A lad in his late teens rode up to me last Friday night as I was making my way home along London’s Carnaby Street following a drink with a buddy.
He stopped, grinned for a while, and then murmured, “Heil Hitler,” as if he recognised me. After that, he rode off.
I didn’t feel like a victim, and I still don’t, therefore I almost didn’t bring up the incident in public.
There was no threat to me. I didn’t feel scared. To be honest, I’ve spent years as a barrister prosecuting and defending racially aggravated crime cases, publicly debating extremism, and attempting to hold individuals accountable regardless of their beliefs, so I know that nasty people can say terrible things.
I couldn’t get rid of one thing, though: I wasn’t surprised. That should worry us all far more than a single foolish kid riding a bike. This child had somehow internalised the notion that shouting “Heil Hitler” at a Jew in central London was now permissible. Jews are once again being treated equally.
Not that there are a lot of Nazis in Britain. It isn’t, of course. The threat is more insidious than that: the normalisation of anti-Semitism through whataboutery, denial, and distortion. the slow development of a society where animosity toward Jews is constantly justified as politically reasonable.
The same message keeps coming up. “How about Palestine?” “What about Netanyahu?” “Jews should definitely call this out.”
There are conditions associated to Jewish suffering. Anyone who appreciates British principles—fairness, moderation, the rule of law, and minority protection—should be alarmed by it.
Jews are once again being treated equally. Not that there are a lot of Nazis in Britain. It isn’t, of course. According to Rob Rinder, the threat is more insidious than that: the normalisation of anti-Semitism through whataboutery, denial, and distortion
In the past, the Left recognised the consequences of anti-Semitism. Thousands of Londoners came together to prevent Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists from marching through the East End during these anti-fascist demonstrations at Cable Street. Anti-Semitism was once naturally identified by liberals and trade unionists as a cancer that endangered the democratic order as a whole.
Many now appear to be morally immobilised. I say this with regret since a large portion of my work in Holocaust education, including educating students and participating in documentaries, is predicated on the straightforward idea that prejudice against one minority eventually endangers all minorities.
For this reason, it is becoming increasingly morally repugnant that so many so-called “progressives” refuse to address anti-Semitism.
Indeed, anti-Semitism on the right in British politics is genuine, ugly, and dangerous. However, the fact that individuals who loudly proclaim the language of human rights and tolerance are either unable or unable to address the same poison inside their own ranks is what makes this time so culturally disorienting.
About thirty Green Party members and election candidates are being investigated for alleged racism and anti-Semitism, according to a Daily Mail story from yesterday.
Then Caroline Lucas, a prominent member of the Green Party, denounced anti-Semitic remarks made by members of her own party. One could assume that such a claim would not be controversial. Rather, a large portion of the internet reaction criticised her of betraying the cause and lacking adequate dedication. The ridiculous notion that the party is somehow protected against anti-Semitism because Zack Polanski is Jewish looms over everything. As if prejudice surrounding a Jewish party leader is miraculously eradicated by his very presence.
Within the ranks of “be-kind” Left-wingers, a scary coalition has now formed. These movements, which seem to be fervently dedicated to liberal freedoms, women’s rights, and LGBT rights, are now marching alongside fervent activists who publicly reject those same ideals. What happened to the Left, which used to intuitively support liberal democracy, Jews, and LGBT people?
Keir Starmer tells anti-Semitism to “never again.” The majority of decent people concur with him. Slogans, however, are insufficient.
When antisemitism is greeted with apathy rather than indignation, what does it say about our society?
What happened to the Left, which used to intuitively support liberal democracy, Jews, and LGBT people? Rob Rinder and his mother, Angela Cohen, are shown.
Slogans are insufficient.Not while terrorist strikes in Golders Green stab Jewish men
Not when Jewish kids are being cautioned not to display their identities on college campuses. Not when schools and synagogues look like reinforced barracks. Not while terrorists in Golders Green are stabbing Jewish men. Not when Jews are informed that animosity toward them is somehow justified, “contextual,” or comprehensible. I recently went to a London reunion of the 45 Aid Society, a Jewish nonprofit organization started by Holocaust survivors. We should be stopped in our tracks just by the statement that security has been increased.
A teenage Jewish girl from an east London comprehensive school sat at my table. She discreetly revealed that she no longer wears her Star of David in public since the boys at school frequently say “Heil Hitler” to her. There, she is referred to as just “the Jew.”
Nowadays, almost every Jewish person I know is a member of at least one WhatsApp group where a subject that was previously unthinkable is being seriously discussed: where would we go if things got worse? What other minority group in contemporary Britain would be made fun of, written off, or charged with hysteria for acknowledging such fears?
As one of the Windermere Boys—children freed from German concentration camps and sent to Britain following the war—my grandpa himself came to this country following the Holocaust. In addition to providing him with safety, this nation helped him develop a deep affection for both his native country and the democratic legacy that had protected him.
Because he had lived without British democracy and liberty, he had a strong belief in them. Freedom is typically valued differently by people who have experienced tyranny than by those who only inherit it.
This is why it now seems so disgusting that many members of the activist class and the larger political establishment are silent, hesitant, and morally evasive.
Voters in British polling places reasonably consider bills, taxes, and education before casting their ballots. However, elections also reflect the kind of nation we want to be. Regarding the moral environment we are willing to put up with. Furthermore, bystanding is never impartial, as history demonstrates.
After all, Bruckner’s Fifth Symphony was performed at the Vienna Konzerthaus in November 1938 under the direction of conductor Karl Bohm. The audience applauded brilliantly, and critics later praised it as a glorious evening. After that, they went outside into the streets where, on Kristallnacht, synagogues were on fire.
In actuality, history teaches that lesson. Death camps are not the start of the descent into barbarism. It starts when civilised people figure out how to justify hatred. when bias starts to change. When minorities are gently or overtly informed that they may have contributed to the animosity they face. And when decent people choose to remain silent.
The boy who yelled at me last week didn’t hate Jews from birth. He learned from adults.
Now, the question is whether enough citizens of our nation still have the bravery and British decency to cease being passive observers. to speak up when Jews are mistreated and to cease tolerating hatred just because it comes in the form of trendy politics. must demonstrate that this nation still understands the distinction between quiet and solidarity.
