After Israel-Lebanon War, Anti-Semitism on the Rise in Britain

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York Sun

Attacks against Jews in Britain have risen sharply since Israel’s war against Hezbollah, a British parliamentary inquiry will report tomorrow.

The attacks range from shouted anti-Semitic slurs to swastika graffiti and vandalized Jewish graves. Last month, a 12-year-old girl was kicked unconscious by thugs who asked her whether she was Jewish, according to Community Security Trust, a London-based group set up to protect the British Jewish community.

That incident was among hundreds of similar incidents submitted to a group of 14 parliamentarians who commissioned the study in November. The official report, published tomorrow, found a spike in anti-Semitic attacks since Israel’s war with Hezbollah.

“Britain remains, relatively speaking, a good place for Jews to live. We’re not hiding our skullcaps,” a spokesman for Community Security Trust, Mark Gardner, said yesterday. “But we do have to be very much aware of these threats, and we do have to react accordingly.” The threats against British Jews have doubled in some cases, groups that track anti-Semitism have said in recent years. Mr. Gardner said the annual figure of between 200 and 300 a year has leapt to an average of between 400 and 500 every year.

“We’re describing it as a significant and sustained escalation,” Mr. Gardner, who has not seen the final report, said. Among the anti-Semitic incidents Mr. Gardner’s group reported to the parliamentary inquiry:

• At the Brighton Progressive Synagogue, caricatures of Jews with hooked noses were scrawled on the walls. Statements like “Nuke the Jews” were daubed nearby.

• Checks intended for a charity benefiting children with learning disabilities were defaced with swastikas.

• A Jewish doctor’s home in the Hampstead Garden suburb of North London was defaced with anti-Jewish graffiti, death threats, and the word “Allah.”

Among the recommendations that the report will make is that British citizens need to rethink their attitude toward anti-Semitism. One of the factors contributing to the spate of anti-Semitic attacks, Jewish groups have said, is a modern version of an age-old accusation against Jews: a subtle acceptance among some in Britain that Jews exercise undue control.

“A narrative that has gained some acceptance in those circles is to say that Jews, in order to support Israel, have disproportionate influence in the media, finance, and government,” the chief executive of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, Jon Benjamin, said yesterday.

The report is expected to call on British people to help counter this and other stereotypes about Jews.

France has experienced a similar measurable jump in anti-Semitic incidents, especially among second-generation immigrant youths.

While American Jews do not appear to have experienced a rise in anti-Semitic attacks since this summer’s conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, a number of disturbing incidents have still occurred.

In one well-reported attack, a Muslim, Naveed Afzal Haq, opened fire on the Jewish Federation of Seattle, killing one female employee and injuring several others. Mr. Haq — who has been jailed on murder and hate-crime charges — cited his anger with the Jewish state over the conflict with Hezbollah.

“I’m tired of getting pushed around and our people getting pushed around by the situation in the Middle East,” he told 911 dispatchers.


The New York Sun

© 2024 The New York Sun Company, LLC. All rights reserved.

Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. The material on this site is protected by copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used.

The New York Sun

Sign in or  create a free account

By continuing you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use