Antisemitism

[bubbleandsqueak1976]

I read the posts on here with interest and often the subject of anti semitism comes up. I was brought up in a town in the South East. My mum gave me a book about Anne Frank when I was around 8 and I can remember asking ' what is a Jew?' as I had never met one. When I was about 14 a girl from northern Israel came to my school and I was asked to befriend her and help her settle in. I can remember being fascinated about her life in a Kibbutz and she used to show me
Hebrew writing. I don't recall ever hearing anything anti semitic about her or her brother as the only two Jewish kids - to my knowledge in the school. I also remember in my twenties encountering a group of lads from North London - white something and them having an absolute hatred for Jewish people. I can remember feeling utterly shocked as I'd never heard anti Jewish speak prior to this. Reading some of the recent posts on here it has made me wonder wherever there are pockets in the Uk with Jewish communities that experience antisemitism where the rest of the UK it does not occur as people simply have never met a Jewish person just their life- to their knowledge.Where I live I have only met 4 Jewish people in the Uk in my life and I am 47. The most Jewish people I have met were in Israel when I visited in 2000.

I think what's really concerning is how the last two years have emboldened those who are antisemitic, like it's given them some sort of pass. I used to be able to argue and challenge a bit, now all I get is "Are you in favour of genocide?" "Do you support occupation?" "Do you agree with the killing of children?".
All nuance and debate has just vanished.

We hear constant denials of anti Semitism from anti semites but it's meaningless really. It's like racism too....when have you ever heard someone say, actually yeah I am really racist. Or any kind of "ism". Of course they'll deny it. They'll always caveat it with a...no I'm not racist..i just think .....

Do you remember the recent case in Germany where someone put a sign on their shop saying no Jews....even they had the gall to try and claim they weren't anti Semitic.

As reported by the BBC and various other news outlets, Dr Rahmeh Aladwan previously vowed she “would never” condemn the attacks, and had shared photos of the same necklace online, describing it as her “celebratory jewellery” alongside another chain showing a map of Palestine.

It's so sick and so offensive. I can't imagine someone, let alone a woman and a doctor, supporting such a vile murderous rampage against innocent people.
Sometimes I'm just lost for words. Really.

Yes this woman is completely sick in the head, I can’t believe she wasn’t suspended at the very least immediately. It’s hard to believe that this is allowed.

Because the boundaries are so eroded now, and for some reason it's getting harder to take action against antisemitism. What many of us consider to be obvious hatred, racism and discrimination, others don't see it.

Anyway, apart from challenging it where I can, writing to my MP, and checking on my elderly Jewish neighbours, I'm at a bit of a loss of what to do. So if anyone has any other ideas, or can put me in touch with an organisation to fight antisemitism, I'd be most grateful.

I donated to the Community Security Trust after the Manchester attack.
https://cst.org.uk/donate-now
You can click on the reason why you have donated (I chose something like, 'Recent news').

Thank you, @EdithStourton - that's genuinely helpful, I'm just reading about what the CST do 👍

I'd say things like challenging people when they bring up conspiracy tropes like 'I heard Jews all got told not to come in to the World Trade Center before 9/11' or whatever. When I see stuff like that online I will tend to check the profile and if they're not obviously a troll and just seem like someone who thinks they're being 'smart' by spouting conspiracies, telling them this is an antisemitic conspiracy and they are not 'fighting the man' by spreading it. If anything, they are doing 'The Man's' work. I think many people get sucked in via conspiracies and need reminding Jews are real people who this stuff impacts and they're not being clever or insightful by sharing stuff designed to cast hate and suspicion at Jews.

Call out people sharing antisemitic stuff with no evidence, eg photo of people cheering and a caption 'Israelis celebrating a Palestinian hospital being bombed' or something - reverse search the image, find out what it really is, or remind people 'You can't tell from this picture where these people are from or what they are cheering'

Good points, @Echobelly . A colleague once told me that no Jews were harmed by 9/11. I got evidence and showed her, she couldn't argue.
I've also been told that there were no Jews in the region until 1948, again I've been able to provide evidence to the contrary. I'll just keep doing that. There's so much ignorance as well as hatred.

Often decent, right-thinking people like yourself expect doctors to be paragons of virtue. In reality the opposite is often true, however baffling that may be.

it’s a matter of historical record that in the Weimar Republic more than half of all German physicians became early joiners of the Nazi Party, surpassing the party enrollments of all other professions.

Their activities included mass sterilisations and covert euthanasia of mentally unwell and or physically disabled men, women and children, inhuman medical experiments and of course the extermination camps.

Yes, of course. You are right, @LeaningOnTheEverlastingArms . Of course doctors were also in charge of "selections" in camps. I am being naive probably, to think that things are different now.

I don’t expect them to be paragons of virtue but I do expect them to treat all patients equally and fairly and I don’t see how that is possible when you have such open views about hospitals being ‘cesspits’ and how she openly talks about Jewish people- not just Israelis. If she was a teacher doing the same she would be removed.

Exactly 💯

I hope it is ok to come on and say that until very recently, I genuinely had no idea how widespread and ingrained antisemitism is. Now I have seen it I am shocked to the core.

I am so sorry I didn't know...

Just check out the current active threads on citme. Its sickening what is tolerated here.

Those threads 😢
I am ashamed to say that I had fallen for the whole it's not antisemitism it's anti-Zionism line. Without fully understanding any of the wider implications, for example why exactly a jewish homeland was so badly needed. There is a lack of discussion around this I feel.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgkznvv3j05o.amp

Jewish man unable to get his fallen bank card back on a London bus for hours.

‘He told BBC London: "I went to the driver and ask 'please can I have my bank card?'
"He said 'get out, I don't like Jewish people you look like a Mossad agent'. I said 'why you say that?' So I was shocked."
Mr Abraham said when the police arrived, the driver initially refused to open his cab to allow officers to retrieve his card.
He said: "The driver said, 'no, no, no. I don't want to give you the card. If you want to take that card, open this door, take that card. But me, I will not give you the card.' So the officer opened the door. They (the police officer) just take the card."’

Saw originally with footage in Heidi bachram’s x feed https://x.com/heidibachram/status/1983853298257183208?s=46

12 year old schoolboy violently attacked in Austria. I believe saw another incident incident children this week, but have to look them up. Appears to be only reported in Jewish press (Jerusalem post and ynet among others) but that may because it is Austrian.

https://www.ynetnews.com/jewish-world/article/s1nkmoo0eg#

This one (pic attached) is disgraceful.

https://x.com/henmazzig/status/1984583561572196721?s=46 Hen mazzig posted about a couple of guys who dressed as Jews rubbing coins together. I found it more of an eye roll thing tbh. However, whether you agree with hen that it’s unacceptable, or think it’s more of an eye roll moment, the comments on Hen’s post are illuminating and very nasty. I’ve put a selection of them on.

The creator of this display's explanation of his creative vision is really quite something.
https://eu.eveningsun.com/story/news/local/2025/11/01/bishop-condemns-auschwitz-image-on-schools-hanover-pa-parade-float/87034205007/

😱

Seems like Marks & Spencer has decided to stick with Dawn French for their Xmas add despite her rant mocking October 7th. Disappointing to say the least.