Anti Semitism is regrettably alive and well in Britain. A large minority of the British public agree or somewhat agree that Jewish people are only loyal to other Jews, have too much power in the financial world and control US Middle Eastern policy. This is the assessment of a new report by the Community Security Trust detailing Anti Semitism in Britain in 2007.
Particularly alarming are the results of a 2007 European opinion survey by the Anti Defamation League which is cited in the report. This survey canvassed the views of Britons on Jews, Israel and anti Semitism. It revealed that a significant minority of Britons hold anti-semitic beliefs.
This minority believes that Jewish people who work to promote the interests of British Judaism are agents for Israel. They use the terms Israel, Jew and Zionist interchangeably in voicing their criticisms and are unable or unwilling to distinguish between them. Their perception of British Jews has become dependent on the actions of Israel herself and they believe that British Jewry unduly influences parliament through shadowy groups such as Conservative Friends of Israel and Labour Friends of Israel to support the Israeli state. In short, there is according to a significant minority of British people, a Jewish conspiracy to control the world and all Jews are somehow in on it.
British Jews are negatively affected by this anti-semitic minority in many ways. British Jews right to comment on anti-semitism is often brought into question as is their objectivity on all things Israel. Boycotts of Israeli goods and Jewish academics and publications affect Jewish Briton’s right to live in accordance with their religious principles and take their rightful part in national discourse.
These acts also contribute to a public attitude towards Jews which encourages hostile acts against them. Consequently, many Jewish organisations now need to take on the extra security which befits what The Sun journalist Richard Littlejohn called a community under siege. It appears that Jews have become an “other” to be attacked and denigrated with exactly half of all Britons believing that it is “probably true” that Jews are more loyal to Israel than to their own country.
The Community Security Trust has once again done Britain a valuable service. Only by documenting the anti-semitic trends within our society and the wider world can Britons fulfil our duty to expose and combat such ugly unBritish attitudes. I recommend this report to anyone interested in understanding and combating anti-semitism in Britain today – which should include all decent people.
