Opinion
My fellow Muslims must stand up to antisemitism
Even at a candle-lighting vigil commemorating those murdered in Sydney, British Jews faced abuse. The scale and intensity of what I saw shocked me
December 15, 2025 16:45
2 min read
Even at a candle-lighting vigil commemorating those murdered in Sydney, British Jews faced abuse. The scale and intensity of what I saw shocked me
December 15, 2025 16:45Having heard the devastating news of Jews murdered while celebrating Chanukah on Bondi Beach, I stood with members of the Jewish community at a Chanukah candle-lighting vigil outside the Australian Embassy to commemorate the lives lost.
As I stood there, I experienced a range of emotions. I felt the anger, the fear, and the deep loneliness that many in the Jewish community carry. Yet I was also reminded of something I have always known: at moments of profound grief, Britain’s Jews continue to open their arms to others. I was honoured when I was invited to say a few words and welcomed with warmth to share in their mourning.
Alongside the grief, I felt an overwhelming sense of pride – a deep, moving Jewish pride that was palpable among the hundred or so people gathered. Again and again, the message was clear: the more they are attacked, the more determined they are not to hide, and the more resolute they are in celebrating their Jewish identity. It was a life-affirming moment. What I witnessed was a modern Maccabean spirit – a refusal to be cowed, a refusal to disappear.
Yet I also felt anger. Anger that individuals claiming to be Muslims once again pledged allegiance to Islamic State and murdered Jews in the name of nihilistic hatred – invoking my faith to justify barbarism. At the same time, I reflected on the Islam I know: one rooted in doing good, embodied by the actions of Ahmad Al Ahmad, whose courage saved countless lives.
The vigil powerfully demonstrated the resilience, survival, resistance and courage woven through Jewish history and heritage. More disturbingly, it also exposed the intensity, consistency and brazenness of the antisemitism that Jews endure daily.
During the event, passers-by shouted “Free Palestine” – a targeted antisemitic act, directed at a small group of Jews who had gathered to mourn and affirm their identity. That was not the only incident. As the vigil ended, I witnessed two police officers as well as participants from the candle-lighting chasing a group of five men on bicycles. Antisemitic and anti-Israel slogans had reportedly been shouted by those cycling past.
So, on the eve of a mass killing of Jews in Australia – murdered for celebrating the Festival of Lights – British Jews gathered to defend their identity and declare that they would not live in fear. And even in their grief, they were subjected to antisemitic abuse simply for being Jewish.
As a Muslim, the scale and intensity of what I saw shocked me. I heard it with my own ears and saw it with my own eyes. British Jews are forced to live with constant securitisation, fear, anger and ongoing trauma. No one should live like this – least of all a community that lost more than half its population in the Holocaust just 80 years ago.
To my fellow Muslims, I say this: some of you privately express support for Britain’s Jews while remaining publicly silent, fearful of alienating a small but loud extremist fringe within our communities. We see you. We know what you stand for – or refuse to stand for.
If you cannot show public leadership and allyship with Britain’s Jews now, then you stand for nothing. You have no place in government or positions of influence. You are either in the fight against antisemitism and hate, or you are not. After Manchester and Bondi Beach, there is no longer a fence to sit on.
Fiyaz Mughal is the Founder of Faith Matters, Tell MAMA and Muslims Against Antisemitism
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