I think you're conflating several issues. I’m being very specific here. I am referencing is about the broader societal and institutional dynamics that determine which forms of racism are prioritised, and which are routinely sidelined or minimised. More precisely, I’m observing how the current Labour leadership is approaching these issues and what that reveals about the hierarchy of racialised experience in British public life.
As someone who is both Black and Jewish (among other ethnic backgrounds), I’ve experienced firsthand how conversations about racism can feel tiered. In my lived reality, anti-black racism is often dismissed, especially when it comes to historical trauma. There’s a repeated message that slavery was a long time ago and that Black people should “move on.
In contrast, the Holocaust has rightly been afforded public recognition, remembrance, and education and until recently, Jewish communities were often given more space to talk openly about their history. I believe part of this stems from the fact that the UK and the US position themselves as liberators during the Holocaust, whereas they were directly complicit in slavery and colonialism. That moral distance may help explain why certain histories receive greater validation than others.
To be absolutely clear: this isn’t about diminishing the Holocaust or antisemitism it’s about acknowledging the unequal treatment of racial trauma in public discourse. That disparity is alienating for many marginalised groups, especially when their own histories are brushed aside. That said, I also think the political and cultural tide is shifting. In light of current events in the Middle East, public sympathy toward Jewish communities is waning and now they are being framed as colonisers. I think antisemitism may grow in both subtle and overt forms as a result. I think history may repeat itself with Jews getting expelled.
At the same time, I find Keir Starmer’s treatment of Diane Abbott to be deeply troubling and hypocritical. His recent language on immigrants echoes rhetoric more commonly associated with Reform UK. Whether intentionally or not, the message being sent is that some forms of racism are politically safer to challenge than others. And right now, it feels as though discussion on antisemitism is the only form of racism that being protected. The comments on the thread, certainly reinforces this feeling.