Anti-semitism in the UK

Several months ago, pretty_panther asked me:

I was wondering how you feel the UK is as a nation when it comes to an attitude towards Jewish people? [...] I've heard some say anti-semitism is still a huge issue in the UK and others say it isn't. [...] How do you feel the UK is doing on that front? Do you feel you face discrimination as a result of your religion at all? If so, is there anything I can do about it as a member of the public?

I've been meaning to make a post addressing this for ages, and had too much on my plate over the summer. And now it's kind of topical again with the whole protracted and quite possibly artificially stoked row between the Daily Mail and Ed Milliband. So let's have a go.

( mostly personal experience and opinions, limited analysis )

To answer pretty_panther's question about what members of the public can do: I think just generally promoting multiculturalism helps a lot. Make a bit of an effort to learn something about Judaism, question stereotyped portrayals or challenge them if you feel confident about it. Exercise some sensitivity in talking about the Holocaust and Nazism. Be a little bit skeptical of Facebook and Twitter forwards about how Israel is eeeeeeeeevil. (There's a picture of a bloodied child's body that keeps doing that rounds that wasn't even taken in Palestine, but keeps getting attached to all kinds of wild stories.) Absolutely do continue to criticize human rights abuses by Israel, and indeed plutocratic and inhumane political policies in this country, but keep an eye out that your criticism isn't falling into anti-semitic stereotypes even if the offending politician happens to have Jewish ancestry. If you want to boycott, look in to organizations like the Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions movement (which has the further advantage that it was started by Palestinian campaigners, so it's not an externally imposed project). Don't extend the boycott to people or organizations that are tainted by association with anything Jewish, because that stops being action against Israel and shades into unwarranted discrimination against a religious and ethnic minority. Don't hold all Jews worldwide responsible for everything you disapprove of about Israel, or even assume that all Jews are Zionists at all or that we approve of the things you are revolted by.

Actually on the whole I think the UK is a good place to be Jewish. Not perfect, but generally good. My family have lived here in peace for four generations at least, which is historically fairly unusual. (I was really quite old before I realized that most kids probably don't play imaginative games based on, if you have to flee your home in the middle of the night, what would you pack in your suitcase?) What scares me is not so much anti-Israel feeling spilling over into resentment of British Jews, but Islamophobia and anti-immigrant prejudice. Right now, it seems that if things turn dark, Jews won't be the first victims. But it's impossible to imagine we'll continue to be left alone if that sort of dehumanizing starts to gather momentum. So in many ways what I would like my non-Jewish friends to do is to speak out against all forms of xenophobic and related prejudice. Don't treat racism as only bad if it targets Jews (because that's like what the Nazis did and all red-blooded British people hate Nazis).