Need some reassurance that I'm not crazy...

[ScaredMamaLondon]

Hello,
I am a Jewish mum of two small children.
I think I'm posting on here to get a reassurance that there are some good people in this world. I am terrified to be openly Jewish in this country at the moment and I am terrified for my children's future here. This week I was told by a nanny agency 'it will be very difficult to get a nanny to work for a jewish family'. The security patrolling makes me feel nauseous; my neighbour's son attends a jewish school and was kicked on the bus for his obviously jewish school uniform. We aren't obviously Jewish 'looking' - we are not religious but yet I don't feel at all safe. The pro-Palestinian rally today threw up pictures of burning stars of davids (the antizionism isn't antisemitism thing is basically an excuse for saying what you like about jews and getting away with it). Red paint splattered over local jewish primary schools (again if it's not antisemitism, what do we have to do with it) and on top of all of this, the sinking, dismal feeling that in Israel, the only place as a Jew I would imagine feeling safe, 1300+ civilians were massacred in their beds/kidnapped/gang raped/worse.

I feel sick. I feel we are utterly hated here and unsafe there.

When I see videos of TFL tube drivers joining in with palestinian chants as if its a football anthem and flags of Jihad being waved in London I do wonder if I've missed something here. At the recent vigil for the Israeli victims people stood in silence. Singing. Crying. Praying for peace. And today I witness the complete opposite. I didn't see one mention of peace. I only saw hatred.

Half my family are NHS doctors and surgeons. Teachers. Proud of our Jewishness and proud of our Britishness. Why is it as a Jewish person in the UK i feel so utterly isolated and depressed? Many clients and non jewish friends have sent wonderful messages of support so perhaps it is just the vocal minority but it's a scary one nonetheless. AIBU in thinking that life is completely terrifying right now?

It is awful. My grandfather and his family left Germany in the 30s - they were secular Jews. They anglicised their name when they came here. I wasn't aware of his background until my mum sat us down and told us (he'd died years before when I was about 10). As a history teacher, I am keenly aware of what discrimination can lead to. I'm so sorry you are experiencing this, the human race can be really cruddy at times.

I'm really sorry you feel unsafe and unsupported. Sending lots of love

I'm really sorry for what you're going through. That's not right. What happened in Israel was appalling.

Can your community please exert whatever influence you have to end the atrocious acts occurring in Gaza - this is the only response that I think will have an impact on what you're experiencing as the situation is truly dire for Palestinians and this is driving the hate. You should not have to - but there's a lot going on that shouldn't be happening right now.

I'm so sorry you are feeling such fear. It is so wrong. I feel like writing to the local Jewish organisation and just saying I support them and feel sympathy but it feels such a useless thing to do. It must be so stressful and frightening for your family and Jewish friends and my thoughts are with you. Please keep posting on here. People ARE with you.

@babetyouknow an interesting response.

1. when Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005 it left everything - the most ridiculous resources for the Palestinians to self govern. Instead Hamas were 'elected' a year later and spent all the money (and continue to spend UN/WHO money on terror tunnels, rockets etc). Egypt forms 50% of the blockade - the Raffah gate is closed 99.9% of the time, whereas the Israeli gates are opened to Gazans can enter Israel with work permits where they are paid by law the same wage as Israelis. Indeed, when bodies were collected in a few of the kibbutzes after the attacks on October 7 they found a few of these work permits (I'm sure their Israeli employers are thrilled at the thought of this)
2. Hamas did this knowing their people would be collateral. The Palestinian women and children have the most tragic of lives. Their own leadership couldn't care if they live or starve and die. Their lack of medical infrastructure and lack of education is 100% down to their leadership. It is not the same in West Bank or East Jerusalem where proper schooling and medical aid exists. Hamas hates his own people. Indeed just this week the UN reported that 20-25% of Hamas's constant stream of rockets falls short and lands on their own civilians in Gaza. How utterly pathetic and tragic. Imagine knowing the people who are meant to protecting you hate you that much.

So feel their plight and believe me I do too. But to say this is all 'israel's fault' is beyond me.
I'd be interested to find your evidence that the attacks on these palestinians are indiscriminate (you are wrong) and Israelis are shooting palestinian children in the back (what on earth are you reading).

I don't really care for me or anyone else on this thread being called 'idiotic' as you did above. There is no need to be rude.

This was about the conflict spilling over into this country and how scared I am about it to which your response is - 'who cares? think about how bad it is for the palestinian children?' What a bizarre argument to make. Your lack of compassion and basic humanity (and basic politeness) is noteworthy. Good luck to you!

I'm Jewish and while it's a bad situation and depressing, I wouldn't see it as terrifying and I don't feel unsafe in this country. If we were 'visibly' Jewish, like orthodox or kids at a Jewish school (mine were at a Jewish primary but not secondary, though oldest may join a Jewish 6th form next year), I would feel more concerned I am sure, but still not 'escaping the country' sort of worry.

I don't at all feel most or even many people hate Jews - I feel a lot of people don't know us and don't understand us, but the hate is a vocal few and does not at all reflect the majority feeling. I think most people do understand that being Jewish doesn't mean you support what's being done to the Palestinian people - but there is a minority who will take that anger out on Jews, sadly.

I only came on here to say to the OP and other Jewish people that many non Jews see and hear the anti semitism and we are so sorry and horrified.
I’m coming off now because there are some people who just want to use the horror to make a political point. no one is going to be persuaded on a forum like this and I don’t want to get sucked into pointless exchanges .

@Whatifitallgoesright This is an utterly bizarre response. Knew there would be a few of these today. I'm hoping it's down to ignorance rather than entrenched antisemitism.

Can my 'community' please exert its 'influence' over the 'atrocious acts in Gaza'. And then we will stop being punished here?Because we are only the victims of antisemitism because of the Israeli government?

I am appalled.

What a statement. I wouldn't even know where to begin. Would I - a Jewish teacher from North London be able to singlehandedly manage a ceasefire.
Let me put it a different way.

Could the millions and millions of Muslims around the world exert their influence and tell Hamas to release hostages, stop shooting at jewish people day in day out with their f*ing rockets? While they're at it could they tell Hamas they've broken every ceasefire ever and maybe that might be why Israel won't be bothering with one anytime soon - not until they've destroyed the brutal murderers who massacred as many civilians as possible. You don't mention this. Would that combat Islamophobia too?

So before I, that very very influential Jewish person from North London, starts exerting my influence over the IDF, why don't you start holding Muslims accountable for their terrorists and war crimes too?

That last question was rhetorical by the way. I wouldn't expect Muslims here to feel they need to condemn the actions of Hamas every eight seconds. But hopefully highlights the utter disgrace of this comment.

As I said, I hope this is comment is just down to ignorance. Disgusted.

@RubyGemStone Sorry about the experience you've had with your neighbour. I identify with so much of what you've written, including similar conversations at work. I actually avoided a work gathering last week because, as you say, the squirming.

Ethnically Jewish but have never practised and have a non-Jewish DH and kids but am feeling very, very uncomfortable and have this sudden urge to pack-up and move to one of the unsafest countries in the world - a country whose current political regime I despise, a country I've never actually considered visiting, let alone move to. I do feel I'd like to reconnect in some way with a Jewish community after the last couple of weeks, and it's not a feeling I've really had before. My DH asked me the other day if I would feel safer in London, closer to an actual Jewish community (apart from family I'm not part of one at all really). But going by some of the stories from London-based Jewish MN'ers, it doesn't sound like somewhere I want to be just now, although have lived there in the past and genuinely love the city. We also talked about France (am half-French) but ethnic and racial tensions are even worse there and have been for some time, including antisemitic murders. There was a story in the French press at the weekend of an attempted arson attack on an 80 year old Jewish couple in Paris - they literally set fire to the entrance of the couple's flat. It's really floored me.

So, where to go...? It just feels quite precarious for us in the UK and I'm not sure what the actual tipping point will be.

Can your community please exert whatever influence you have to end the atrocious acts occurring in Gaza

FFS.

I'd be interested to find your evidence that the attacks on these palestinians are indiscriminate (you are wrong) and Israelis are shooting palestinian children in the back (what on earth are you reading).

Ask Amnesty International , and Human Rights Watch. Ask the UN.

I'm reading facts, you might want to try it. Closing your eyes to atrocities while complaining how unsafe you feel, thousands of miles away from those dying, is not a good look.

@babetyouknow after everything you've read from me on here and what my concerns are I think it's fair to say I'm not closing my eyes to anything. Your response isn't a 'good look' as you call it. Please have some respect. I have shown immense respect for civilians dying on both sides (you clearly didn't read my posts). The Human Rights Watch's latest report was written by Omar Shakir who heads the BDS movement and doesn't mention Hamas's regular barrages of rockets nor its attacks on its own people. It is a pile of rubbish in most academics' eyes.

What an aggressive response. Wow. Take that anger out on someone else. Would advise a pro-Palestinian rally. Everyone screams and shouts against Jews there. Then we can talk about what's a 'good look'.

Telling me to read some facts. Jesus.

You denied things that we know have happened, that is not showing respect. Israeli soldiers have routinely killed Palestinian children. They have shot them in the back. They have shot them for throwing stones. In June this year, Israeli soldiers shot and killed a two year old.

I have no anger for you. I have anger for the Israeli soldiers that kill children and their government which allows them too. Palestinian children are dying today, in large numbers.
Forgive me if I have more concern for them than for you, in your safe home in your safe country where your children will come home to you safe tonight, unlike many palestinian children.

You are not crazy.
There are crazy people here whose heads are full of daydreams about standing with 'the oppressed' and not having the brains to think things through.
I am thoroughly sick of do gooding lefties who are unwittingly enabling terrorists.

I couldn’t agree more tbh. I have more grown-up DCs at uni and worried re them being on campus, but they both go to
unis with quite a high Jewish population comparable to some.
id love to see some more support from the non-Jewish community about this and I can’t believe I actually agree w Braverman about something re the ‘Jihad’ comment. I usually can’t abide the woman! The law is an ass.

@babetyouknow and yet you still can't even bring yourself to mention Hamas might have played a part in their own people's demise.
If you think I was comparing my own plight to that of starving Palestinian children you are perhaps confused. wow wow wow. I know very well how lucky I am. I am still allowed to mention how unwelcome I am starting to feel in my own home, the country that I love.
From the overwhelmingly lovely messages I've received on here I would say most people have realised I am absolutely not sitting feeling sorry for myself (or comparing myself to a child in the war town middle east 😳)
Have a good week all x

Most Jewish people support a state of Israel, which is what Zionism is, so you’re incorrect there. Vile references to Zionist conspiracies is just Jew-hate in disguise.

Yeah OP, just phone up Benjamin Netanyahu and ask him to do you a quick favour and please stop the war, k thanks.

How dare OP be concerned that Jewish schools in the UK are under threat. Doesn't she know that no one is allowed to be worried about anything if someone somewhere has it worse?

I'm so sorry you're going through this OP.

Re (the antizionism isn't antisemitism thing is basically an excuse for saying what you like about jews and getting away with it)

It seems that because Israel's Declaration of Independence referred to it being a Jewish state, people cannot disassociate the two.

@ganondoof gutted I don't have Bibi's direct phone number. I'll DM him instead, then I'll urge him to sit down at a negotiating table with Hamas.

Most Jewish people support a state of Israel

Most is not all.

Zionists want us to hate Jews and that is a very dangerous game.

This is absolutely horrendous for you and the many others caught up in this. So sorry OP. I'm religious and I know the Bible talks of being peaceful even with our enemies. It's crazy what man can do to man. We should all try and live with each other. I'm so sorry xxxx

@Coyoacan
?
That doesn't make any sense.
Zionists are usually Jewish.

Please do write to them - we appreciate all the support we can get!