Anti-semitism in the UK

[liv]

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.

I started out by linking to my old post about the anti-semitic incidents I have experienced personally. Since 2005, I could add a few more incidents of vandalism against synagogues and Jewish cemeteries, and a couple of young men were jailed a few years ago for anti-semitic harassment of our synagogue president, making repeated phone calls to his home address with death threats and insults. In some ways that post is depressing, but on the other hand, I can not only count, but enumerate, every single anti-semitic experience that has impinged on my life in three decades, which indicates that the UK situation currently is better than many other periods of history and many other regions of the world. The people who murdered my brother's friend Jerry were not themselves UK based (the best guess is that they are connected to Lyndon LaRouche's weird political cult thing), but they did have connections with the UK left-wing protest scene.

There's quite a lot of mild friction which I think mainly comes from being from a cultural and religious minority, in a country where there's a trend towards multi-culturalism but it's not fully embedded yet. Things like the fact that getting time off for religious holidays is seen as a generous concession by my employers, rather than a complete obvious given like the way most workplaces are closed for Christmas and Easter. And the fact that most people I meet don't know all that much about my culture or have a very stereotyped and simplistic view, and there isn't all that much media representation of Jewish people (lots of what there is concerns either Holocaust stories or the most visibly distinct ultra-Orthodox people who in fact represent a tiny minority of British Jews). I don't think those things are anti-semitism, most of the time, I think they're just a natural consequence of coming from a small minority. Jews represent about 0.5% of the UK population, and we're very much concentrated in a few cities, so in most of the country there are really few of us.

In general, it does seem like overt anti-semitism is socially unacceptable. I mean, the fact that the Daily Mail is proposing to sue Milliband for libel for saying that they're anti-semitic, when they have very little problem with people describing them as sexist, racist, xenophobic, homophobic etc, suggests that it's a serious stigma for even a paper notorious for its prejudiced editorial stance. There is this weird thing where anti-semitism is seen as being somehow supporting the wrong team from WW2, Jew-hatred is so very strongly associated with Nazism that people really want to distance themselves from it. People keep reposting pro-Hitler and anti-Jewish articles from the Daily Mail of the 1930s, and I feel kind of weird about that, because really, you could find equally offensive articles from the Daily Mail this week, if you look at how they write about asylum seekers, immigrants, "chavs" and benefit recipients, trans women, and Gypsies / travellers / people who may or may not identify as Roma or Sinti. But somehow we're supposed to be shocked that the DM 75 years ago thought there were too many Jews "flooding" in to Britain. I don't think this attitude is just a figleaf, I think the UK genuinely has made an effort to purge itself of anti-semitism since the war and since people became aware of the Nazi genocide. But at the same time, I think that a sort of casual, low-key anti-semitism does persist, even if people are careful to say "I'm not anti-semitic but".

One example of this is that when people want to criticize prominent Jewish figures, including for example Milliband, they often reach for traditional anti-semitic stereotypes and imagery. I think this may to some extent be a subconscious thing, it just somehow naturally comes to mind to think of unpopular Jewish people as mercenary and grasping, or sinister and vampiric, or connected to some shadowy international conspiracy (what's the origin of the word cabal? it comes from the Hebrew word for tradition and referred to the Jewish mystical / esoteric tradition of kabbalah, but I bet most people who talk about cabals don't know that). neutrondecay noted recently that lefty groups were complaining that Labour politician Mandelson is in the pay of his masters the Rothschilds, which is a classic anti-semitic slur. If I never see another cartoon of a hook nosed, grotesquely fat man devouring babies that will be plenty too soon, even though very often cartoonists will deny vehemently that they intend that kind of image as anti-semitic.

Although it's a sort of Brit identity thing to be emphatically anti-Nazi (and therefore reject anti-semitism), actual attitudes towards the Jewish Holocaust can be weirdly problematic. There is outright Holocaust denial, of course, but that's a completely fringe position in this country, nobody really takes it seriously. I'm more talking about people complaining that Jews are over-sensitive and make too much fuss about the Holocaust, sort of, it was decades ago, why haven't you got over it by now? Or even, Jews are "using" the Holocaust as a ploy to get sympathy or some sort of vaguely specified advantage we're not entitled to. I have sometimes observed resistance to commemorating the Shoah as a specific event which happened to us as Jews. Yes, the Nazis killed enormous numbers of non-Jews for various reasons. Yes, there have been other genocides before and very sadly since. But it can feel almost taboo to mention the specifics that a third of all the Jews in the world were murdered, and over 90% of the Jewish population of many countries, within living memory, unless you are also scrupulous to speak out against every other bad thing that happened ever.

In most cases, I don't think this is a deliberately targeted thing, more just insensitivity but it does make me feel really uncomfortable when people trivialize this genocide. Godwin's law stuff, saying that everyone who disagrees with you is a "Nazi", or comparing every minor setback encountered to "what happened to the Jews". People using "Nazi" to mean simply "extremely evil" is mostly just annoying, but if people go around comparing getting a parking ticket or having their grammar corrected to state-orchestrated mass-murder of people like me, it can easily come across as making the mass-murder seem trivial, rather than making the annoyance seem more serious. I also really hate it when people quote Niemoeller (First they came for the Jews) in completely trivial contexts. More offensive is when people compare social progress which slightly mitigates the advantages of privileged groups to Nazi attacks on Jews, like the rhetoric recently that legalized same-sex marriage is persecution of the church just like the Nazis persecuted the Jews. I find gas chamber jokes extremely offensive, honestly. I mean, obviously those kinds of jokes are meant to be offensive and tasteless, but it does bother me that that can ever be considered humorous. Yes, people have a free speech right to Godwin debates and quote Niemoeller and make Holocaust jokes, but I don't think it's morally good, and I do think it contributes to an atmosphere where Jewish people like me can feel unsafe and unwelcome. I should note that my family were not directly involved in the Nazi genocide; all the relatives I know about were living in the UK at the time. There are plenty of Jews with much more personal reason to be upset by this kind of thing than I am, and yet it is considered somewhat acceptable to say things like this, which suggests to me that the feelings of Jewish people really don't matter very much at all.

Here is where I get potentially controversial: the other source of anti-semitism in this country is in attitudes to Israel. This feels like a complete double-bind; simply by raising this question, I lay myself open to the accusation that Jews routinely "use" complaints of anti-semitism as an excuse to shut down any criticism of the State. I maintain that spitting at me and calling me scum (thank you, Socialist Workers Party "comrades") is not legitimate criticism of Israel. A detailed political analysis of Israeli military policy, backed up by evidence, is not legitimate criticism of Israel if you insist on making that otherwise reasoned case to me purely on the basis of knowing that I'm Jewish, without stopping to ask what my political views might be. Or if you constantly demand that I justify Israeli actions say in the workplace or other irrelevant context. Using anti-semitic stereotypes up to and including recycled Nazi propaganda cartoons is not legitimate criticism of Israel just because you use the term "Zionists" instead of "Jews" or an even worse slur.

Does it sometimes happen that Jews will automatically see anti-semitism in any negative commentary about Israel? I don't deny that can sometimes be a reaction, but it's at least partly based on Jewish people's experiences of anti-semites using "I'm just criticizing Israel!" as an excuse for prejudice and harassment. Partly there's a perception that Israel comes in for an unreasonable amount of criticism for actions that are considered just unfortunate or don't even make it to the UK media when committed by other countries. Personally, I'm not too bothered by that; I would far rather people were more critical of human rights abuses in other countries than less critical of Israel. But there's the bitter joke of "Oh dear, Israel is expansionist and mistreats the citizens of its occupied territories, we'd better switch to buying all our electronics from China!" / "Israel was founded by colonialists on stolen land, we'd better holiday in America instead!" There's a degree to which the UK left, both the media and individual activists, appear to be overly credulous about reported atrocities in Israel. Yes, Israel has bulldozed and fired on largely civilian housing as an act of aggression or retaliation; no, Israeli soldiers do not routinely murder Palestinian children in order to sell their organs on the international black market.

The other way that anti-Zionist activism can sometimes feel like anti-semitism is when it becomes a kind of blacklisting. I am basically fine with people or organizations choosing to boycott Israeli goods, companies and institutions; that's a valid form of protest if you disapprove of a country's actions. However, this all too often seems to spill over into boycotting British Jews because of more or less tenuous connections with Israel. Things like the Guardian publishing a correspondence about whether people with "Jewish-sounding names" should be barred from participating in debates about the Middle East because they would be assumed to be spreading Zionist propaganda. Things like the boycott of Israeli academia being extended to barring Israeli expat academics working in the UK from collaborations or speaking at conferences, or even in a few cases defining certain UK-born Jewish academics as "potentially" Israeli because the Law of Return means they could hypothetically claim citizenship. Protests against random international businesses such as Veolia, and their UK-based employees, because they have or are rumoured to have Israeli connections. julianhuppert has spoken about people being turned down for Labour party internships because their CVs included work for Jewish charities and voluntary orgs, so it was assumed that their values would not be in line with those of the Labour party.

This can get a bit Ouroboros, but I have repeatedly had the experience that whenever I talk about anti-semitism on LJ or DW, I get comments denying that what I'm saying is plausible, or excusing and minimizing the incidents that I report, or indeed complaining that I'm over-sensitive, obsessed with the Holocaust and Jewish persecution, or trying to shut down that lovely touchstone, legitimate criticism of Israel. I think this is fairly normal; people are generally reluctant to hear stories of prejudice, it's not something specific to anti-semitism. But I admit that part of why it's taken me so long to post this is that I'm afraid of having to deal with that kind of commentary. Especially when it's phrased in superficially polite terms and comes from people I'm generally on friendly terms with; I am not nearly as bothered by random anons wishing me dead and calling me by ethnic slurs. I'm not particularly going to defend my position here, I'm going to set it out and you can believe me or not.

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).

Comments

[lovingboth]

A longer reply later, but my thought about the Mail's recent behaviour was that if your reaction to the suggestion that you're being anti-Semitic is think you have to find a Jewish writer to do a long article about how you're not really, it's a sign that you probably are.

[liv]

Yeah, I completely agree about the Daily Mail. I really don't understand why people are making such a thing of how the DM was anti-semitic in the 1930s, it's anti-semitic now. And it's prejudiced against just about every other minority too, so why is anti-semitism so special? The Guardian and the Independent are at least as bad, though, and that's likewise not really mitigated by the fact that the Graun at least has some regular columnists who are Jewish, notably Freedland.

[wychwood]

Thank you for this. I've found it really interesting hearing you talk about your experience of anti-Semitism - though I grew up in a very multi-cultural city, at the time I went to university I'd only knowingly met two Jews, one of whom I don't think was practicing. Modern Jewish culture, contemporary British anti-Semitism, etc etc - none of had ever come my way, so making friends with you and the other WW-affiliated Jews was really interesting. Even now I find it surprising that, say, the Daily Mail cares that the Millibands are Jewish (which I'd never realised) in a way that I absolutely wouldn't if they were talking about Baroness Warsi. So it's useful to have your insight. Thanks!

[liv]

Thanks for the encouragement, wychwood! It's really easy for people if they live anywhere other than Manchester or North-West London to grow up meeting few or no Jews. That's not anti-semitism, even though it can be uncomfortable if you always have to be the Official Representative of Jews to nearly everyone you meet.

It really is still a thing that the media suddenly gets very interested in Jewish ancestry if a person does something unpopular. Some of the stuff that got thrown at Michael Howard a few years back was really creepy, and I'm not exactly a fan of Michael Howard.

[merrythebard]

Nothing intelligent to say, but I wanted to say this post was interesting and thought-provoking, and thank you very much for making it. :-)

[liv]

Thanks, supportive comments always appreciated. Especially with something like this, where I was a bit worried I would get pushback.

[pretty_panther]

Thank you for taking the time to write this. I found it a very interesting read. I would like to think I already do what you advise but I will continue to do so. :)

[liv]

Thank you for asking a good question and I'm really glad you found my answer interesting. I agree my advice is not extremely useful or surprising; if it were easy for people of goodwill to make racism go away we'd have fixed it by now!

[sunflowerinrain]

Well put.

[liv]

Thank you!

[sfred]

Reading this post now through your link in a more recent post. Thank you for writing it.