This is from the Guardian (today’s newsletter).
'Jewish people make up 0.5% of the UK population – and many at the moment feel vulnerable, targeted and alone, Rich tells me. Add to that their sense that the response to recent antisemitic hate incidents has been muted, and many Jewish people say it leaves them with the feeling that others simply do not care that Jews are being targeted.
'In particular, Rich highlighted antisemitism among those one would expect to be allies of minorities, people who would otherwise consider themselves progressive liberals, pointing out that too often legitimate criticism of Israel slips into hatred of Jews in the diaspora.
'“The 76-year-old Jewish man who was stabbed in Golders Green, he’s not a serving IDF soldier,” Rich says. “It’s ridiculous. There is an atmosphere of legitimised hatred – not criticism, not opposition, but hatred – towards Israel, not as a state and a government but as a nation and people, that has developed and taken root in liberal opinion and left-wing opinion. This atmosphere of hatred by definition is uncontrollable and generates more hatred and more attacks. And it slips very, very easily from hatred of Israel to hatred of Israelis to hatred of Jews.”
'Rich also identifies a particular issue with antisemitism among a small portion of British Muslim society, which must be delicately addressed. No doubt it helps that several leading British imams have condemned the Golders Green attack and expressed their solidarity with the Jewish community.
'“If you look at opinion polling … in Britain and in other countries, it consistently shows that levels of antisemitism are higher, significantly higher, among Muslim communities than they are in the population as a whole,” says Rich. “I have to stress, not most Muslims. And also not most of the antisemitism in society … but it’s far too high.
‘“People are very nervous about raising this issue,” says Rich, and he is keen to stress that “there are genuine sensitivities because anti-Muslim prejudice is a real problem as well in this country, and there are extremist voices on the far right who will always try to exploit these issues”. But he argues the perception of this problem is inflated by avoiding it: “One of the ways that enables the far right to do that is if there is a vacuum because no one else is talking about these issues in an evidenced and measured and constructive way.” Rich points to a rise in antisemitic sermons in some UK mosques after the 7 October massacre in Israel by Hamas, and the subsequent war in Gaza.’
(End of extract)
I know there has always been an undercurrent of antisemitism in Britain.
Since the Hamas attack, however, and the Israeli response, antisemitism seems to have become legitimised among a lot of the UK population.
Part of the evidence for this (apart from the string of attacks directly against Jewish people and their property, including ambulances) are the acquittals for attacks on Jewish businesses; acquittals for direct action in support of Palestine; acquittals for showing support to proscribed organisations.
No wonder a lot of young Jewish people are saying the UK is not a safe place to bring up their families.