not, however, to say that anti-Semitism is only a problem on the Left. Kanye West and an array of Nazi loons on the Right have pushed such hateful messaging too. There is work to do on all fronts.
4. Call out prejudice
While wrangling with this issue, we must also address the fact that sections of Britain’s Muslim community are anti-Semitic. Some are even Holocaust deniers and eliminationists.
Mosques across Britain need to be calling out this hatred. But some, unfortunately, appear to be intent on actively spreading it.
This is not a new problem, of course. In 2013, Mehdi Hasan, a British-American journalist, wrote in the New Statesman that “anti-Semitism isn’t just tolerated in some sections of the British Muslim community; it’s routine and commonplace”.
As a parent, I recall noticing with horror how each Holocaust Memorial Day, none of the Muslim parents at my children’s state school seemed to send their own kids to school. Nothing was explicitly said, but the message sounded nonetheless.
It is high time we finally tackled these prejudices.
5. Ask the hard questions
None of us should be beyond reproach. The attacks on Britain’s Jewish community are attacks on Britain itself, and we must all now play a part if we are to eradicate the scourge of anti-Semitism.
So my final suggestion is this. Ask yourself some hard questions.
Do you have a Jewish friend? If not, why not? And if you do, would you ever consider telling them to keep quiet about their identity, to not look so visibly Jewish?
Or, are you the kind of person who would demand another disavow Israel before you allow them into your house? Perhaps even before you hide them away from those who wish them dead.
In short, can you really say you’re doing your bit? And if not, think back to that sketch: “Are we the baddies?” If you’re not part of the solution, I’m afraid you’re part of the problem.