What is Anti-semitism? Is it mostly an issue in England in UK?

[berrymummy11]

Just this really. I live in NI and we have our own religious based issues so Anti semitism isn't discussed here.

Why do people discriminate against Jewish people and is it a bigger issue in England?

TIA

There definitely is a lot of antisemitism in the UK. I found that out when I married a Jewish man.

Going to a very ordinary synagogue and finding it had a security roster for example - I'd gone to church all my life and never considered that. It was just part of the deal there, like the flower rota at church. And huge locked gates. Not for no reason either.

Suddenly having people doing 'hilarious' impressions to me - rubbing their hands and using a cod Yiddish accent. Frozen expressions when I told them baby ds's name (Biblical prophet, very standard really , but not that mainstream here because it's considered too Jewish, unlike say Benjamin).

The history of England and the Jews is hundreds of years first of persecution, expulsion and then exclusion, including the popularization of the blood libel. I agree these days it's much more subtle but never think it's not there.

Ed Miliband and his bacon sandwich. Ralph Miliband's lack of 'patriotism'.

And to be tureson I've just googled it. London has a population of 8million people of all backgrounds. Israel has 6 million Jews. I left the decimals out.

When you consider the Druze, Yazadi, Rarafarian or Zoarostrian populations, you rarely hear the same level of chatter about them in the news or anywhere.

There is a huge negative bias..

Just to help put TemporaryPermanent content into oersoective, I used to Shul Security and on average per year there were 10 or so anti-Semitic acts that warranted logging and reporting to CST and at least 1 per year that warranted police involvement for hate speech or threats.

Unless you are on the receiving end you have no idea what it's actually like. Sadly, there are a lot of minorities where this is their daily normal, the Muslim girl in a hijab, the West Indian security guard, the guy working in a kebab shop, corner shop, the Shik girl quietly working at her desk hear this type of shit daily.

Let give this another perspective, the demonising of migrants on the Southern US border has lead to internment camps. It will be very interesting when North American Catholics wake up to the fact that these are Central and South American Catholics who are being interned by a WASP president. Maybe the OP can give some insight into that type of sectarianism

But what's that got to do with anti-Semitism? It's the same mental mechanisms used to degrade and demonize and create an otherness where it is easy to put them in a camp to keep them separate because they are made out to be different or wrong.

www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/video-news/video-shocking-antisemitism-in-derry-bar-38016376.html

Significant all over the UK/British Isles, not just evil old england

utter crap the 'left wing tend to be more antisemitic'. Its traditionally a disease of the right (Tsarists, Nazis, Mussolini, Franco, Arrw Cross, Ustasha and still is with their ranting about 'soros'.

forward.com/fast-forward/423538/right-wing-responsible-for-71-of-anti-semitic-extremist-incidents-adl/

Thank you everyone. Lots to think about here. Plus thanks for the NI references. I grew up a white middle class catholic and am beginning to realise how much of a bubble I have been living in.

Google "Limerick progrom" , op. I'm half Irish/half UK Jewish. My parents got shit from both sides until my Mum's personal loveliness started to win n people around.

There is very little out and-and-out obvious anti semitism in the UK but it does exist and is quite insidious.

Bizarrely there are many well educated people who would never consider themselves anti Semitic but are, as demonstrated by their attitudes,

An unhealthy (negative) obsession with Israel is generally a sign of it. Of course, Israel has many controversial policies, but they do exist in a very tortured area and continually face an existential threat. Generally when the anti Israelis are challenged on Jordan’s policies towards the Palestinians, they just shrug...

There is also the idea that Jewish people are entirely homogeneous and speak with one voice. And, of course, the idea that Jews control the banking system and use it to further their own ends.

If you are a secular Jew and people don’t know you are Jewish, it is amazing the number of casually dropped anti Semitic comments you hear from well educated, normally nice, people.

And, of course, one never knows whether this minor anti-semitism is skin deep or could erupt, given the right circumstances and government, into good old fashioned violent anti semitism. I like to think not but who knows...

Anti-semirism is alive and kicking in Scotland too - there's been a recent row about some shit Robert the Bruce film and the hardcore cybernats are convinced it's because Cuneworld are based in iIsrael with a Jewish board.

There's a fair bit of sectarianism too in some parts of the country.

Is boycotting of kosher meat or calling for kosher slaughter to be banned antisemitic?
No, that is concern for animal welfare. All religious slaughter must be banned.