Antisemitism in the UK
Daniel Baum’s letter (JC, April 3), in asking us all to take flight from the UK for Israel, is to continue Hitler’s task of making the world “judenrein” or Jew free.
We are under the cosh right now, but must not, cannot, succumb to the rise of Jew hate, a term wisely used by Kemi Badenoch in her JC piece (My open letter to UK Jews: all of us battling together, we will defeat this hate, JC, April 3). Badenoch is spot on and, regardless of party political views, is to be thanked for her support.
So, no Daniel. We embrace our family members in Israel but we’re staying put in a mainly tolerant country, where incidentally our parliament hasn’t reintroduced the death penalty at all let alone for only a section of society.
Barry Hyman
Bushey Heath
And so it goes on after the Heaton Park synagogue attack, the Al Quds Day demonstration, pro-Palestinian hate marches and mobs, the Maccabi Tel Aviv Aston Villa saga, the “unbanning” of Palestine Action, the attacks on Gail’s bakeries, the surveillance of Jewish schools and other institutions, two-tier policing and so many more antisemitic and hate crime incidents, we now have the burning of the Hatzola ambulances as well as the shocking antisemitic art exhibition in Margate. So what do the authorities and the politicians do? Well, we know the answer, in reality absolutely nothing. Sadly and disappointingly, the police are reactive not pre-emptive in their actions
Yes, we rightly applaud the appointment of King Charles as a patron of the Community Security Trust but what next? The late Queen was the patron and Life President of Norwood and patron of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust and the Council of Christians and Jews, and Queen Camilla is the patron of the Anne Frank Trust but here we are.
The verbose talk from the prime minister, the home secretary and the health secretary, the Metropolitan Police and Mayor of London condemning the Hatzola incident and repeating “there is no place for antisemitism” is meaningless without a proper follow up and serious action. Talk is cheap and these are nothing more than platitudes. We know why Sir Keir Starmer sits on the fence and fails to take decisive action. This would never be the case with any other minority group. He and his colleagues should be ashamed of themselves.
There must now be introduced a regime of zero tolerance against antisemitism and antisemitic activity. The pro-Palestinian hate marches should be banned as a matter of urgency. The government has contributed to this atmosphere of antisemitism, an echo of 1930s Nazi Germany, through its limp, weak and lacklustre approach and response to the variety of antisemitic hate crimes. Starmer has done absolutely nothing to stem this tide. His recognition of a Palestinian state and the restriction of arms sales to Israel has shown his true colours.
Pirkei Avot (the Ethics of the Fathers) teaches us “if I am not for myself, who will be for me?” In other words, the necessity is to take the initiative for one’s own life and values. The Jewish community must stand up for itself, be resolute and put pressure on the government and the relevant authorities – in particular the police and the Crown Prosecution Service – to seriously address and combat this rampant antisemitic and hate-crime behaviour.
It is all too depressing and frustrating and there is now a strong feeling of helplessness, anxiety and vulnerability within the community with no end nor solution in sight.
Without doubt, we must heed the Ethics of the Fathers and take the initiative. It has to be action not just words!
As with the creation of the State of Israel, the solution lies in our own hands. It always has. Sadly, we are unable to rely on others who do not care enough about us
Jonathan Metliss
Action Against Discrimination
London
As a Jew living in Derbyshire, I was heartened to hear Councillor Alan Graves speak out so clearly and forcefully at Derbyshire county council.
He addressed the attack on Hatzola ambulances in Golders Green – life-saving vehicles that serve everyone, regardless of faith or background. True to the principle he often states of “putting communities first”, Councillor Graves declared that such an attack was cowardly, morally indefensible, and had no place in our streets, our country, or our future.
He rightly pointed out that when antisemitism turns violent, it threatens not only the Jewish community but the very principle of decency itself.
In a county where the Jewish population is small, it means a great deal to hear our local elected representatives stand up and name antisemitism for what it is, without hesitation or equivocation. Moments like this remind us that allies who speak plainly still exist – and that we are not alone even here in Derbyshire.
Thank you, Councillor Graves. And thank you to all those who refuse to stay silent.
Harry Sassoon
Derbyshire
It is reported that Jewish patients admitted to British hospitals are not requesting kosher meals, in case they are identified by pro-Hamas/Palestinian hospital staff.
Britain’s National Health Service, should this be true, is in the sewer.
The next development? Either Jews will not attend hospitals for treatment, or new hospitals with non-Muslim staff will need to be established.
The small, decreasing, Jewish population of Britain should now seriously consider its position.
Gerald A. Norden
Sandbach, Cheshire
War with Iran
In response to Jeffrey Lewis’ letter (JC March 27) it is apt to quote Israel’s president Isaac Herzog, not known for hawkishness, in a recent interview: “Every time there was an effort to move to peace, the first ones to undermine it by terror, havoc and bloodshed was Iran. They spend billions of dollars, have terror cells all over the world, directly and through their proxies. It’s about time the world stood up to them and said: ‘No more!’. How come that in Britain, where the prime minister himself said there were about 20 terror events linked to Iran last year alone… What is this? Are the Iranians allowed to do what they want? Iran is a rogue state, an empire of evil and an evil regime and it must be crushed.”
To a question of “Do you expect more from Israel’s European allies?” Herzog replied: “Absolutely! Europe must understand Israel is protecting Europe; once the Iranians launched a 4,000 km missiles at Diego Garcia, this means all of Europe, including England, is within their range. What are you naive about? Read their scriptures, their ideology, and understand you are next.”
The war with Iran did not start in March 2026 but has been ongoing for decades, with similarly long diplomacy having no effect on its inimical-to-the-West ideology, its strategy and end goals. This in itself gives the current war chapter legitimacy in law, with no need for proving “imminent threat”.
Eda Spinka
London NW4
Help for the needy
It was heartening to read the article about the United Synagogue’s food bank (A day in the life of a food bank volunteer, JC, April 3). The fact it is necessary is disappointing but such an improvement on some of the arrangements in the past. The weekly queue outside the Food for The Jewish Poor in all weathers for a small carton of food. The monthly grants paid by the Jewish Welfare Board (JWB) carefully assessed in order to avoid reducing state welfare benefits. But the most memorable was the matzah convoy. Each Pesach the United Synagogue left huge cartons of matzah which would be delivered by a number of JWB’s trustees in their big cars giving many of them the first opportunity in coming face to face with many of the organisation’s beneficiaries. The Chesed hub’s title is more than justified, compared with the past. Thankfully most of our community’s social care organisations are run by trustees who are very much part of the community.
Melvyn Carlowe OBE
Chief executive Jewish Welfare Board 1972-1989
Chief executive Jewish Care 1990-2001
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