antisemitism Archives | Page 6 of 9

Exhibition of cowardice in Golders Green

January 20, 2019January 25, 2019 Melanieantisemitism, Golders Green mosque, Iran, Shirazi

Here’s a little thought experiment for you to try. Suppose a synagogue wanted to hold an exhibition commemorating, say, co-existence between Jews and Muslims in medieval Spain. Suppose a group of Jews who objected to anything showing Muslims in a good light intimidated the organisers of the exhibition into dropping it, threatening them with violence if it went ahead. There would be a huge outcry by the wider Jewish community at such behaviour. It would almost certainly make the national papers which would be delighted to show Jewish “extremists” in…

Britain Israel

How western humbug gives antisemitism a free pass

January 6, 2019 Melanieantisemitism, Labour party, racism

A few days ago, I wrote about antisemitism in the Labour party following the rough ride given to shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry when she spoke at Limmud. I suggested that those who, like Thornberry, were concerned about the egregious examples of antisemitism in their party were nevertheless unable to face an inconvenient truth. This was that the bigotry against Jews which so horrified them was symbiotically connected to the commitment throughout progressive circles to the Palestinian cause, whose foundation, activities and goals are defined by virulent, murderous Jew-hatred. In response,…

Israel

Our crazy world: US Syria pullout, EU antisemitism survey

January 1, 2019 Melanieantisemitism, eu, Syria, trump

Please join me here as I discuss with Avi Abelow of Israel Unwired some major events of the past few days in our crazy world. We consider the implications of President Trump’s decision to withdraw US troops from Syria, the ramifications of which are more complex than might be imagined from the shallow mainstream media accounts. You can also read my take on what really matters about America’s approach to Syria and Iran here. We also talk about the recent EU survey of perceptions by Jewish communities in Britain and…

Britain

The Labour party’s out-of-body antisemitism experience

December 31, 2018December 31, 2018 Melanieantisemitism, Corbyn, Labour, Thornberry

When Labour’s shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry spoke last week at the annual Limmud Jewish cultural festival in Birmingham, she declared in relation to the accusation that the Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn was an antisemite: “I don’t believe there is a racist or antisemitic bone in his body”. And she claimed that Corbyn had been unable to deal properly with the issue of Labour antisemitism because he had been so emotionally affected by being accused of it himself. Cue derision and jeers. Which was only to be expected. After…

Israel

The elephants of antisemitism in the European room

December 28, 2018December 28, 2018 Melanieantisemitism, Denmark, Europe, Hungary

The latest report by the EU’s agency on fundamental rights which finds antisemitism on the rise across Europe should be treated with some caution. This is because it deals not with objective measures of the rate of attacks on Jews but with the views of Jews themselves about the extent of antisemitism. Such views are inevitably limited in accuracy and scope. It is beyond any doubt, however, that the perception of increased antisemitism is widespread among the Jews of Britain and Europe. It is also beyond doubt that there is…

USA

Driver tries to run down Los Angeles Jews

November 27, 2018November 27, 2018 Melanieantisemitism, attack, Los Angeles

Another antisemitic attack in the US as a driver tries to run down Jews walking from synagogue in Los Angeles. Quick, let’s blame Trump! Oh wait… Video from a security camera shows the driver apparently trying to hit two men dressed in clothing typically worn by Orthodox Jews on Shabbat. The driver, who has been identified as 32-year-old Mohammed Mohammed, reversed and tried to hit them again. The man reportedly insulted a group of Jewish people leaving the synagogue before he got into his vehicle and attempted to run them…

USA

How Pittsburgh has deepened the chasm dividing American Jews

November 9, 2018 MelanieAmerican Jews, antisemitism, Pittsburgh, trump

For Diaspora Jews, the Pittsburgh synagogue massacre has felt like a family bereavement. Among Jews in America, the trauma has been profound. Their sense of inviolability has been shattered. The fact that Jews were gunned down in the sacred space of a synagogue service has caused even greater torment. Yet in the midst of the communal grief, something has surely been overlooked. In 2014, six were gunned down and murdered in Jerusalem’s Har Nof synagogue. Attacks on Jews in Israel are relentless. The Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) has said…

Israel

After Pittsburgh: the true significance of antisemitism

November 2, 2018 Melanieantisemitism, far right, jews, Pittsburgh

As Jews around the world grieve for those who were slaughtered in the Pittsburgh synagogue massacre, the reaction of many in both Jewish and non-Jewish circles has demonstrated a refusal to acknowledge the true significance of what happened. Unforgivably, the attack was immediately politicized by those whose hatred of President Donald Trump effaced both decency and reason. Through his rhetoric on illegal immigrants and nationalism, he was accused of creating the toxic narrative that inspired the suspect, Robert Bowers, to commit the atrocity. This says far more about those making…

USA

Hatred of the Jews unites far left and right

October 30, 2018 Melanieantisemitism, far right, Pittsburgh

Hatred of the Jews unites far left and right Last Saturday a man called Robert Bowers allegedly walked into a Pittsburgh synagogue where the congregation was celebrating the sabbath and opened fire screaming “All Jews must die”. Eleven were killed and many others wounded. Both Bowers and Cesar Sayoc, the Florida man accused of posting more than a dozen bombs to left-wing figures, are far-right conspiracy theorists. At the same time there are conspiracy theorists on the left who, like the far right, think that the Jews run American foreign policy…

Israel

How the west has created antisemitism denial

October 25, 2018 Melanieantisemitism, Corbyn, Democrats, Holocaust education

Acute concern continues to grow about the antisemitism and Nazi imagery now on such rampant and brazen display in the West. In America, the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement has spawned anti-Israel incitement on dozens of campuses, involving repeated accusations of Nazism and fascism along with virtually every other crime against humanity. In Britain, some of the most egregious examples of this venom have surfaced in the Labour Party under the leadership of the ultra-leftist Jeremy Corbyn and his “Momentum” comrades. Last week, Momentum joined other far-left and pro-Palestinian activists…