To think this attack on London Jewish schoolchildren should have been headline news

‘And to top it all off, you really believe that whether someone believes in God matters to the people attacking them?

Nope. I don’t actually. As I grew up in Belfast and lost family members to violence, experienced vicious sectarianism and was injured as a child in a bomb blast. It’s about tribalism, not belief IMHO.
I personally can’t stand when people hide behind religion as a justification for bigotry - whether that’s racism or homophobia or sectarianism or seeking to limit the human rights of others.

As to the question as to why THIS story isn’t headline news though - none of what has been alleged has been proven true yet. The police may end up uncovering something, or not. Certainly there should be questions around what the driver did or did not do when passengers were attacked - how was it stopped - why weren’t the police called etc.

There’s more to this story and I wouldn’t really on the JC as a reliable, unbiased news source in this one.

Sorry but whether or not watermelons are prior anti anything is ridiculous- you can’t expect people to equate a fruit emoji to anything of significance and then behave according. Whichever side you’re on. FFS.

How very, very sad. I hope the school treated these acts of racism as the serious offences that they were.

My kids are the only Jewish children at their schools (primary and secondary). They had lovely experiences and were always excited to share their traditions with their classmates (as do the Muslim, etc students of which there are many)

Until this year

My 11 year old daughter was pushed into a corner in a hallway by another child her age yelling 'fuck Israel'. She was told by a classmate he hopes she and her entire family die. She was born here and has never even visited Israel so has nothing to do with any of it, this is just because she's Jewish. I've stopped wearing anything visibly Jewish in public now.

You know being Jewish is not just a religion right?

Or do you think the Jews sent to their deaths would have been allowed merrily on their way if they just ate a few sausages, sang some Christmas carols and got themselves a copy of the New Testament?

When people know my DH is Jewish from looking at him it is not because he is wearing anything to indicate it.

It's offensive enough that you've engaged in constant dismissal and whataboutism when faced with a story about a hate crime about children.

Now you're seemingly insulting all religious people and implying they are somehow to blame for the many hate crimes against them?

And to top it all off, you really believe that whether someone believes in God matters to the people attacking them? Many many Jewish people are atheist. It makes no difference whatsoever.

Surely everyone accepts that going back to pre-1948 and a single state, but full of sweetness and light is totally inconceivable in our lifetime. If there is a solution it either has to be genocide and expulsion of Palestinians or two states.

Anything is theoretically possible, so with the right kind of people at the helm - those committed to peace, justice and equality - it could potentially happen. I'm far from extremely knowledgeable on this topic, so I don't know if I could say it's a probable solution. With all the suffering and hatred, it sometimes seems like a very improbable solution, but I like to hope that one day there will be a conclusion that is fair to everyone and doesn't result in simply more oppression.

In the single Palestinian state vision that I speak of, ideally it should be a secular state with people from both demographics (Arabs and Jews) in leadership.

I should probably add that I'm not solely invested in this vision of one Palestinian state. I certainly support it as a possible solution, but I'm okay with a two-state solution as well, if one could be worked out.

Do you mean what do they want in their wildest blood-thirsty dreams, or what they would accept as an internationally-backed, negotiated settlement?

And that question probably applies to some politicians on both sides.

Thank you. And does this seem like a probable or even possible peaceful outcome?

Who would be in power? Who would be in government?

If they're decent people, then I HOPE what they mean is a single state of Palestine in which all the Israeli Jews are allowed to remain and become Palestinian citizens (if they choose to.) There are people who advocate for a free Palestine who do mean exactly that.

However, I have heard some people express the view that most or all Israelis should be expelled, and that's unacceptable. It is legitimately their home - many Israelis are native-born to the land.

When people say “free Palestine”, what is the actual plan?
What would actually happen to Israeli people?

"Might" and "could" do devalue what follows, because they could equally well be "might not" and "doesn’t necessarily", which would put the opposite slant on things.

It's a pity you can’t cope with disagreement, and feel the need to be discourteous.

All it shows is that it isn't headline news. It was in the news but not headline as other things took priority. It's not complicated.

Sadly Jewish people and Travellers seem to be exempt from socially unacceptable racism in the U.K. !

The most brutal, violent forms of anti-semitism existed prior to the modern day state of Israel (crusades, Spanish Inquisition, pogroms, the Holocaust etc.). The fact that you’re seemingly unaware of this makes me question your claim that you’re Jewish to be honest

At the very least it indicates an indoctrination into the pro-Palestinian mindset that all bad things that happen to Jews are caused by the Israel-Palestinian conflict ( and thereby somehow their own fault).

Sorry misquote in post above.

At the very least it indicates an indoctrination into the pro-Palestinian mindset that all bad things that happen to Jews are caused by the Israel-Palestinian conflict ( and thereby somehow their own fault).

Me too, tbh.

Thank you for clarifying that you do not hold Israeli civilians all collectively responsible, either. I do think it's an important point to make, as I've come across some people who agree that it's wrong to deride non-Israeli Jews, but hold prejudice against Israeli civilians in general. I've always had a strong sense of distinguishing between a country's leadership and its general population, and not just with the Middle East. Most Germans during WWII were decent people, and they no more deserved the suffering they experienced than civilians in Allied countries.

Let's face it, kids bullying other kids is not going to make the headlines as it is very commonplace. It's being quite well publicised though given the amount of links people have managed to find.

The subject of bullying is wide and varied, from homophobia to body shaming, to skin colour, disability. Young teens are pretty horrific. It's not news.

I was short on time and thought I would try Chat GPT to see what it came up with. It articulated my thoughts, as a Black woman, well in respect of the comment and the doubling down on said offending comment referencing racism. The words 'might' and 'could' are just fine, they don't diminish the value of anything.

Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

@neverthmore you should read up where the watermelon symbol originated from, it was used as a symbol of defiance after Israel banned Palestinians from displaying the Palestinian flag in a bid to erase all Palestinian identity.

Just to be clear on where you stand on the issue - what is your personal vision of a free Palestine?

For the record, I would be perfectly happy with the entire region being a single Palestinian state - PROVIDED that all the Israeli Jews are allowed to remain living there and become Palestinian citizens.

Do you share that vision for a free Palestine? A one-state solution in which the Israelis, if they choose, can stay and become Palestinians?

I ask, because I do know there are some people who think that most or all Israeli civilians should be forced to leave in a hypothetical single-Palestinian state solution, and I cannot support that at all. Many, if not most Israeli civilians are native-born to the region now, so regardless of what the land is called and who it belongs to, it is still legitimately their home - forcibly expelling them would be ethnic cleansing.

Its not the length, but more the meaning you conveyed. Lots of people understood your post in the same way.

I'm not sure if you said things you did not mean or if you did mean them but think they are not anti-Semitic, but either way the words you used had a very clear and commonly understood meaning, and you can either rile against the many people who all understood it in the same way, or accept that is what you actually said, whether you meant it or not.

I do not think you’re being antisemitism but exceptionally naive and offensive to boot. Antisemitism predates Israel being established as a state.