The past week has forced many across our country to confront a deeply troubling reality: anti-Jewish hatred is not an abstract concern, but a present and growing threat here in Britain. Yet there remains a striking silence from parts of our society that have long prided themselves on standing against racism in all its forms.
In the space of just days, three arson attacks have targeted the Jewish community, including petrol bomb attacks on synagogues in Finchley and Kenton. It is only by sheer good fortune that these buildings did not suffer the same devastating fate as the Hatzola ambulances set alight in Golders Green last month. These incidents come only months after the murders at Heaton Park Synagogue on Yom Kippur, and against a backdrop of police data showing that British Jews are, per capita, far more likely to be victims of religious hate crime than any other group.
We rightly expect the police and government to act – and they must continue to do so with urgency and resolve. There has been significant support in recent days, including increased security and renewed attention to anti-Semitism in public institutions. But tackling hatred cannot be left to the state alone.
Where is the broader civic response? Where are the marches, the vigils, the campaigns that have so often mobilised thousands in the face of injustice? The absence of visible, collective solidarity from large parts of the anti-racist movement is difficult to ignore.
Liberal Democrats have always believed that fighting prejudice is a shared responsibility. Our party has a proud tradition of standing up for minority communities, defending civil liberties, and challenging extremism in all its forms. That tradition must be lived out now – not only in words, but in action.
We are not a small or marginal voice. Liberal Democrats lead and serve in councils across the country, we have 72 Members of Parliament, and we are rooted in local parties in every part of the United Kingdom. That reach brings responsibility. We have the networks, the platforms and the credibility to help lead a national response – if we choose to use them.
This moment calls for leadership across the Liberal Democrat family – from parliamentarians, councillors, activists and members alike. It means speaking out clearly against anti-Semitism wherever it appears. It means working within our communities, our institutions and our partner organisations to ensure that Jewish voices are heard and supported. And it means challenging the narratives, conspiracy theories and hatreds that too often go unaddressed.
There are, of course, individuals who have shown solidarity, and that matters. But allyship cannot stop at private expressions of concern – it must extend into the public square and into the organisations that shape our national conversation.
Part of the challenge lies in a narrowing understanding of racism that fails to recognise anti-Semitism in its modern forms. Part lies in the discomfort some feel in confronting extremism when it does not fit familiar patterns. But none of this can excuse silence.
If we are serious about building a fair, open and inclusive society, then we must be consistent. We cannot pick and choose which forms of racism we oppose most loudly. The test of our values is whether we stand with those under threat – even when it is inconvenient, even when it challenges our assumptions.
The Jewish community in Britain has shown remarkable resilience and dignity in the face of these attacks. They should not have to stand alone. As Liberal Democrats, and as part of a wider movement for justice and equality, we have a responsibility to ensure they do not.
Now is the time to speak out, to stand together, and to act.
* Gavin Stollar OBE is the Honorary Chair of Liberal Democrat Friends of Israel. He is a former Parish and District Councillor, Parliamentary Candidate and parliamentary aide to Rt. Hon Charles Kennedy during his first two years as Party Leader.
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13 Comments
@Gavin. Many people, who would normally be the first to stand against racism, are troubled by the actions of the State of Israel in Gaza and increasingly in Iran and Lebanon. This elephant in the room cannot be ignored.
The hatred of Jews promulgated by many states in the Middle East has been given increased force by the actions of the Netanyahu government, whose leader appears to be willing to go to any lengths to remain Prime Minister to avoid his day of reckoning in court. Standing by and remaining silent when innocent men, women and children are killed by indiscriminate bombing will not do.
As the son of a German Jewish refugee I totally deplore the rise in anti semitism and it must of course be widely condemned and confronted. So must the rising incidence of Islamaphobia.
The Jewish Community in the UK could help itself by speaking out against the murderous Netanyahu. Finding common ground with Muslim communities and working with them to fight both anti-semitism and islamaphobia would do much to reduce these incidents.
I agree.
As Co-Chair of the Muslim Jewish Forum of Greater Manchester, I occasionally have to speak to the media about antisemitic attacks. I always make the same point.
It does not matter how strongly someone may feel about Israel & Palestine, antisemitism in Britain does nothing to help a single Palestinian.
Thank you Gavin for this timely posting, especially after last night’s shocking Panorama programme on antisemitism. There has been far too much posturing and far too little tangible support.
Claiming the mantle of anti racism is meaningless if you think that the oldest hatred is the preserve of the far right and that if you march against Tommy Robinson or Reform you are confronting the only enemy.
If you march and you are not joined by organisations associated with the mainstream Jewish community of this country, stop and ask yourself why.
The answer isn’t that Jews are apathetic, on the contrary, many are now deeply fearful.
It is because if you march alongside those who would happily describe the vast majority of us as racists or who would boycott us out of existence, then it is you who are marginalising us and becoming part of our problem.
I’m sure any Liberal Democrat would sympathise with the views expressed here. Although it can be no coincidence that Israel is attacking its neighbours with unprecedented violence, the people carrying out these attacks on British Jews are no doubt largely motivated by antisemitism. British Jews are not responsible for the actions of the Israeli government, or of those in the IDF committing war crimes.
What is less clear to me is the usefulness of marches and demonstrations against antisemitic racial hatred at this particular time, when feelings are running high over the situation in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran. The Police seem to be doing a reasonable job finding the guilty people, and it’s probably best left to them to deal with it.
@mick Taylor “The Jewish Community in the UK could help itself by speaking out against the murderous Netanyahu”
You have Jewish heritage, I do not, however I would be alarmed to think that we require the British Jews to negotiate for support by being critical ‘enough’ of the current Israeli govt. Would it ever be appropriate to ask a ‘Black Person’ to condemn a corrupt Caribbean or African govt before you would offer them any solidarity in the face of racism/prejudice ?!
My own response to recent events has been to contact my local synagogue and ask for an informal meeting for myself & our LD Local Party leader with the local Rabbi. We had coffee before Easter, at the heavily fortified building.
The local Jewish community very much appreciated the ‘outreach’ . I would strongly encourage other LDs to do the same.
Before anyone asks, yes of course outreach to Hindu Mandairs to help combat Anti Hindu hate, outreach to Buddhist Temples to help combat Anti Buddhist hate etc etc should also be attempted.
As the daughter of a Russian Jew (long deceased who was brought to England as an infant in 1905 – hitler didn’t invent antisemitism) – I agree with Mick about the need to speak out against netanyahu. Multiple wrongs don’t make a right.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pogroms_in_the_Russian_Empire#1903%E2%80%931906
Of course we need to speak out against anti-semitism though as to marches or public events by Lib Dems at the moment maybe after the local elecctions we would have time to do that. Mick Taylor makes a few necessary points but is it too much to expect that everytime there is a major speech or event against Islamophobia something strong is also said against Anti-Semitism or when there is an event against anti-Semitism something strong is said against Islamophobia. Likewise when something strong is aid against the Israeli government something strong is said against anti-semitism etc.etc.
When the PM speaks against attacks on Jewish people in the UK why does he not also speak against the other forms of racism specifically.
The media similarly sounds often unbalanced. There are many Jewish people who oppose Netanyahu very strongly so they need to be referred to by the media much more often.
@ISHvinder Matharu. Please do not put words into my mouth. I am arguing that uncritical support for Israel is not what this situation requires. As @Nigel Jones says, many Jewish people DO oppose Netanyahu and want to seek peace and reconciliation between Israel and Palestine.
Let me be very clear.
1. Israel has a right to exist and DEFEND itself.
2. Palestine has a right to exist
3. Israel does not have the right to kill 10s of thousands of Palestinians allegedly to fight HAMAS (or indeed thousands of Lebanese allegedly to fight Hezbollah)
4. If the Israeli government genuinely wants peace then the way to get that is not by war but by negotiation (This applies equally to HAMAS and HEZBOLLAH)
Anti-Jewish racism is indeed wrong, but I do wish extremists would stop suggesting that anti-Judeo/Christian Zionism is “anti-semitism”>
We’re talking about hatred of Jewish people, not of Israel, its government or its people. Therefore, the actions of the Israeli government should be left out of any discussion of antisemitism in the UK, otherwise it appears to be a justification.
Alex Macfie, I understand why you say that, and I agree we should studiously avoid anything which could be interpreted as justification for attacks on British Jews. However, it ought to be possible to point out that Israel’s attacks on it’s neighbours, and particularly the claim that Jews are entitled to annex adjacent territories because of an ancient promise made by God, create a religious element which (wrongly) allows those predisposed to hate Jews to commit acts of violence. This, I would claim, is a fact, however we might wish it not to be, and to ban discussion about it, as you seem to be suggesting, would be wrong.
@Andy Daer: I wasn’t suggesting a ban on discussing Israeli government actions, rather that it should not be introduced in the context of attacks on Jewish people in the UK. I’m reminded of the case of Paul Donnachie, who performed a lewd, disgusting assault on a Jewish US-Israeli citizen who was a fellow student at St Andrew’s (I’m not going to describe it here, just Google the guy’s name if you want more details). Donnachie’s defence tried to introduce evidence relating to the Israel~Palestine conflict; this was rightly ruled inadmissible by the judge who ruled that the focus should be on the assault and, yes, its racial and religious motivation. To have allowed such evidence on geopolitics would have legalised any and every racially or religiously motivated attack, because they are usually rooted in one such grievance or another, however “legitimate” or not it might be.
Alex, thanks for responding to my comment, but at the risk of repeating myself, I think you have slightly missed the point I was trying to make. No one ought to suggest or imply that British Jews should be blamed for Israel’s violence in Gaza and elsewhere (but that obviously wouldn’t apply to a British Jew who spoke out public in support of the genocide). I had in mind the kind of actively antisemitic thugs who one wouldn’t expect to follow such rules of decent behaviour. For that reason I would argue that Israel’s current leadership can be said to be fueling a rise in antisemitic attacks on British Jews. Perhaps it’s unfair to quote what you actually said, which was that “the actions of the Israeli government should be left out of any discussion of antisemitism in the UK.” Maybe Israel’s ruthless destruction of its enemies isn’t causing any of the mistreatment of diaspora Jews – mistreatment which it then uses as a smokescreen behind which to hide some of its war crimes in neighbouring countries – but we should be allowed to assert that it might be without being censored.