By, Jonathan Kalmus
1 min read
ByJonathan Kalmus, Jonathan Kalmus
Jews, Muslims and Christians joined together to condemn antisemitism at a rally attended by an estimated 2,500 people.
On a day of unity, even the political divide was bridged, with a message from Chancellor George Osborne read out by Labour MP Ivan Lewis.
Mr Osborne wrote: "Whatever one's views about the politics of Israel and Gaza there is absolutely no place in our country for antisemitic attacks."
The crowd gathered in Manchester's Cathedral Gardens on Sunday listened intently as Mr Lewis emphasised the theme of togetherness, saying that anti-Jewish hatred must be met with cross-party support from MPs.
Board of Deputies' vice president Jonathan Arkush told the crowd that the House of Commons vote recognising a Palestinian state saw "members of Parliament lined up to direct bigotry and bile solely at the world's only Jewish state".
"It was a was a depressing and shameful spectacle which only served to demonstrate the shocking ignorance of too many of our elected members of Parliament," he added. His remarks were greeted with cheers.
Speeches were also given by MPs Graham Evans and Jim Murphy, who said "creeping antisemitism" was evident during the Scottish independence referendum when he was baracked at one debate as "a Jew lover".
Manchester Representative Council's vice president Jonny Wineberg said the Crown Prosecution Service had been wrong not to take action against Respect MP George Galloway over his speech calling for Bradford to be an Israel-free zone.
Chaim Ferster, a 92-year-old Holocaust survivor, struggled to contain his emotion as he recounted how his life had been destroyed by racists. "I'm not here to scare you about the upsurge in antsemitism here or to say we are going down that same fate. But antisemitism has evolved, Zionism has become a dirty word to beat us with, and we need to reclaim it," he told the crowd.
Demonstrators from Liverpool, Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds, London and Wales attended the Say No to Antisemitism rally, which was organised by North West Friends of Israel (NWFI). Supporters from other faiths included local Kurds.
Kurdish community leader Lukman Karim said: "I came because we are in the same situation, Kurds and Jews, who must engage with each other to tell people terrorists are terrorists, and there is no difference between Hamas and ISIS."
Adi Wagon, from Manchester, came with his five children. He said: "It's a beautiful atmosphere, lots of smiles and people showing pride in being Jewish."
NWFI leader Raphi Bloom said over 1,200 people had watched the rally online.
