To be concerned about the rise of antisemitism in the UK?

Let’s not conflate the existence of a state, a religion and an ethnicity. They all exist and should be treated as separate things. It’s important to be nuanced and careful about this.

[quote onlychildhamster]@DontBuyANewMumCashmere my SIL has been told 'Jews killed Jesus'. Apparently thats the explanation.[/quote]
My husband said that the other night when I asked him why he thought antisemitism is so rife. (He doesn't think this, btw, just gave it as a reason why historically it might be so!)

But wasn't it the Romans who claimed he was a criminal and crucified him?
They were in charge in the area and that time weren't they?
(Sorry for diabolical RE and historical knowledge!)

I’m sort of surprised at the people asking “what is it about Jews that makes people hate them…”
Would you say that about anyone else? Shall I respond with all the reasons that I’m supposedly hated? Does you understanding/not understanding validate/invalidate the hate that I receive?
Would you ask a victim of a sexual assault - “what was it about you that made him attack you?”

I think it could be, a lot stemming from Israel/Palestine and people's perspectives on how those countries may be acting

@DontBuyANewMumCashmere my SIL has been told 'Jews killed Jesus'. Apparently thats the explanation.

@MissVictoriaPlum sorry to hear that your grandma is having to put up with that.

I am grateful for this thread for opening my eyes a little more.
I read Jews Don't Count and found it really interesting - loads of myths/tropes discussed and great to read to understand more about the issue.

As an atheist from Christian background I can't understand why what I believe and what anyone else believes are so in conflict.
Even if a (strict) person of faith believes in God and that I will go to hell for lack of faith, then that's absolutely fine for them to have that belief, it doesn't change anything about my life at all.
I also think religion can be a wonderful thing and has helped many people I know cope with trauma, illness and bereavement.

I will never, never understand why whole groups of people are seemingly ripe for abuse.

What is wrong with Jewish people? Is it traditionally your supposed 'otherness'? Your non Christian-Ness?
It's absolutely bonkers. Jesus was a Jew. Why don't we love and admire Jews?!

Sorry to all who suffer AS. I have lit a candle in my window for HRD.

I have challenged anti Semitism (and all kinds of racism) when I've heard it... I work in a hospital as an HCA and one nurse I was working the night shift with made a comment about a patient basically saying he was rude because he was Jewish - I told her that comment was unacceptable, she didn't apologise but she didn't make any other offensive comments.

I think it's important for colleagues to challenge comments when they are made straight away and call them out as long as it's safe to do so.

I just feel sad that anti Semitism & racism in general are still very much an issue in the UK.

I remember my late Nan's Jewish friend Morris especially- he was 18 in 1944, and fought on D Day.
He really liked my Nan, who had some Jewish ancestry herself and he kept buying her presents.
They both lived in the same over 65s warden assisted block of flats.
Well, it was awful actually because none of the other women would talk to Morris- purely because he said he was Jewish.
They actually told my Nan they were avoiding him because he was Jewish. Unbelievable.
So my Nan was his only friend there until they both got dementia and died in 2017.

I worry about all these conspiracy theories that so many people believe in & follow online like QAnon & anti Vaxx, New World Order, Illuminati etc-they are all from the far right & have their roots in Anti Semitism.

Also I follow Socialists Against Antisemitism on Facebook who keep a close watch on anti Semitism in politics and make some interesting posts.

As a child, we went on holiday to rural Wales where there aren’t really any Jewish people. We met some local kids there. When they found out we were Jewish they asked where our horns are, and is it true that Jews don’t have reflections when we look in mirrors. Not being in an area where there is a Jewish population doesn’t mean that you won’t pick up on ignorance.
Hatred of Jews is alive and well. Look at last weekends Texas hostage situation. Barry discussed. And reported in the news as a ‘hostage’ situation. In quotations. Wtf

I was really surprised that Wikipedia told me there are only around 300,000 Jews in Britain. I would have thought there'd be loads more. Is Wikipedia wrong here? I know Britain expelled them in the 12th century (May have misremembered the date there) but in the intervening 900 years...?

Anyway, antisemitism is probably the racism I understand the least. I can see how people find it easy to make comments about people who look different (underlining here that I abhor that) but on the whole, Jewish people blend into the population at large. Though I did recently see a family with traditional dress and I only thought ooh wow how cool! (I didn't stare)

So if it's not a physically different issue... is it religious? I'm Christian and since Jesus was Jewish, surely Jews are well... the good guys for want of a better word! I'm not expressing myself very well but I just do not understand it.

How much antisemitism do you think you will find in, for example, strath? Thurso? Fochabers? Yell? Unst? Barra? Hopeman? Burghead? Very little. But you do find folk moaning about the cleaner speaking polish or catholics having their own school or using outdated and derogatory terminology for people of colour. Most people in my area couldn’t tell you what ‘Jewish’ is or means
I think you're naive to think it's very little or not widespread. I can't speak of the other places butn thurso yes, it exists, just because you haven't experienced it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. It's comments, "jokes", derogatory names.

Without wanting to be inflammatory, but your attitude/stance is part of the problem. I make no apology for this.

@onlychildhamster I am sorry that happened to him.

My grandma is in her nineties and one of the last living Jews in the UK who arrived by kinder-transport. Her dad was gassed at Auschwitz and countless other relatives killed by the nazis who she never saw again.
She lives in a warden assisted flat where most of the other occupants are also Jewish. They have full time round the clock security guards because there have been anti Semitic threats towards the block of flats. It's disgusting. I am raging for her and her neighbours. Everything they've had to go through just for being Jewish and in their late life they are still under threat for nothing.
Be assured that Anti Semitism is active and rising, for anyone doubting it because they haven't seen it in their town.

Blessings from SE13. Stay safe everyone x

@DrSbaitso I explained above. My DH still votes Green though (when he can) as he identifies with other parts of their manifesto.His mother was a Green even in her youth (she comes from Europe) and her commitment to the Green party predates her conversion to Judaism so i guess its wired in my DH's DNA to support the Greens. But of course when you hear people saying blatantly anti-Semitic things, you have to stand up even if its your party!

We do know several Jewish Green members and I have met (and liked) Sian Berry. We campaigned with them during the EU referendum but mainly because our main contact with politics is a Jewish green party activist. As we live in a Jewish area, our local Green Party is not anti-Semitic.

I care. 💕

@MissVictoriaPlum but basically it was a situation where all the Jewish people in the room had to leave... and there weren't many of them!

‘ my DH was once kicked out of a Green Party meeting for being Jewish. He is completely irreligious.’

Where? When? Who by? We do have hate crime legislation for this kind of thing.

@MissVictoriaPlum It was many years ago when my DH was a teen. They were talking about Palestine; and people were saying Israel shouldn't exist. My DH and another israeli guy disagreed.my DH is quite a big critic of the Israeli government, but saying a whole country shouldn't exist is quite a different thing!

‘ It’s not really widespread across the uk. In my 35 years I’ve come across racism, sexism, xenophobia and by far the most common occurrence as in several times a day every day - sectarianism. Never come across antisemitism in my life.’

Here - have an eye roll
🙄
You’re like white people who say they don’t think there’s racism in the U.K. or straight people who don’t see homophobia…

Nope. Nor am I black or Asian or Eastern European etc I am Catholic though. I also live in a small semi rural community in Scotland where sectarianism is the common problem. My point is it’s not “uk” wide. How much antisemitism do you think you will find in, for example, strath? Thurso? Fochabers? Yell? Unst? Barra? Hopeman? Burghead? Very little. But you do find folk moaning about the cleaner speaking polish or catholics having their own school or using outdated and derogatory terminology for people of colour. Most people in my area couldn’t tell you what ‘Jewish’ is or means. They will declare a hatred for catholics or Protestants though.