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August 13, 2009
In England, the issue of anti-Semitism never seems to go away. This summer, two phenomena demonstrate the disturbing and damaging trend afflicting the country’s Jews and pro-Israel community.
The first is an alarming set of data corroborating a dramatic increase in anti-Semitic incidents.
The second is a debate over proposed legislation to restrict the use of Nazi symbols with respect to Jews, Israel, and Zionism.
According to a report issued in July by the Community Security Trust, a British organization somewhat similar to the Anti-Defamation League, there were 609 anti-Semitic incidents of varying degrees reported during the first six months of 2009. This number exceeds the record of 598 incidents recorded by the reputable CST in the entire year of 2006, during the Lebanon War.
The media soft-pedaled the study, with a few exceptions, and there were only a few pious statements from the Government as business went on as usual.
Some, seeking to explain — no, justify — the dramatic increase call it a reflection of public displeasure with the “unacceptable” conduct of Israel during the war in Gaza. Such analysis is totally unacceptable. Were current or former Sudanese citizens residing in the United Kingdom subject to such assaults, no one would attempt to justify them on the basis of outrage over the Sudan’s genocide policies in Darfur.
The proposed legislation, meanwhile, would outlaw the use of Nazi symbols and cartoon representations in attacks against Israel (read: Jews). Should such symbolism be considered incitement, or would banning it be an infringement of free speech?
Either way, the continued use of Israel-equals-Nazis analogy is definitely anti-Semitic. Yet, the matter is now being re-visited again, as a result of a remarkable report produced by the European Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism, entitled, “Understanding and Addressing the ‘Nazi Card’: Intervening Against Antisemitic Discourse.”
According to the report, “placards carrying images of swastikas superimposed on the Star of David and the Israeli flag were commonplace in street-level protests about the recent Israeli military actions and the conflict in Gaza.”
Consider what might have occurred if a small fraction of the reported 286 anti-Semitic incidents (reported by CST for January) had been perpetrated against the Muslim population or the gay population in Britain. The hue and cry would have been ear-shattering. Verbal abuse and attacks against Muslims would lead to a national soul-searching and a call for revisions to the racial incitement statutes already on the books. There would have been a proper public outcry — and demand by the media — to penalize those who degrade or stigmatize Muslims. No one would even propose tolerating such acts in the name of “free speech.” Yet now Britain appears to be preparing for an actual Parliamentary debate on the subject.
Anti-Semitism remains well and alive in Britain, as an all-party parliamentary inquiry confirmed last year, although Jews make up less than .5 percent of the population. The data is there, the political and public response is evident, yet it seems that Jewish leadership continues to equivocate.
Anglo Jewry today is in a much better place than perhaps it ever has been. It has leadership, political access, and is actively engaged across the British political system. It has an entire array of religious, social, Zionist, and communal organizations. Yet British Jews are unable to agree on the severity of anti-Jewish hostility in their country, as evidenced in a recent exchange in the Jerusalem Post.
Robin Shepherd, of the Henry Jackson Society think-tank, argued that the “darkness” is closing in on the pro-Israel community, and that a “situation which was awful to begin with has deteriorated … rapidly.”
In reply, the president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews called Shepherd’s views “misguided and alarmist.” “There’s still a lot of work to be done,” wrote Vivian Wineman, “but let’s make no mistake about it, criticism of Israel in Britain is not novel, unique, or endemic.”
Some might argue, especially in Europe, that the American Jewish community and its leadership are far too aggressive in their anti-anti-Semitism. On the flip side, those attacking the leadership of the British Board of Deputies have charged that the old-fashioned shadtlanut is no longer an acceptable modus operandi. Anglo Jewry needs to understand that the future of the British Jewish community might well be far more united and better able to “soldier on” if they feel their leaders are prepared to be more assertive on behalf of Jewish interests.
Dr. Gilbert N. Kahn is a professor of political science at Kean University in Union (e-mail gkahn@kean.edu).
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