Dear Andy: an open letter to our new Prime Minister
Today, as Andy Burnham becomes Britain’s seventh Prime Minister in ten years, CAA has sent him a letter urging him to do what his two predecessors did not: act against antisemitism.
Dear Prime Minister,
Congratulations on your appointment to lead our country. These are challenging times for many in society, and they are particularly difficult for British Jews.
Synagogues and Jewish schools require a quarter of a billion pounds of police protection.
Jewish volunteer ambulances are firebombed and charitable institutions are targeted by arsonists.
Jewish pupils, students, parents, employees, customers, union members, hospital patients, performers and tourists are experiencing abuse and discrimination.
Jews have been murdered at synagogue, stabbed in their neighbourhoods and attacked when they dare venture farther afield.
Hate has been given free rein on our streets, with incitement to violence and genocide against Jews chanted in towns and cities up and down the land.
Jewish people are over nine times more likely to be victims of hate crime than any other religious group in the UK and even these statistics are thought to drastically understate the reality.
We are at crisis point. Indeed, the crisis has gone on so long now – over two and a half years, under two successive governments – that it has become the new normal. Our politicians recite the mantra that there is no place for antisemitism in Britain. But recent experience has taught the Jewish community that there is very much a place for antisemitism in Britain. On average there are multiple antisemitic crimes every single day. Antisemitism has once again become part of our social fabric in a way that none of us could have imagined.
As Mayor of Greater Manchester, you saw the effect firsthand at Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation. Now, as Prime Minister, you have an opportunity to do what your predecessors did not: you can do something about it.
You can read the rest of the letter here, or watch Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Chief Executive Gideon Falter read it here.
Andy Burnham gives major interview to…Gary Lineker
Last week, Andy Burnham gave one of his only interviews as presumptive Prime Minister to Gary Lineker, who left the BBC after sharing a post about Zionism featuring a rat.
Jews, the vast majority of whom identify as Zionists, have long been portrayed as vermin, including by the Nazis.
The previous week, Mr Burnham made a statement on Gaza – a foreign policy matter – opining that some of the previous Government’s stances were insensitive towards some communities in Britain. He made specific policy pledges in relation to Gaza while making only a passing reference to antisemitism with no policy pledges.
Mr Burnham still has yet to say something substantive on antisemitism – a pressing domestic issue that is a matter of life and death for Jewish people in this country – despite the worst levels of anti-Jewish racism in living memory.
Instead, he found time to speak to Gary Lineker, who posted a rat emoji about Zionists.
It is regrettable that the Jewish community – much of which is questioning whether it even has a future in this country anymore – appears not to merit the same sensitivity that Mr Burnham shows others.
The Church of England has a hearing problem
By wide margins in all three Houses of the General Synod, the Church of England decided to “hear” an anti-Zionist screed that severely harms interfaith relations.
Appallingly, the House of Bishops backed the motion to “hear” the notorious document titled ‘A Moment of Truth: Faith in a Time of Genocide’, produced by the agenda-driven ‘Kairos Palestine’ faction, by 25 votes to none, with five abstentions.
- The document denies Jewish indigeneity to the land of Israel.
Not one bishop objected.
- The document says that Zionism – the belief that Jews deserve a homeland of their own – represents “a colonial enterprise built on racism and the ideology of ethnic or religious superiority”.
Not one bishop objected.
- The document asserts that “genocide is cumulative” and that Zionism is an inherently genocidal endeavour.
Not one bishop objected.
- The document claims that Christian Zionism is a “theology of racism, colonialism and ethnic supremacy”.
Not one bishop objected.
- The document seeks to downplay allegations of antisemitism – the refuge of so many who indulge in it – by “condemn[ing] all who exploit and support the charge of antisemitism to silence the Palestinian voice of truth”.
Not one bishop objected.
- The document seeks to define Jewish identity and distinguish good Jews from bad, arguing that Zionism and Judaism have become conflated (notwithstanding that only 6% of British Jews do not identify as Zionist) and warning that “this confusion has done great harm to Judaism itself and to its image worldwide”.
Not one bishop objected.
On and on it goes.
The Church’s quasi-endorsement of this document – and by such decisive margins – is a slap in the face to the Jewish community and undermines years of interfaith dialogue.
The irony is not lost that this debate and vote took place in York – the site of an infamous medieval Christian pogrom against English Jews, who were ostracised, persecuted and murdered in the name of Christian dogma.
At a time of surging antisemitism in Britain, the Church has tragically placed itself on the wrong side of that fight. Not for the first time.
Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiyah: banned
In the coverage of the ban of the IRGC, another important proscription has been overlooked.
The British Government has proscribed Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiyah, also known as the Islamic Movement of Companions of the Right (IMCR).
The IMCR has claimed responsibility for a spate of attacks against the Jewish community in Britain earlier this year, including the firebombing of the Hatzola ambulances in Golders Green and the other arson attacks on Jewish sites across London.
The group has also claimed responsibility for attacks on Jews across Europe, and even for the stabbing attack in Golders Green – although police reportedly dispute the group’s connection to that latter attack.
We welcome IMCR’s proscription. It is only surprising that it has taken this long even as Jewish institutions were being targeted on an almost daily basis.
Anyone glorifying, supporting, assisting or acting for the IMCR must face the full force of the law.
Next, the Government must proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood and the other groups involved in the 7th October 2023 massacre, which incredibly have still not been banned. We have been calling for their proscription for years and will continue to lead these campaigns.
These campaigns are only possible because of your support. So many of you signed our petition calling on the Government to keep its pre-election pledge to proscribe the IRGC. By doing so, you sent an unmistakable message: enough delay, enough excuses. As we reported last week, the Government finally fulfilled its promise. The proscription of the IRGC is your victory.
Following the proscription, CAA Chief Executive Gideon Falter wrote an op-ed for GB News, which you can read here (paywall).
We asked people for their thoughts on the Government proscribing the IRGC. Things…got tense.
Lord Austin targeted for refusing to disavow world’s only Jewish state
Lord Austin of Dudley, a staunch ally of the Jewish community, was confronted outside Parliament by a pro-Palestine activist, who repeatedly called him “Zionist scum” and a “sellout” to the UK.
The protest was reportedly organised by Palestine Pulse – yet another extremist pro-Palestine activist group – to coincide with outgoing Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s final Prime Minister’s Questions.
Promotional material for the protest included the slogan “End Zionist control over UK” – rhetoric also heard at the subsequent hate march over the weekend (see below) – alongside imagery of Israeli shekels.
The suggestion that Israel exerts financial influence over British affairs echoes a familiar antisemitic trope portraying Jews as secretly controlling events behind the scenes.
According to our polling, the overwhelming majority of Jews (80%) identify as Zionists; only 6% do not.
Lord Austin was having none of it and bravely remonstrated with the agitator.
National Hate March for Palestine
The ‘National March for Palestine’ took place in London on Saturday.
As always, conspiracy-laden signs and banners littered London. Zionist ‘control’ of British politicians was a common theme, with numerous public figures targeted.
Accusing Jews of controlling politicians is an age-old trope. In 2026, just use the word ‘Zionist’ instead, and nothing will happen to you.
Let’s be clear: Zionism is the belief that Jews have the same right to self-determination afforded to all other peoples of the world under Article 1 of the UN Charter. 80% of British Jews consider themselves to be Zionists; only 6% do not, according to our polling.
We would say that hate has no place on Britain’s streets, but clearly it does.
Meanwhile, a sticker was spotted on the tube reading, “Israel trains dogs to rape Palestinians.”
There is no limit to the grotesqueness of the conspiracy theories relating to the Jewish state.
Marks & Spencer investigates boycott sticker
A cowardly sticker campaign urging a boycott of products that bear a connection to Israel has chosen its latest target: a bag of M&S potatoes.
The UK supermarket is said to be investigating the incident, which reportedly took place at a branch in Worthing, West Sussex.
Only the other week a sticker reading “The number one cause of child death on Earth this year is Israel” — was discovered on a packet of Medjool dates at a different branch of the same retailer.
Our representative polling shows that 84% of British Jews believe that boycotts of Israeli products constitute intimidation.
British Jews do not need to be confronted with these obsessive acts of vandalism when going about their normal day-to-day lives.
Supermarkets need to get a grip on these campaigns of hate.
Will the Charity Commission investigate “one of the most reputable scholars in the Middle East”?
“One of the most reputable scholars in Egypt and the Middle East.”
That is how Hounslow Jamia Masjid, a London mosque, described Egyptian preacher Yusri Jabar, whom it hosted on 12th-13th July.
Mr Jabar has reportedly delivered antisemitic lectures in which he repeatedly called for the murder of Jews. He has also referred to Jews as “enemies of the faith” and “the false messiahs of this era.”
Mr Jabar has just concluded a UK tour, during which he was invited to speak at mosques in London, Birmingham and Peterborough. He was also reportedly hosted by Hounslow Jamia Masjid in May 2023, when he allegedly accused Jews of “posing as ayatollahs,” and deemed them “evil.”
So why didn’t the Home Office revoke Mr Jabar’s visa?
Ahead of his planned tour, Labour and Conservative MPs reportedly urged the Home Secretary to prevent Mr Jabar from entering the UK in light of his record of incitement. Despite cross-party concern, this call was not heeded.
Now, it falls to the Charity Commission to investigate what steps two of these mosques, which are registered charities, took to avoid becoming platforms for hate.
Barely a week goes by without a Green Party controversy
According to a new report, almost one in four Green Party voters who define themselves as “Progressive Activists” answered that it was “sometimes” or “always” acceptable to support Hamas. 32% allegedly answered that they were unsure.
That is deeply concerning. Hamas is a genocidal antisemitic terrorist organisation that is proscribed in the UK.
Those making up the “Progressive Activists” section of Party voters were defined as “idealistic and globally minded, driven by social justice”.
That is not the only Green Party story that has made the headlines this past week.
According to The Telegraph, senior members of the Party have warned that it is unable to deal with the volume of internal complaints against members.
At a meeting last month, the party’s senior complaints manager reportedly stated that due to the unprecedented increase in Party memberships, the complaints team has struggled to keep up with the influx of reports.
This follows the recent suspension of numerous local election candidates over allegations of antisemitic comments – two of whom have even been arrested.
Does the Green Party have a problem of too many complaints, an inadequate infrastructure for dealing with them, or both?
We have seen this pattern in other political parties in the past. The Greens must get their house in order.
Is there a far-right infiltration into Restore Britain?
Neo-fascists, Hitler admirers and supporters of ethnic cleansing have embedded themselves in key local positions in Rupert Lowe’s Restore Britain party, an investigation by The Times has claimed.
The newspaper alleges that they have installed themselves in influential roles in local Restore Britain branches across the country.
The far-right figures reportedly include individuals who have praised Hitler and used extreme racial slurs.
Rupert Lowe, the leader of Restore Britain, has reportedly denounced “ethno-nationalism and neo-Nazism”, and plans to root out those who espouse those ideologies from his party, according to reports.
Is there really nothing hard about being Jewish right now?
A viral interview showed a Jewish man saying that “there is nothing hard about being Jewish right now”, arguing that the focus should instead be on Palestinian people.
Now, we’re exposing something that viewers weren’t told – watch here.
Tisha B’Av: a reminder that none of this is new
This week is Tisha B’Av, the ninth day of the Jewish month of Av, which commemorates the biblical sin of the spies, the destruction of the ancient Temples in Jerusalem and the Roman exile of the Jews.
It also marks a slew of antisemitic tribulations since then, including major massacres during the Crusades and the expulsion from Spain, and the outbreak of World War I, which laid the ground for the Holocaust.
It is a solemn reminder that the antisemitism that we are facing today is not new. ‘Golden Ages’ have repeatedly given way to catastrophe, imperilling the Jewish way of life – and Jewish lives.
Still, the Jewish people have always emerged on the other side of disaster. Whatever this current period of antisemitism across the world brings, we will come through it as well, one way or another.
