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Jewish World / Britain is a good place to be Jewish
By Dave Rich
Tags: anti-semitism, British Jews 

Last month, my organization, the anti-Semitism watchdog CST released a report showing yet another rise in anti-Semitic incidents in Britain.

I'm sure it would have been received by some as more proof - as if more proof were needed - that Jewish life in Britain is doomed.

British Jewry, so the story goes, is beset by overwhelming anti-Semitism that has paralyzed the community's leadership. The government is apparently more concerned with appeasing radical Islamists than with standing up for democracy.
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One New York Jewish politician has even suggested that the next bunch of huddled masses to arrive at the gates of his city would be Jews fleeing Britain and its European neighbors.

This may be how my country is perceived by some, but it is based on a much distorted picture. It should not be necessary to restate that Britain is a good place to be Jewish.

There are certainly problems: Anti-Semitic incidentshave risen steadily in recent years, which means that many more British Jews have experienced direct anti-Semitism in their daily lives than, say, a decade ago.

There is an extremist political position - once rooted in the far left but now floating on a sea of populist, hand-wringing anti-Westernism - that blames Zionism for all manner of global crimes.

Parts of the liberal left hold anti-Zionism as a moral pre-requisite for their positions and, as such, provide a new home for traditional anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, now dressed in contemporary "anti-Zionist" garb.

The campaign to boycott Israel, with the unavoidable danger that it will turn into a campaign to isolate British Jews, is stronger in Britain than elsewhere. Media coverage of Israel or of Jews in public life too often strays into language and images that remind us of crude historic anti-Semitism.

Particularly crude examples include the notorious 2002 cover of the New Statesman current events journal, which showed a gold Star of David piercing a prostrate Union Jack flag, as well as Labour MP Tam Dalyell's 2003 talk of a "Jewish cabal" surrounding then-prime minister Tony Blair.

The campaign to boycott Israel, with the unavoidable danger that it will turn into a campaign to isolate British Jews, is stronger in Britain than elsewhere.

Most seriously of all, the threat of jihadist terrorism against the Jewish community, if successful, could have a profound and long-lasting impact on Jewish life. Radical Islamist ideology, with its attendant anti-Semitism, has influence amongst some British Muslims and cannot be ignored.

But this is far from the complete picture. The Jewish community is, generally speaking, prosperous and integrated. There are many important parts of British society where anti-Semitism has no meaningful presence at all.


The New Statesman front cover from February 2002


Over half of all Jewish children of school age attend Jewish schools, while Jewish cultural activity is flourishing. Anti-Semitism does not overshadow day-to-day Jewish life in Britain in the way that some people outside this country seem to believe. Nor should it be a defining feature of anyone's Jewish identity: we should be safe and free to express their Jewishness in whatever way we see fit. CST works with British Jews right across the political and religious spectrum in order to protect all these positive aspects of our Jewish lives.

So yes, anti-Semitism is more prevalent in Britain than it was a decade ago - we are the first to say so - but the appropriate response is not to shrei gevalt (scream in protest, if your Yiddish is a bit rusty) and take out the suitcases.

This is not the 1930s, and a sense of proportion and balance is vital. At the same time, it is not sensible to deny that such problems exist, or explain them away as developments that have no anti-Semitic origin, content or impact. Better to recognize the problems for what they are, and do the work that needs to be done to counter them.

CST is British Jewry's defense agency. We monitor, research and analyse anti-Semitism in Britain, as well as providing physical security advice and training across the Jewish community.

My colleagues and I joke that we are paid to be anti-Semitism obsessives; more seriously, we spend our working days thinking about antisemitism so that the rest of the Jewish community can spend their time thinking about other matters.

Having said that, we rely on the support of ordinary British Jews, whether as volunteers or donors, to do our work. The simple fact that we have doubled in size and income in recent years shows that the Jewish community is more worried about anti-Semitism, but also more inclined to stand up and do something about it.

The Jewish community's defenses against anti-Semitism are, in many ways, stronger than ever.

The All-Party Parliamentary Inquiry Into Anti-Semitism, published in September 2006, has brought an unprecedented response from the government.

Several government departments now form a standing taskforce, in partnership with the Jewish community, to implement the Inquiry's recommendations for how to tackle anti-Semitism.

This is a unique model that other countries may follow in the future. Support for the Jewish community in our work to counter anti-Semitism comes from all the mainstream political parties.

There is a growing recognition, inside Westminster but also, importantly, well beyond it, that the fight against anti-Semitism forms part of the wider need to defend democracy against extremism.

Anti-Semitism is a complex and nuanced phenomenon, and it is important to understand it properly in order to fight it successfully. It is false to assume that anti-Semitism comes from one source - be it "the Muslims", "the left" or "the right" - or that anti-Israel feelings or xenophobic nationalism are the sole motivating factors. In future articles, I will try to explore some of the main features, quirks and contradictions of contemporary anti-Semitism in Britain.

Dave Rich is Deputy Director of Communications for CST, which provides security and defense services to the U.K. Jewish community and advises government and police on anti-Semitism and terrorism.

Related articles:
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  • This hyphenated life, post two / Jew me down
  • Report: British Jews facing more anti-Semitic sentiment than ever

    More by Dave Rich on Haaretz.com:
  • OPINION / U.K. better than most of Europe at reporting anti-Semitism
  • VIEWPOINT / 'Israel Lobby' book may have sinister impact in U.K.

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