Our NHS antisemitism documentary sparks national conversation
Last week, Campaign Against Antisemitism published a groundbreaking documentary on antisemitism in the healthcare sector, titled “Malignant: Antisemitism in the NHS”.
You can watch the full documentary here.
Exclusive pre-broadcast coverage of our documentary was published in The Telegraph here, including an op-ed authored by our Chief Executive Gideon Falter on the topic.
The documentary was then reported on the front page of the The Telegraph, which also sent a push notification to all app users alerting them to the story.
The documentary was further featured in major national and international news outlets, including The Telegraph, The Times, Daily Mail, LBC, The Spectator, and more, with opinion pieces in The Telegraph, on LBC and in several Jewish newspapers.
In addition, Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Director of Investigations and Enforcement, Stephen Silverman, spoke to international media about the documentary. He said: “We cannot allow the situation whereby Jews feel, for their own safety, that they are increasingly excluded from seeking help inside our national healthcare service.”
On social media, our documentary was trending on X, with the film and highlights amassing nearly half a million views and counting.
There is also more to come from us on the NHS in the coming days, with further revelations about the scale of the antisemitism faced by patients and practitioners in the NHS.
Our documentary has forced a political and institutional response to the allegations it uncovered.
An NHS spokesperson responded: “The stories highlighted in this documentary show there is unacceptable antisemitism and racism in the NHS, faced by both our staff and our patients and we must root this out.
“Any form of abuse against NHS staff is totally unacceptable and all local organisations must take a zero-tolerance approach to harassment, discrimination, racism and acts of violence – including police involvement and criminal prosecution where appropriate.
“The NHS is taking targeted action to support our staff, providing protection and comprehensive psychological support for people reporting concerns, and implementing the recommendations from Lord Mann’s review to tackle antisemitism and other forms of racism in the NHS.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism will be presenting our own robust recommendations that, if implemented, can finally make a real difference to the fight against anti-Jewish racism in the healthcare sector.
In parallel, Scottish Conservatives leader Russell Findlay highlighted our documentary in the Scottish Parliament.
We thank Mr Findlay. Politicians have a responsibility to speak out against antisemitism in the health system and wider society – and to act.
Our documentary – and the brave testimony it features – is encouraging other people to come forward.
If you have witnessed or experienced anti-Jewish racism in the NHS as a patient, medical practitioner or staff member, we want to hear from you.
We can help you report incidents or simply tell your story (anonymously or otherwise). If we don’t speak and act, nothing will change.
Get in touch, in confidence, at [email protected].
When Elie informed members of the public that the NHS has an antisemitism crisis, some reacted with shock, some with denial and others even broke down.
Watch the powerful footage here.
Foiled attack on Jewish community in Manchester
For the second Yom Kippur running, Jews in Manchester have been targeted by terrorists.
Two men in their 30s were reportedly arrested in Newton Street, Manchester, on Sunday on suspicion of a plot to target the local Jewish community at the beginning of Yom Kippur – the Day of Atonement, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.
We understand that they have been transferred to a police station in London, where they remain in custody.
According to an official statement by the Metropolitan Police, the men were arrested as part of a Counter Terrorism Policing London investigation.
This year, the attack was foiled. But the attacks keep coming. That’s because essentially nothing has changed in law enforcement policy since this time last year. The Government has found plenty of time for signalling faux virtue on foreign policy but has yet to take the fight to Islamists and other extremists fuelling the life-and-death antisemitism crisis right here at home.
We are grateful to the authorities for their vigilance. But the Jewish community cannot rely on that forever. The authorities need to get lucky every time and the terrorists only once. Until the threat itself is confronted, British Jews will never be safe.
Extremism goes unpunished
Several recent court verdicts have raised serious questions about the consequences for criminality and support for terrorism in this country.
- Sarah Cotte, 22, was found not guilty by a jury of expressing support for Hamas two days after the proscribed terrorist organisation’s brutal 7th October 2023 attack on Israel. Ms Cotte, then a student at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) reportedly gave a speech to a group of around 60 students outside the university where she stated that Palestinians had “broken free” and were rising “against the Zionist state which has been bleeding Palestine dry for nearly 80 years”. She had been alleged to have called for “unconditional solidarity with the Palestinian armed resistance”. You can read more about the case here.
In the UK, an acquittal by a jury is the end of the line for a prosecution. Hamas seeks the murder of Jews worldwide and showing support for it is supposed to be a serious criminal offence in the UK. This verdict is an extremely concerning result that appears to be becoming a trend.
- Separately, Dutch national Caspar San Giorgi, 39, was accused of causing around £7,000 worth of damage to the statue of Sir Winston Churchill in Parliament Square in February. He reportedly told prosecutors at Southwark Crown Court that the alleged act was intended as a political message to then-Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Parliament over the UK’s position on the Israel-Hamas war. You can read more about the case here. He too was acquitted.
Why does criminal activity appear to get a pass if it’s carried out in the name of Palestine? As Jews continue to bear the brunt of much of the criminality associated with Palestine Action, the authorities must ensure the criminal justice system acts as an effective deterrent.
- Even in the case where individuals have been convicted, the authorities appear unable to ensure perpetrators face legal consequences: In August, Palestine Action member Sean Middlebrough, 34, was found guilty of criminal damage for his role in planning and organising a raid on the Elbit Systems weapons manufacturing facility in Filton on 6th August 2024. You can read more about the case here. Mr Middlebrough, who is reported to have absconded from custody in October 2025 during a three-day period of leave granted to attend his brother’s wedding, was convicted in his absence. A bench warrant has been issued for his arrest.
This convicted criminal must be found and plainly must be returned to prison with harsher conditions.
As some politicians honour the Battle of Cable Street, others airbrush Jews from its history
Last week, a sparsely-attended Parliamentary debate to mark 90 years since the Battle of Cable Street, at which in 1936 Jews and their allies stood up to the British Union of Fascists and stopped their hate march, took place.
We thank Minister of State Flo Eshalomi for her recognition of Jewish resistance at Cable Street as we approach the 90th anniversary, and her acknowledgment that we are seeing the same antisemitic hate today in different clothing.
Meanwhile, Jeremy Corbyn MP – the man under whose leadership the Labour Party was found by the EHRC to have illegally discriminated against Jews – took a different approach.
He praised the fact that at Cable Street, ordinary people (he didn’t mention that they were Jews) stood up to the fascists. He recounted how “all of officialdom said to the people of the East End: ‘shut up, do nothing about it and let them march’”.
But Mr Corbyn seems not to realise that today, the same officialdom – including politicians like him – tells the descendants of those Jews at Cable Street to shut up and let the Palestine hate marches march.
The story is the same, and so are the Jewish victims. The difference is that Mr Corbyn speaks at the hate marches, rather than opposing them. For shame.
Whatever the denialism of some, throughout British history non-Jewish people have stood alongside Jews in the fight against extremism— from the Battle of Cable Street in 1936 to the present day.
In this week’s episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism, Elie interviewed Mark Birbeck, founder of the activist collective OurFight, a group comprising mostly non-Jews who act against antisemitism. It’s incredibly uplifting to see a non-Jewish ally who dedicates his life to fighting antisemitism and extremism.
You can watch the episode here, or listen to it on Spotify, Apple or wherever you get your podcasts.
Macklemore exits from Ed Sheeran tour
The pro-Palestine movement has their set its sights on Ed Sheeran.
Rapper Macklemore has been removed from Ed Sheeran’s tour for choosing to air anti-Israel propaganda on a large screen during a live performance as a supporting act. Macklemore has since led a walkout of Ed Sheeran’s support on tour.
Macklemore wasn’t there to perform music but to lead a mass political rally that, wittingly or otherwise, helps fuel the worst surge in global antisemitism in living memory, and this isn’t the first time that he has chosen to demonise Jews and Israel during his performances.
At a concert in Germany in 2024, video footage showed him claiming that the only way for society to atone for the Holocaust is by calling for a “free Palestine”. An image has also emerged from a performance by Macklemore in 2014, in which he wore a costume resembling a Jewish caricature on-stage.
Mr Sheeran has borne the brunt of widespread public and industry outcry in response to Macklemore’s so-called activism. On Saturday, he told concert-goers in Philadelphia that he had experienced “one of the worst weeks of my life”. He commented on the Hamas-Israel war, expressing sympathy for both Israelis and Gazans.
Ed Sheeran will be fine. If your tour support is made up of anti-Israel fanatics, you’re better off without them. The public are sick and tired of musicians using their platforms to preach divisive political rhetoric.
During the controversy, the manager of Kneecap – the band one of whose members was filmed shouting “up Hamas, up Hizballah” during a live performance – claimed on X that “Jewish billionaires who control America and fund the IDF decide who can and can’t perform”.
Meanwhile, public news commentary on the story has also devolved into antisemitic rhetoric.
LBC presenter Ian Payne described the issue as a “sensitive topic”, and went on to say that the “Jewish lobby” is “incredibly strong” and “really really clever” at getting its message out. He claimed they “know all the buttons to press” and “freak people out” because people do not want to be seen as antisemites for expressing a different view on the Arab-Israeli conflict.
This diatribe is positively brimming with antisemitic tropes, as you can read here.
Leading Britain’s Conversation? Surely Britain has better things to talk about than abusing Jews. We will be writing to Ofcom.
From London to Manchester, Jewish life is under threat
Last weekend, the Jewish community celebrated Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New year.
But as seems to happen with every Jewish festival now since the 2023 Hamas terrorist attacks on the festival of Simchat Torah, antisemites use these opportunities to target Jews.
That weekend:
- Five young people were reportedly involved in an incident outside Lauderdale Road Synagogue in north west London on the Sunday afternoon. Security footage apparently showed two people throwing “rocket fireworks” towards the synagogue, setting off smoke and loud bangs, before running away. You can read more about the attack here.
- In Hertfordshire, on the Friday as the festival was beginning, an investigation was opened after pro-Nazi slogans including “Heil Hitler” and swastika graffiti were found to have been spray-painted onto a field. You can read more about the vandalism here.
- Then, on the Monday, two men appeared in court after being charged in connection with an incident in Salford, Greater Manchester – a heavily Jewish neighbourhood. The charges reportedly included possession of offensive weapons in a public place –which according to the charge sheet were a hammer and a kitchen knife – and having an article with intent to damage or destroy property – allegedly listed as spray paint and lighter fuel. You can read more about the case here.
In addition:
- Three fourteen-year old Jewish boys were reportedly attacked on a bus travelling through Mill Hill on Thursday, with the Met Police confirming that they are treating this as an antisemitic hate crime. You can read more about the attack here.
- Sickening graffiti was spotted in Ely, Cambridgeshire by a member of the public which read “Juden out”.
This is antisemitism in plain sight. We are constantly being told that attacks on Jews have no place in Britain. It’s time the authorities proved it.
If you have any information about any of these incidents, please e-mail us at [email protected].
Church of England fails once again to conduct due diligence before meeting with extremists
The Archbishop of Canterbury’s office has withdrawn an award on the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks that it presented to Muslim cleric Maulana Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi.
The award was granted for his “longstanding support for religious minorities in Pakistan, particularly the Christian community” but withdrawn over his alleged prior support for Osama Bin Laden, the architect of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. You can read more here.
The timing is particularly galling in light of newly declassified documents which reveal strong indications that the UK and Israel were potential targets for Bin Laden in the lead-up to the 9/11 attacks, which killed 67 Britons and over two thousand Americans. Honouring figures with alleged links to extremist ideology risks lending legitimacy to the very hatred that tore communities apart on that day, and continues to threaten Jews today.
This follows a spate of controversies surrounding the Archbishop.
In June, she visited the Middle East where she met with two political activists reportedly detained by Israeli authorities in connection with their alleged ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a proscribed terrorist organisation in the US and EU. We wrote to the Archbishop in relation to this trip.
In addition, Leeds Minster – an Anglican church in Yorkshire – displayed a commemorative tapestry to those killed in Gaza during the Hamas-Israel war. But it transpired that the tapestry included the names of multiple members of proscribed terrorist organisations and the church is understood to have closed the exhibition entirely.
The Church and its leadership need to do better due diligence prior to engaging in what could be seen as performative stunts.
As antisemitism spreads unchecked, our resolve must only grow
Amid a torrent of global antisemitism, an attack over Yom Kippur was a matter not of if but of where.
On Sunday evening, at the beginning of the Day of Atonement, a man is believed to have opened fire on a police officer who was positioned in an unmarked car outside the Sons of Jacob Synagogue in Belleville, Ontario. The alleged perpetrator, Sean Ward, 29, was left with critical injuries in the ensuing shootout, and the police officer was seriously wounded. As a result, all Yom Kippur services at the synagogue were cancelled for the following day.
This is the global intifada.
Whatever security precautions Jewish communities are required to take, this hate must not diminish Jewish pride, and at Campaign Against Antisemitism it certainly will not diminish our resolve. As the Jewish community comes together to celebrate Sukkot this weekend, we wish everyone a joyous Chag.
