Hate crimes, discourse and extremism
This is a guest post by Dave Rich of the CST, and also appears on their blog.
The antisemitic incident figures released by CST today, which show an unprecedented number of racist incidents against British Jews in the first half of this year, should make everybody concerned with fighting racism and antisemitism pause for thought. The figures are startling and show a worrying pattern of rising antisemitism.
The incidents recorded by CST hold a particular message, though, for anti-Israel campaigners. The correlation between anti-Israel rage and antisemitic attacks, evident for some years, dominates the period covered by CST’s report. In January alone, 286 antisemitic incidents were reported to CST from around Britain. Over half of these made some reference to the fighting in Gaza, alongside the antisemitism. For comparison, during the Lebanon war of 2006, CST recorded 134 incidents in 34 days.
Let’s be clear: every one of the incidents recorded by CST as antisemitic is just that. Every one involves antisemitic language, or motivation, or the targeting of Jews per se, rather than pro-Israel groups or activists. We received many reports during the first six months of the year, of anti-Israel activity that we did not record as antisemitic incidents. There are examples of this on page seven of the report. Nor do we record anti-Israel, and arguably antisemitic, placards, banners or chants on demonstrations as antisemitic incidents. In total, in addition to the 609 antisemitic incidents recorded by CST, we received reports of a further 236 potential incidents that did not show evidence of antisemitism and were not recorded as such.
Let’s be clear about something else, too, before anyone makes the familiar accusation: this is not a call for anti-Israel campaigners to stop their activities, despite what some may claim. It would be wrong to tarnish all with a single brush. People are perfectly entitled to campaign against Israel and criticise its actions or policies, just as they are entitled to do so against the actions or policies of any other state. But that does not mean that they can disregard or contextualise any associated antisemitism in a manner that they would not dream of doing were it any other form of racism.
The spike in incidents recorded during January differed significantly from those across the first half of the year as a whole. Generally, they were more likely to involve targeted hate mail or abusive phone calls, rather than spontaneous verbal abuse or assaults; more likely to target symbols of the Jewish community and communal leadership, rather than random Jews in the street; and more likely to involve political motivation or ideology, rather than crude street racism. In other words, they are the hard edge of an antisemitic politics: directed against British Jews, but triggered by feelings about Israel.
It is worth remembering the extent of the rage against Israel during the fighting in Gaza. Anti-Israel demonstrations were peppered with banners and placards equating Israel with Nazi Germany:
As the recent EISCA report, Understanding and Addressing the Nazi Card, argued, this equation is the most hurtful and extreme example of anti-Israel discourse. It is antisemitic in its impact, irrespective of the intentions of the purveyors of the imagery. And it has the effect of casting all Jews who do not actively disown Israel and Zionism, as being Nazis or Nazi sympathisers, in a cruel and wicked perversion of both history and trauma.
The Star of David, stripped of its place in the Israeli flag and left standing as a purely Jewish symbol, was fair game:
Other demonstrators expressed their feelings in ways that echoed, however unwittingly, more ancient antisemitic charges of infanticide and deicide:
There was the now-ubiquitous support for terrorist organisations:
And the idea that Israel represents a global power, and a threat to the whole world.
If the Israeli/Palestinian conflict is inflated to hold totemic significance for the entire world, then British Zionists – in reality, the vast majority of ordinary Jews – become recast as local agents of a global conspiracy, and it becomes impossible to discuss the conflict in reasonable terms.
In addition to this extreme discourse, the level of violence on display at some of the demonstrations, directed against the police and local shops, was shocking.
Nothing of this sort was seen during the Lebanon war of 2006, or on the demonstrations against the Iraq war three years before that. Starbucks in particular was a favoured target of the protestors, due to the mistaken belief that it has strong economic connections to Israel.
There is no way of knowing if any antisemitic incident perpetrators attended these demonstrations, or were influenced by them. However, it is hard to believe that there is no connection between the three simultaneous phenomena in January, of an unprecedented number of antisemitic incidents; an unprecedented level of extremist discourse around Israel; and an unprecedented level of visible anger and violence at anti-Israel demonstrations. It is possible that all three occurred in parallel with each other as responses to the same stimulus, but seems implausible that they had no relationship to, or impact on, each other. If the antisemitic incidents sparked by reactions to events in Gaza were of a predominantly political character, then these demonstrations, widely reported in the media, provided the environment and energy that all types of hate crimes feed off. If the level of anger these demonstrations could generate this kind of violence against Starbucks, then how much more likely is it that it also led to attacks against Jews?
The point of this post is not to silence or gratuitously attack anti-Israel campaigners; nor is it to make over-simplistic comparisons between antisemitism and anti-Israel activity. It is simply, as stated in the first paragraph, to give food for thought about the dynamic between the two, which is often complex and unclear, but cannot be ignored.
It should be possible to campaign against Israel’s policies and actions without using the most offensive and inflammatory discourse. For example, several anti-Israel campaigners have made the point that they compare Israel to Nazi Germany not because they think it is factually correct, but because they know it will elicit areaction. They are right: it elicits many different reactions, in different audiences. It gets attention, certainly, which is often the main intention; it offends most Jews (which is often not the intention) while inducing a taboo-busting thrill in those who make it. In addition, it is possible that, unwittingly, it incites a smaller but significant audience to hate and attack Jews. Certainly, it brands ‘pro-Israelis’, however defined, as today’s Nazis, deserving of the same ostracism from decent society.
There are several different ways to respond to this. One is to shrug your shoulders: the suffering of Gazans is much worse than that of British Jews; antisemitism will exist for as long as Israel behaves as it does, so the argument goes, and there is not much that can be done about it. For people who consider themselves anti-racists, though, this should not be the answer. Antisemitism, like all forms of racism, is not an acceptable by-product of political campaigning. Allowing antisemitism to become more acceptable than other forms of racism damages all of society, not just Jews.
Comments
| 24 July 2009, 5:05 pm |
I wanted to ask this earlier but didn’t know where so I’ll ask it here:
Maybe I haven’t been on this blog long enough or maybe I’m just naive, but would like to ask if you could post a discussion on Palestinians in Jordan and their passports being revoked. Not a comparison to Israel or a card to prove left wing hypocrisy but as a post on it’s own right.
Just another question, are there any “we are all Hizballah” out there or people claiming that Britain should have relations with it’s “political wing” (since after the elections in Lebanon), or have people seen the light already?
| 24 July 2009, 5:56 pm |
War On Want + Oxfam + Christian Aid + Save the Children + Guardian + Independent + Nick Clegg + David Miliband
You must be very proud of yourselves
| 24 July 2009, 6:41 pm |
I’ve been saying this since January, but I’ll say it again: The fish stinks from the head. The minute Ben Bradshaw got to keep his job after the anti-Semitic remarks he made was the minute I realised that any lip service this government pays to fighting racism is pure empty rhetoric.
I did write to the Cabinet on the subject, but naturally, no reply ever graced my letterbox.
Now of course in the past couple of days we have seen various government and parliamentary figures making worried noises and tut-tutting at the findings in the CST report, but before I fall for that, I’d like a serious explanation as to why the British Embassy in Tel Aviv donated money to ‘Breaking the Silence’ and why the Department for International Development funds a bunch of organisations within Israel with the common denominator of seeking to eradicate the Jewish nature of the state.
Of course the anti-Semitic yob in the street will feel free to attack Jews or Jewish targets when his government is showing him on a daily basis that his views are mainstream and legitimate.
The resounding silence from official British bodies this last January made British Jews fair game once again.
May I also suggest that the CST report is probably only representative of the tip of the iceberg. My family alone could add another 5 or 6 incidents to that list over the past 6 months, but personally I see little point in reporting them. The solution is not head-shaking and hand-wringing by government ministers for the few days the subject is in the news. Neither, with all due respect, is it bigger and better security systems at shuls and Jewish schools.
| 24 July 2009, 7:48 pm |
IsraeliNurse
By funding these organizations isn’t the Department for International Development infringing Israeli sovereignty?
| 24 July 2009, 8:15 pm |
“Of course the anti-Semitic yob in the street will feel free to attack Jews or Jewish targets when his government is showing him on a daily basis that his views are mainstream and legitimate”
There is a real and dangerous rise of anti-semitism in the UK but the above is surely nonsense. Most of the anti-semites think the government is “Islamophobic” (on a daily basis). They also think it is run by Zionists.
| 24 July 2009, 9:03 pm |
On another thread, Rob mentioned the blog ‘This ongoing war’.
I took a look and saw this article (link below) by Palestinian journalist Khalid Abu Toameh, who pretty much nails this problem.
http://thisongoingwar.blogspot.com/2009/03/26-mar-09-unmasking-hatred-behind.html
Speaking of his experiences on American campuses he writes:
” If these folks really cared about the Palestinians, they would be campaigning for good government and for the promotion of values of democracy and freedom in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.”
He says a lot more and personally, I would be delighted if Khalid could be persuaded to tour UK universities because education seems to me to be the best – perhaps the only – long-term tool we have.
As Israelinurse has pointed out, all the hand-wringing, conferences and upping of security measures will not help because so many people remain in varying degrees of ignorance about this conflict. How can you form an educated opinion when you don’t know the facts? Anti-semitism around Europe is building up and it bothers me that the solution may be yet more laws; you cannot legislate for minds, but you can educate them so that they can think clearly.
Since Cast Lead, I’ve actually made a point of speaking to people about Israel/Palestine and I have been staggered by how little they actually know. Most of their views were based on either myth or something they learned from someone else. I’ve even heard that ‘the Jews invaded Palestine, drove the people out and put them in camps where they’re tortured’. The truth is that in almost seven months, I have not found a single person who has a comprehensive understanding of Israel/Palestine, West Bank/Gaza. Worse, those who would campaign under a ‘Free Palestine’ banner have absolutely no idea of the likely consequences of the measures they are seeking. They seem to believe if all Palestinians returned to Israel the issue would be over and their ‘job’ done. Which couldn’t be futher from the actual reality.
It might help if the BBC were less biased; if the media were more factual rather than sensation-seeking and if, say, the film ‘The Forgotten Refugees’ was shown on TV. Again, very few people knew that the Arab lands expelled Jews after WWII but once they did, it helped bring things into perspective and provided a basis for a more informed and thoughtful discussion.
As an initial step, though, if I were now in government and had to find a first-stage solution, it would be to ask Khalid Abu Toameh to come over and tour our universities. Hearing the views of a Palestinian whose outlook focuses on the real people – as opposed to the ’cause’ – might at least help our young people to see that they must a) be fully aware of the facts before they judge b) that they need to be a little introspective and decide whether or not they are reacting to a ’cause’ and c) in what way their actions are actually helping the real people involved.
Khalid says it all far more eloquently than me, but what is needed is less of the ‘pro’ and ‘anti’, fuelled arguments and a little more constructive discussion about ‘people’ which can only come about via education.
| 24 July 2009, 9:37 pm |
Isy -in my opinion, yes. I’d love to see what the Brits would say if Israel funded the Cornish Liberation Movement or whatever they’re called.
Moritz -basically, British anti-Semites fall into one of three categories in my experience.
1) Islamist extremists. (fortunately, thin on the ground)
2) BNP type neo-Nazis.( as above)
3) PSC and associated organisations and fellow travellers.
It is the third category in my opinion which presents the most pernicious, vocal and rapidly growing threat. This is the category which has infiltrated every type of British establishment, from Parliament, through universities, churches and unions to the media. On a personal level, these are the people with whom I have had bad experiences, far more than groups 1&2.
The vast majority are white, educated, middle class, ‘respectable’ Brits.
In January of this year we saw unprecedented attacks upon British Jews. The government made no official statement regarding the unacceptability of these attacks. It even allowed a minister who claimed that the flagship of British broadcasting is under Jewish/Israeli influence to remain in his post. It allows the BBC to continue to refuse to publicise the Balen report. It allows members of its house to meet with representitives of anti-Semitic terrorist organisations and even gives such organisations hospitality under its own rafters. It funds anti-Israeli organisations and imposes trade and defence boycotts upon Israel (which may directly affect the lives of Jews in Israel who hold both British and Israeli citizenship), directly reflecting the policies of bodies such as the PSC.
In short, it is far from an exaggeration to say that the British government-albeit probably more due to its craven ineptitude than malicious designs – has declared open season on British Jews and Israelis alike and that message is not lost upon those with an anti-Semitic agenda in any of the above categories.
British Jews will probably not say this. They may even not see it. I am not bound by the same niceties or romantic loyalties and have no need to keep th’ band in th’ nick as they say in these parts.
| 25 July 2009, 2:50 am |
Israelinurse, British Jews like me do see it, and say it. The problem is we are a minority within a minority. And even when we do say it, what good does it do? I wish I knew how to change this. I feel very sad and embarrassed that my country has become what it has, and that this is being encouraged from the top down.
| 25 July 2009, 8:55 am |
Israelinurse, like Jonathan S, I am a British Jew and I am saying it too.
What would be David Miliband’s response if the Israeli government gave £35,000 to encourage British soldiers in Afghanistan to make anonymous unsubstantiated allegations about the behaviour of their comrades?
| 25 July 2009, 8:58 am |
From the Report: “Of the 190 antisemitic incidents during
January that showed evidence of political motivation as well as antisemitism, 114 showed evidence of primarily anti-Zionist
motivation, 55 showed Islamist motivation and 21 showed far right motivation.”
British Jewish community leaders – have you read this?
Islamists accounted for twice as many incidents as the BNP, yet you only seem to obsess about the BNP …
| 25 July 2009, 9:30 am |
Joseph,
As an Irish Catholic I would disagree with the comment about British Jewish Community leaders not taking the threat of political Islam as serious as that from the far right.
There is of course still a tendency within the BNP that is violently anti Jewish and is grouped around the old guard like Richard Edmonds who is still active in South London but Griffin has firmly steered the party away from all overt forms of anti semitism
I don’t agree with Israelinurse that Islamic extremists are thin on the ground, that is certainly not the view of myself and other observers of the situation here on the ground in Tower Hamlets and Hackney.
I have a couple of long posts on PP on the entry where HP was attacked where I go into great detail about the way that IFE Europe is effectively in control of Tower Hamlets Labour group and through them the council. I won’t go through it all again but if any of you haven’t read it please do.
Yes the PSC is very largely responsible for the upsurge as are Stop the War, Respect and all of the other SWP front organisations. I think the whole thing should be put into perspective though. Generally speaking most gentiles have a high regard for Jewish people and there is a high level of support for the state of Israel.
George Galloway and his convoys are regarded with derision and Muslims are generally distrusted with outright dislike from a sizable minority of the population
I think there should be vigilance but we are nowhere near a situation as we had in the late fifties and early sixties when synagogues were being bombed.
| 25 July 2009, 10:47 am |
Billaricaydickey – I’m sure you’re right about Tower Hamlets and Hackney; different geographical areas will obviously have varying characteristics which will affect our perception of this problem.
Jonathan S & Jonathan H; I don’t know what we should be doing either, but it seems to me that despite the valiant efforts of organisations like the CST and Just Journalism, and despite the many individuals who write to the BBC, MPs etc. or try to make a difference on a one to one level as Penny describes, something isn’t working here and the situation is already way beyond any sort of damage limitation.
As you say Jonathan S, a minority within a decreacing minority has neither the political clout nor the numbers to make effective changes.
The only real solution I see is aliyah, but I do appreciate that it isn’t for everyone.
| 25 July 2009, 11:19 am |
George Galloway and his convoys are regarded with derision and Muslims are generally distrusted with outright dislike from a sizable minority of the population.
The necessity of first point I cannot fail to disagree with more, but I am sorry to say the second point may well be true. Note, “sizeable minority’ doesn’t necessarily mean anywhere close to a “near majority”, but it certainly contains a grain of truth.
Thank you Galloway, thank you Bungles, thank you ELM.
Meanwhile, I see the Jewish Chronicle is reporting on the sacking/reprimanding of a number of Lancaster County Council employees over internal Gaza-related e-mails sent during January. In shameless self-publicity, I discussed it here and here and here (in that order).
Of borough councillor at adjacent Blackburn and Darwen, Salim Mulla – whose Westminster MP is rumoured to have led the opposition to the Blears Camp – the article states:
A spokeswoman for Standards for England, which investigates councillors’ conduct, said it had not received a complaint about Councillor Salim Mulla of Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, who had also forwarded the email.
Councillor Mulla is also the vice-chairman of Lancashire Council of Mosques.
I assume, as with the Charity Commission, SfE requires concerns to be brought to their attention before investigating.
| 25 July 2009, 12:45 pm |
Why are they not reporting that they are killing the Tellyban by the Sharia load at the moment? OK the silence coming out of Sri Lanka is deafening, as well as the Dafur even the BBC, you know the people who live in a multicultural haze and tell US. Generals they cannot “win” seem to have even given the Gaza a rest…is it the holiday season or recess?
| 25 July 2009, 1:06 pm |
Israelinurse, it is also (sadly) the only solution I see. ‘Sadly’, you understand, not because it is a bad thing (on the contrary), but because it is not something I think should result from necessity. Also, I am a proud Briton, and it upsets me greatly that I would have to abandon this country and write it off. What about my fellow British Jews? And what about the many things I love about this country, and the values I felt it stood for (once)?
So I am determined to try my hardest to do whatever I can. As you say, I write to my MP, the Foreign Office, the BBC, the papers, on blogs, etc, all to see if we can start a more unified collective reaction to this. But I fear we are fighting a losing battle, especially when large parts of our own community prefer to prattle on about not giving the antisemites ‘the oxygen of publicity’ etc. It’s so depressing to watch those people bury their heads in the sand. I know and you know it won’t help anyone to do so.
Anyway, I look forward to the day that I have the courage to move to Israel. It is a wonderful country. I just know that it will be hard to leave this and adapt, for personal reasons. And I think it’s a dreadful disappointment that my government clearly doesn’t care that people should have no other option.
| 25 July 2009, 2:55 pm |
IsraeliNurse
Aliya will be a record from the UK this year – 800 familes
The ones that stay are either the Charedi or the old or the ones prepared to prove they are ‘good’ Jews by saying ‘I am British not Israel and I don’t agree with Israel so don’t blame me’.
It is utterly depressing.
| 25 July 2009, 3:25 pm |
This is a very sobering piece of writing. What is important to bare in mind is that hatred of Israel is a form of bigotry in its own right. Readers may also be interested to read analyst Robin Shepherd’s blog which refers to many of the same issues:
| 25 July 2009, 6:52 pm |
Jonathan S
“…to see if we can start a more unified collective reaction to this.”
I’ve highlighted this particular excerpt from your post because it’s what I’m hearing all the time. Many people who aren’t fully-subscribing members of a synagogue or who aren’t otherwise in touch with a community appear to be saying the same thing. They are looking for someone / something to act as a focal point for some form of action but have no idea where to begin.
| 25 July 2009, 7:24 pm |
antisemitismaction@hotmail.co.uk
@another penny please email me
| 25 July 2009, 9:57 pm |
Jonathan S -I understand your sentiments entirely as I too feel very sad at writing this country off, but I have come to the conclusion that it is not the same place as my nostalgia would lead me to believe.
There are many things I will miss when we go back to Israel next spring, but none of them can outweigh the feeling which one can only have in Israel of being amongst one’s own people -being home -with all the feelings of safety and security which only home can give.
For my children and I the past two and a half years spent in the UK have been a real life lesson. We return to Israel even more convinced than ever of the need for a safe Jewish homeland and knowing that those ‘post Zionists’, who claim that the dangers faced by the Jewish people decades ago which led to the establishment of the state are a thing of the past, are seriously mistaken.
To be honest, I have come to the conclusion that Britain no longer deserves or merits its Jews, so I wish you and many, many others a speedy and successful aliyah. It isn’t easy, and there will be days when you seriously ask yourself if you’ve done the right thing, but just knowing that your children and grandchildren will never have to deal with anti-Semitism and that you can be yourself, whatever your own personal interpretation of Judaism, is more than enough compensation for the trials and tribulations involved in making that big step.
We can lament what Britain has become as far as the attitude towards Jews is concerned, or we can take our energies and channel them into the positive action of continuing to build our real homeland for future generations -there’s still plenty of work to be done and challenges to be met.
I vote for the latter, of course.
| 25 July 2009, 10:25 pm |
Israelinurse:
I don’t disagree. I will find it very hard to move but hope I manage it.
You asked earlier in this thread why the UK embassy in Israel funded Breaking the Silence. Here is their response to me when I put that question to them (on twitter):
“@jonsac Shavua Tov. We fund them for the work they do in Hebron as we feel they raise awareness of impact & suffering caused by occupation”
What rubbish.
Am currently arguing with @ukinisrael on there. I encourage you all to do the same if you ‘do’ twitter.
| 26 July 2009, 12:45 am |
Wow, Jonathan -there’s no limit to their bare-faced nerve is there? This surely must fall into the category of interference in the internal affairs of another country. I’m afraid I haven’t mastered twitter, but I’ll see what else I can do.
| 26 July 2009, 10:17 am |
Now Westminster wants to talk to Hamas:
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3752059,00.html
| 26 July 2009, 11:15 am |
Look at the list of witnesses the Foreign Affairs Committee called. Iain Scobbie is the PSC’s favourite lawyer.
| 26 July 2009, 3:22 pm |
I’m hoping to go back to Israel for a few weeks next year on a fly-drive-kibbutz type holiday.
Initially, I was going because a) it’s been too long since I last visited and b) seeing Israel is a long-term wish of the friend who is coming with me. Of late, though, the reasons are shifting a little; I think I’ll be doing a little more than sight-seeing.
| 26 July 2009, 3:58 pm |
Within living memory there were fearless and outspoken pro-Israel MPs – and I do not necessarily mean the Jewish MPs like Mikardo and Janner.
Are there none now?
| 26 July 2009, 5:31 pm |
I am a proud Briton – my family has been making money here for decades.
So it breaks my heart to leave Britain.
On the other hand, once Nir Barkat has cleansed East Jerusalem of the Arabs, we will – however reluctantly – escape from Britain, which is being overrun by muslims.
I will find it very hard to go, but it is our historic destiny, a people without a land moving to a land without people.
| 26 July 2009, 7:12 pm |
Fuck off
I would suspect that in Britain today you have to actually murder someone to be accused of an antisemitic hate crime. Everything else is deemed more or less acceptable. Get your yellow stars ready.