Ridley Road BBC

[Aquarius1234]

Ridley Road on BBC 1 starts Sunday 9pm.
Drama set in the 60s.

Ridley Road follows the fight of Jewish British people in a post-world war II London against rising Neo-Nazism.

I'm very well aware that anti-semitism is rife in the UK, I just thought maybe that term was a bit out-dated now. I'm wrong, obviously.

I hesitated to watch this but am glad I did. Very strange for me as a Jew from this area. I still live nearby. Was at the party shop on Ridley Rd a couple of days ago. Quite terrifying, but also am all too aware how rife anti-semitism is, I'm hardly surprised this happened.

I certainly related more to this than other depictions of Jews I see on TV, I knew lots of people who were involved in anti-facism and resistance in the UK and Europe, before, during and after WW2 but feel like we rarely see that.

@SammyScrounge you might be referring to the Battle of Cable street, which is interesting to read up on.

Also Yid is offensive and it also isn't, David Baddiel has done a lot of work to have it banned at Tottenham, but I know many Jews who are Spurs fans and claim the 'Yid Army'.

Can anyone explain why Vivien had a fake passport - in Roza's name I think - when she boarded the plane for Israel.
Under them 'right to return' she would be able to go in her own name.

Is this a spoiler-free thread? You might want to report your comment @Finnyhaddock

I've now seen all 4 episodes on iPlayer. The last one was especially good.

The 62 Group, which Vivian helped, was the forerunner of a group that exisits today and helps protect Synangogues, Jewish institutions and so on. Today's group is called Community Service Trust (CST). They are great!

My fil had a fruit and veg stall in Ridley Road market. Would have been around this time too. I’ll have to watch.

Just watched the third episode this evening. Looking forward to finishing the series.

My family came to England in the 1800s due to the pogroms in Russia, Poland, etc. They lived in the East End of London and would have experienced prejudice as depicted in Ridley Road too.

It feels topical to shine a light on antisemitism. It feels good as I think much of the general population doesn't necessarily appreciate how prevalent it is and how it feels.

I 'pass' for a non-Jew (which means I'm fair, don't look stereotypically Jewish and present myself like an upper middle class woman from the Home Counties - because that is what I am) and it's very interesting to hear the volunteered views of others who think I might share their opinions about the 'rich yids who control the media, banks and business'. I'm not making this up. Unfortunately.

There are only c.350k Jewish people in the UK and most of us feel very vulnerable. Do you know that we have security guards at every synagogue to protect us in case of attack? How would you feel having your bag checked and having to show a pass to prove you're associated with your church every time you went there? Even for midnight mass, a christening or Easter? That's what it's like ANY and EVERY time we go to synagogue. I've experienced those guards in the US, UK and Italy. It's very sobering.

I saw Tracy Ann Oberman on The One Show talking about the programme and antisemitism. I thought she was understated and articulate about the modern Jewish experience in the UK. Did anyone else see her?

I caught up with the first episode last night and found it very good.
I note also the casual racism as well as the antisemitism.

I too noted the parallels with now. In fact I wondered how the BBC had got away with making it - it's a bit too close to home for the powers that be.

@JamieFrasersBigSwingingKilt I did see that episode of the One Show, and agree with everything you've said.

The idea of passing is so interesting to me. My husband is black and we so often speak about the similarity but also the differences in our experience. He of course has experienced racism but has commented how for me, someone who isn't visibly Jewish, I discover the unguarded antisemitism once friendships and relationships develop. I've found it in the most unlikely of people and in the past few years have changed tact, mentioning I'm Jewish early on. I decided I could no longer have that experience, sometimes these people have even been in my home.

I've been described as everything from an English Rose, to Italian to Arab but some definitely see me as looking 'other'. Two of my sisters are like you and fair haired with green eyes. They look sort of Scandi, and have the same experience even more frequently. A guy one was seeing kicked her out of the car on finding she was Jewish, until that point they had a perfectly happy relationship for several months. Apparently she had been deceiving him and he had a 'right to know'.

@rubyfakelips I'm sorry you've had those experiences. It's not uncommon, is it? Which makes it even worse. It's so bloody insidious.

‘Passing’ is fascinating isn’t it? It cuts directly to what other people see when they see us, a rare insight.
I have 2 experiences: one of passing as orthodox Jewish and having a lovely chat with a mother in a shoe shop. As she registered I wasn’t there was a minuscule change- certainly not hurtful but the conversation petered out.
And discussing experiences living in a Nordic country with a Chinese friend- she’d had a warm welcome whereas I was just a strange person who kept getting things wrong.
Both are tiny tiny insights, I’m not suggesting I know what anti Semitism or racism feels like.

Surely it’s been written to resonate with nowadays. It’s fiction based on fact not a documentary.

@Tlollj

Surely it’s been written to resonate with nowadays. It’s fiction based on fact not a documentary.

But antisemitism is fact - now and then.

I don't know if it was written to resonate with today's politics, per se - it was in development for a long time, and sadly, it has become more relevant as time went on. By the time it got over the line, the parallels with British and global politics was very significant

I can't be the only one who is flabbergasted that this is taking place so shortly after the war 😲,like wtaf. Lest we forget, my arse.

@Doingtheboxerbeat

I can't be the only one who is flabbergasted that this is taking place so shortly after the war 😲,like wtaf. Lest we forget, my arse.

That's what I thought too. I imagined that the world would be done with Nazis at that point. I'm a child of the early 60s and I don't recall the Nazis being portrayed as anything but vile.

I wish Eddie Marsan wasn't in it, he's so over the top

Powerful series. Great acting and so thought provoking with the parallels of today.

It really doesn't seem credible that she could turn up late at night at the mansion and just freely wander about, no questions asked.

@Kinraddie

It really doesn't seem credible that she could turn up late at night at the mansion and just freely wander about, no questions asked.

She only could because the leader fancied her. And didn't he already know by then she was a Jew?

How did he know? She let slip to the kitchen girl that her dad was a tailor, not a postman, but I thought the Rory K character believed her story?

I've watched the first two episodes, was particularly interested as Ridley Road is very close to where I live, and actually I'm disappointed in it, I find the storyline confusing and muddled, and the pace is very slow - it's repetitive. It's a pity, because many people have no idea about the prevalence of fascism and antisemitism in the post-war period, and of course antisemitism is still so widespread today, and so often brushed aside.

However I can see that everyone else on this thread rates it highly! And I hope it is getting good audience figures.

@Clawdy

How did he know? She let slip to the kitchen girl that her dad was a tailor, not a postman, but I thought the Rory K character believed her story?

Because her engagement photo in the Jewish paper was in the newspaper Jack found in Colin's drawer just before he set fire to the place.

I missed that @MyOtherProfile - when did that happen? Episode 1 or 2.