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

[ThisPerkySheep]

I have been waiting for this story to go mainstream, and I’m shocked that it hasn’t.

So far, it seems only the Daily Mail has reported on it - https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14142235/amp/Jewish-children-terrified-thugs-London-bus-rocks-Israel.html.

When are we going to start taking the threats against Jews in the UK seriously and actually do something about it?

Me too, tbh.

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).

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.

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

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.

"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.

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

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

‘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.

Comedycook · Today 10:24
Yes there are only about 300k Jewish people in the uk. We should also bear in mind when we see these stats that there are many Jewish people, like myself, who are not visibly Jewish...sorry I actually hate that term but couldn't think of a better way to express it. But just making the point that when I and many others walk down the road, people won't actually know they are....I dread to think what the stats would be otherwise.

This is what my DGF always said. He always felt really protective towards his black and brown work mates because as a Jew he was as much an immigrant to the UK as they were, but they couldn’t hide their colour . I’ve always been aware that Jews are disliked but since Oct 7, it’s so visible and seems to be tolerated and at times, condoned, because we are all guilty of genocide and the death and suffering of innocents, by the mere fact we were born Jewish. I have never felt hate before. Now I feel it.

I recognise the awful experience you had in the 1990s, RedHotWings, as a student at the Jewish Free School - I observed the same antisemitism toward JFS children in the 80s.

I often took the bus that went by the JFS in Camden. By that time it was already heavily protected with high mesh fences all around.

As soon as the JFS kids set foot on the bus, the other schoolkids launched into a barrage of verbal abuse, mostly including the Y word, with some pushing and shoving and the odd foot stuck out to trip them etc. as well.

It wasn't just 'interschool rivalry' as the children from the other schools didn't interact much. It was beyond doubt antisemitic abuse, which the non-Jewish children seemed to be very well-versed in, even at that young age.

If the abuse got too loud, the driver would shout 'Settle down back there!', but apart from that the Jewish children were unprotected from this gauntlet of abuse which they had to endure every single school day.

No, as a Jew I think that would be really unhelpful!

I'd rather get these people in a room with the people they hurt (and moderators of course) so they understand that they hurt actual people. Not symbols, not cyphers, real people.

As such a small minority I think it is sadly too easy for people to dehumanise us. They've never met a Jew, or don't think they have. Maybe they assume there's lots of Jews and we keep ourselves to ourselves, rather than the truth that there are very few of us. (I always find it interesting to ask people how many Jews there are in the UK, most people assume 'I dunno, maybe a million or two')

I have to agree with you, and note the trouble Dianne Abbott got into when she made the equally offensive converse suggestion, that anti-black racism was worse than anti-semitism. Knowing what racism can lead to in various places and various times it is foolish to try and create a hierarchy.

You know, I have this funny feeling that in the 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s when the vast majority of anti-semitic attacks were by white people I don't think you'd have dreamed of saying that. Can't think why.

I was more than disappointed when she said it. I believe I know what she meant but the comparison like the one here should not have been made. There are complexities on both sides. It was harmful to Jewish People and Black people including Diane herself, who has been receiving end of so much racism.

I place no value on comparing types of racism. I can imagine, however, that there is something very exposing when you’re black (for example) with a “non English” name and an accent that may differ from the local accent. In every way, you’re very visible and audible to others. So, if you do encounter a racist person, they can identify you very quickly.