In every generation, they will boycott the Jews
On 1st April 1933, the Nazis announced their boycott of Jewish businesses and professionals.
SA officers stood outside Jewish-owned businesses, intimidating shopkeepers and customers alike, and signs were posted that read, “The Jews are our misfortune” and “Don’t buy from Jews.”
The Nazi Government encouraged Germans to shame non-Jews who continued to patronise Jewish businesses. While the boycott lasted only a few days, it marked the beginning of the systematic targeting and discrimination of Jews in Nazi Germany.
Last week, 92 years later, we set about to educate the public about this incident. We offered kosher snacks – Jewish products – to members of the public, and engaged them in dialogue about the impact of historical and present-day boycotts on the Jewish community.
As we read in the Passover Haggadah, in every generation the enemies of the Jews rise up against them. While the nature of boycotts may change over time, one thing remains unchanged: the harm that they inflict on the Jewish community.
Our latest polling reveals a striking reality. More than four-fifths (84%) of British Jews agree that boycotts of Israeli artists, academics or businesses selling Israeli products constitute intimidation.
While most passersby were receptive and eager to learn more, there were those who took the opportunity to hurl antisemitic vitriol and abuse at us.
The full video can be watched here.
An extremely alarming decision
Last week, two men were released on bail in London after being arrested for allegedly being members of Hizballah, with one of them accused of “preparing acts of terrorism”.
The Met Police disclosed that they are free to roam in London on bail until July. This decision is extremely alarming.
Hizballah is a proscribed antisemitic genocidal terror group, which seeks the murder of all Jews, and has carried out terrorist attacks against Jews all over the world, from Burgas to Buenos Aires. In 2015, the authorities discovered a cache of three metric tonnes of Hizballah explosives in London.
Given the gravity of the allegations in this matter, we are asking the Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, to intervene to ensure that Londoners are being adequately protected.
Meanwhile, the Met, led by Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley, has also announced its intention to cut 1,700 police staff positions to plug a £260m ‘black hole’.
Of course one saving might have been banning the weekly Palestine marches, which have cost the taxpayer some £55 million, accounting for over 70,000 police officer shifts.
Will the Palestine protesters be footing that bill, or are all Londoners simply going to have to do with less policing because of their intimidatory antics, which the Met’s leadership has opted to indulge for over a year and a half – and counting?
Do you know this man?
We are offering £5,000 for information leading to a conviction after an alleged assault in Manchester.
On Monday 3rd February, an identifiably Jewish man was walking in Exchange Square in Central Manchester. At approximately 13:30, Greater Manchester Police received reports of a violent assault.
The victim was allegedly called “a murderer” and accused of being “responsible for the war in Gaza” and was allegedly physically attacked.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has been supporting the victim.
Full details of the incident can be read here.
Anyone with information should contact police on 101 quoting incident number 001613 of 03/02/2025 or e-mail us at [email protected].
For details regarding the reward, please see antisemitism.org/terms.
This is what Sir Sadiq Khan said on the occasion of Eid. What will he say for Passover?
We are hearing considerable discontent in the Jewish community about London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan’s Eid al-Fitr message, in which he suggested that the actions of the Jewish state represent the “worst of humanity”.
Whilst doing so, he failed to mention Hamas, which brought about this war in the worst antisemitic atrocity since the Holocaust, used Hamas-issued casualty figures, and overlooked all sorts of other conflicts afflicting the Muslim world, such as in Syria and Yemen.
This is a reprehensibly divisive statement for a festive message in one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world.
Sir Sadiq is Mayor at a time when London is experiencing the worst levels of antisemitism in living memory. He barely ever mentions that, let alone taking any action to address it.
This is perhaps why the vast majority – 85% – of British Jews are dissatisfied with his performance in relation to the Jewish community since 7th October 2023, according to our representative polling.
It will be interesting to see what, if anything, the Mayor of London says to the Jewish community on the occasion of Passover.
It has been one month since Ofcom wrote to the BBC
Last week marked a full month since Lord Grade, Chair of Ofcom, wrote to the BBC regarding its programme Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone.
The so-called documentary, which was tantamount to a Hamas propaganda film, and the revelation that licence fee money was paid to a Hamas family, has plunged the BBC into a national scandal. Ofcom warned the BBC that it was scrutinising the broadcaster’s internal review carefully.
It has now been several weeks since the internal review – which is effectively the BBC marking its own homework – was announced, and that review remains incomplete, which is unacceptable given the seriousness and simplicity of the issues at hand. The BBC cannot be allowed to kick this issue into the long grass.
Our letter to Ofcom has called for an end to Ofcom’s “BBC First” approach, which has plainly failed, and calling for an independent investigation.
The BBC cannot credibly investigate itself.
Campaign Against Antisemitism commissioned a YouGov poll which found that 57% of the British public support an independent investigation into this matter, while only 21% do not. There is clear public demand for accountability.
Ofcom must not delay any further and must exercise its statutory powers to intervene.
Speaking of Gaza and the media, the Hamas ‘health ministry’, whose fatality numbers seem to be treated as gospel by the BBC and others, has now quietly deleted thousands of names from its causality figures.
These were people whom the ministry had given actual names to entice lazy and gullible Western journalists.
If only those outlets had some way of verifying whether the claims made by a murderous terrorist organisation were reliable and accurate?
BBC Verify was established for just this sort of fact-checking – which ordinary journalists used to do. But BBC Verify, it seems, is just as unfit for purpose as the rest of the BBC’s Middle East coverage operation.
\We need an independent investigation into BBC bias in its reporting on matters of Jewish interest.
Until then, the licence fee should be suspended.
One final revelation relating to the BBC: On April Fool’s Day last week, we obtained a version of the BBC helpline voicemail.
It’s rather revealing. Have a listen here.
April Fools’ aside, the biggest joke is the BBC’s coverage of matters relating to Jewish concern.
It’s time to suspend the licence fee pending an investigation. Add your name at suspendthelicencefee.com.
Two-thirds of British Jews experience antisemitism at work
A recent survey conducted by Work Avenue in conjunction with the Board of Deputies and JLC found that 64% of Jewish employees have encountered antisemitism in the workplace at least occasionally.
This is absolutely appalling.
Is it any surprise that a majority of British Jews hide their Judaism due to antisemitism, according to our polling?
Employers have a duty to ensure that all staff are able to work in an environment free of racism, intimidation and abuse.
If any employees feel that their employer has directly or indirectly failed to live up to this responsibility, please contact us in confidence at [email protected].
In every generation, our enemies rise up to destroy us.
That is what Jews around the world will read on Seder night this weekend.
The past year and a half – including the enduring captivity of hostages, the Iran-Hamas war on Israel and shocking levels of global antisemitism – have once more painfully reaffirmed that dictum.
At Campaign Against Antisemitism, we are continuing to do everything we can to fight this evil, whether through pioneering litigation and victim-support, innovative communication campaigns, groundbreaking polling and policy actions and far-reaching educational initiatives and work with students.
As we approach the festival of Pesach, any contribution to the fight against the modern-day Pharaohs who are persecuting the Jewish people will be gratefully received.
Support our work here!
We wish the Jewish community a Happy Pesach, and our Christian supporters a happy Easter!
