Marching has never been more important

The situation in Britain right now is worse than any of us can remember.

Antisemitism is rife across our public life. Worst still, the authorities seem to be indifferent.

Below is a sample of recent examples across society of the problems that we are seeing. But while we may be feeling helpless, we still have a responsibility to do something.

The future of British Jewry and our country’s tradition of tolerance and decency is not guaranteed. We have to stand up to extremism.

March with us. The march will start at 13:00 on Sunday 8th December in central London.

If you were among the 105,000 people who marched with us last year, you will know that this is a historic opportunity not to be missed.

Please ensure that you sign up in order to receive details and updates, enable us to plan for the right numbers and, for those coming from farther afield, arrange coaches.

The antisemitism and extremism – and the indifference – are deafening

These are just a sample of recent developments that showcase the levels of antisemitism and extremism – and the apparent indifference of the authorities.

• Last month, Dyar Amin pleaded guilty to racially aggravated common assault after he tried to attack a Jewish counter-protester at a Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) demonstration. He also called him a “big-nosed bastard” and a “baby killer”. Shockingly, he was only sentenced to 180 hours of community service, despite the maximum being 300 hours. His sentence was further reduced by 30% due to his guilty plea. Since the attempted attack, he has also reportedly been used as a steward by Leeds PSC at an anti-Israel demonstration. This is another disappointing outcome from our justice system, but hardly an outlier over the past year.
• The police have said that they will review a decision not to treat an imam’s public prayer for the destruction of Jewish homes as a crime after a public outcry led by The JC. We still have an outstanding complaint with the Charity Commission about the mosque in question, but why does it take a public backlash for the police to take this incident seriously?
• The Telegraph and others reported this weekend on how the failure of the police to make arrests and pursue charges has forced an organisation like ours to bring private prosecutions as the only means of securing justice for the Jewish community.
• The CPS, instead of devoting its energies to prosecuting antisemites, is bringing charges against allies of the Jewish community like Niyak Ghorbani, who has become renowned for declaring, in the face of anti-Israel protesters, that Hamas and Hizballah are terrorists under UK law. Once again, we funded his legal defence to have the charges dropped so that he retains the freedom to show solidarity with British Jews.
• A social media account appearing to belong to the Oxford-based Dr Sebastian Hormaeche published numerous inflammatory posts, including “Gaza is a concentration camp where zionist jews are bombing Palestinians to oblivion [sic],” “The unimaginable horrors. Israel is a Nazi terrorist state,” and “May the souls of the Zionazis burn in hell forever,” among others. We wrote to Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation requesting an investigation. They replied to say that they were actioning it, and we queried what that meant. They responded that “internal actions remain confidential”, but that they “have looked into your concerns raised, met with Dr Hormaeche and [are] satisfied that this matter has been dealt with appropriately.” Since then, Dr Hormaeche has continued to post incendiary material. Such is the quality of NHS enforcement. We have now written to the GMC, which regulates doctors.
• Whether or not we are right to place our confidence in the GMC remains to be seen. We have just heard from the regulator in response to our complaint in the case of a doctor who was a member of Hizb ut-Tahrir (which has since been proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the UK Government). The GMC have contended that they have no power over the NHS’s decision to lift his suspension. This is true in a technical sense but untrue in the sense that he is only able to practice as a physician because the GMC permits it. Still, they are investigating, which is obviously welcome. It has been several months now, however, so we do wonder how long this is going to take. In the meantime, he continues to see patients and the NHS apparently has no problem with that.
• Last week, a caller to LBC said that “We’ve got a country controlled by Zionists who are running the whole world…the definition of Zionist is Jewish,” and that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is a “Zionist”. He said that, clearly, because President Zelenskyy is a Jew. Presenter Tom Swarbrick deftly dealt with the call, which you can listen to below. But the enduring – and growing – popularity of these opinions and comfort with publicly expressing them contributes to the current surge in antisemitism.
• Some media outlets are doing less to challenge dangerous sentiments – and are even amplifying them. The BBC, for example, published a fawning article on its website that excuses and even appears to glorify members of Palestine Action. “I think people will look back at people who took direct action in this context as heroes in the future,” one source is quoted as saying. No victims of Palestine Action were interviewed, and we also discovered that the journalist who wrote the piece has strongly-held views about the Jewish state which are easily discernible in her article. We submitted a complaint to the BBC.
• Equity, the trade union for entertainment and the performing arts, has affiliated with the Palestine Solidarity Campaign. The PSC is one of the organisers behind the regular anti-Israel demonstrations in London and across the country. These demonstrations routinely feature antisemitic rhetoric and signage. We asked some Jewish members of the union how they feel about this decision. One Jewish theatre director told us: “Equity does not support the views of Jewish members except a minority who are anti-Zionist. As a Jewish director, I do not feel that Equity represents me.” Another said: “Once again, Equity’s Jewish members have been airbrushed. And it’s heartbreaking. In aligning with an organisation that hosts regular marches at which antisemitism is ever-present, Equity has betrayed its Jewish members…I’m upset, disillusioned, and frankly, about to give up on Equity.” We have asked Equity for its reactions to these testimonies from Jewish members.
• In a bid to disrupt a “Peace-building at Goldsmiths” event, anti-Israel activists at the University banged on the windows of a lecture hall whilst brandishing a banner that read “Zionism is colonialism”. It is revealing that this is how “peace-building” is treated on a British university campus.

These incidents showcase what British Jews are facing right now, from our streets to campuses, charities to unions, hospitals to policing, and more.

If you want to take a stand, sign up to march with us at antisemitism.org/march.

We mourn the murder of Rabbi Tzvi Kogan, and reiterate our call on the Government to ban the IRGC

It has been announced that UAE-based Chabad Rabbi Tzvi Kogan was murdered.

It is believed that he was surveilled at his kosher grocery shop and murdered by Uzbek terrorists linked to Iran.

This is a global war on Jews, and the Islamic Republic of Iran is leading this antisemitic onslaught.

The British Government and other Western states must take action if they actually believe their own words about the importance of fighting antisemitism.

That is why we join a call by a cross-party group of more than 40 MPs, peers and other public figures for the Government to finally proscribe the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), as promised prior to the general election. Iran’s malign influence is on display day after day in the Middle East and beyond, and that influence finds expression through the IRGC. We and others have been calling for a proscription for a long time.

We bless the memory of Rabbi Kogan, who is also the nephew of another Rabbi murdered in Mumbai in 2008 by antisemitic Islamist terrorists. This incredible but long-suffering family, which has dedicated itself to the service of Jewish communities around the world, are in our prayers and thoughts this week.

We honour Jewish veterans

Last weekend, Campaign Against Antisemitism was honoured to have participated in AJEX’s annual Remembrance Parade.

We pay tribute to the sacrifices and contributions of the British Jews who so courageously served our country.
Many people are despairing about the levels of antisemitism and are resigned to this becoming the new normal for British Jews – even if it means rethinking whether they have a future here.

But we owe it to ourselves and our children – and to wider British society – to fight for that future.

We must march. We hope that you will join us.

Image credit: Stuart Mitchell/Campaign Against Antisemitism