Displaying items by tag: antiSemitism

Friday, 25 October 2019 10:11

Britain’s divine call to support Israel

On 31 October 1917 Britain answered God’s call to facilitate Israel’s restoration to her ancient homeland, as Cyrus did in the 6th century BC. Britain was then considered a Christian nation, where the idea of restoring the Jewish people to their ancient homeland had been alive for 200 years. The Church understood that God had covenanted the land of Israel to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as an everlasting possession. In 1917 the Balfour Declaration was agreed, and Britain liberated Beersheba from Ottoman Turkish control - the first stage in ensuring that the exiles could freely return. However, in February 2019 the EU and the League of Arab States identified Israel’s settlements as ‘illegal’. Britain agreed with this stance, even though the Geneva Convention states that ‘there is no binding agreement in international law that designates the disputed territories as belonging to the Palestinians’.

Published in British Isles
Friday, 18 October 2019 09:23

Germany: synagogue worshippers saved

As 70-80 worshippers in a synagogue in Halle observed Yom Kippur, their holiest day of the year, a gunman shot at a locked door. The camera at the entrance showed him trying to break into the building, but the door remained closed. God protected them. The attack, streamed live, was a chilling reminder of the mosque attack in New Zealand which was also online in real time. Footage also shows the assailant laying a home-made explosive outside and uttering anti-Semitic statements. He shot and killed a passer-by, and another man nearby. Following the attack, the synagogue congregants were filmed singing and dancing on a bus transporting them from hospital. They finished the concluding prayer for Yom Kippur inside the hospital. The attacker wanted to carry out a massacre and had nine pounds of explosives in his car.

Published in Praise Reports
Thursday, 10 October 2019 22:23

Australia: children display anti-Semitism

A five-year-old boy, from a family of Holocaust survivors, suffered anti-Semitic harassment at a school in Melbourne where pupils hounded him in the school toilets, calling him a ‘Jewish cockroach’. He was chased continuously to the bathroom and laughed at for being circumcised, to the point that he started to wet himself in class rather than using the toilet. His mother said that after behaving strangely for months, one morning he burst out crying over breakfast and literally fell down on the floor, saying, ‘Mummy, you shouldn’t love me. I’m a worthless Jewish rodent. I’m vermin’. Meanwhile a 12-year-old Jewish student was forced to kneel and kiss the shoes of a Muslim classmate. Then nine boys beat him up. Because the incident happened outside school, education officials denied responsibility for the incident. Melbourne media also reported other acts of anti-Semitism.

Published in Worldwide
Friday, 31 May 2019 06:48

Germany: Jews told not to wear skullcaps

A skullcap, sometimes called a kippah or yarmulke, is a cap worn by some male Jews under religious rules that say their heads should be covered. Commissioner Felix Klein, the German government's top official against anti-semitism, has warned Jewish people not to wear skullcaps in parts of the country because of a rise in anti-Semitic attacks. Mr Klein told the Funke newspaper group, ‘My opinion has unfortunately changed compared with what it used to be. I cannot recommend to Jews that they wear the skullcap at all times everywhere in Germany.’ According to statistics released earlier this month, anti-Semitic incidents were up by 19.6% to 1,799 in 2018, with 89.1% of them involving far-right perpetrators. Israeli President Reuven Rivlin said he was deeply shocked by Mr Klein's words. He added, ‘We will never submit, will never lower our gaze and will never react to anti-semitism with defeatism - and expect and demand our allies act in the same way.’

Published in Europe
Friday, 19 April 2019 16:05

Brexit, Corbyn and anti-Semitism

Some say Labour could capitalise on the Brexit delay and sweep into power, with Leave-supporting voters turning their backs on the Conservatives over the Brexit interruption. Labour would then become the largest party in the Commons, with a substantial majority. Surveys taken between 2 and 11 April put support for Conservatives at its lowest for five years. A week later backbenchers have urged Corbyn to shift his stance and commit to a Brexit vote, or he might let Nigel Farage snatch a shock European election victory with his new Brexit Party. Meanwhile he has been criticised for Labour's handling of anti-Semitism. Media reports of internal documents showed that the party had failed to take disciplinary action in hundreds of anti-Semitism cases. The Jewish Labour Movement passed a no-confidence vote in him. See

Published in British Isles
Thursday, 07 March 2019 22:45

Holocaust memorial in Westminster under threat

Plans for a new Holocaust memorial and learning centre in Westminster are currently being strongly opposed. The plans, first announced by David Cameron in 2016, have the backing of every major UK Jewish organisation and 170+ politicians from all political parties. A growing number of people in this country, especially the younger generation, know nothing or very little about the Holocaust, so a vital education centre for that generation risks being lost. The memorial will use 7% of the park, with the education centre underground. Whilst many genuinely oppose the construction without discriminatory motives, there is evidence of anti-Semitism from some opponents. A petition to save the memorial has been posted online, because it ‘could be stopped if we fail to act before the end of March.’

Published in British Isles
Thursday, 01 November 2018 23:53

Pittsburgh synagogue shooting: ‘love, not hate’

2,500 people attended a vigil at a memorial hall and 1,500 stood outside in the rain, listening to loudspeakers, the day after an anti-Semite murdered eleven people and injured six in their place of worship on 27 October, their Shabbat. ‘We need love, not hate’, said the CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh. The Bishop of the Episcopal Church, Michael Curry, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and others stood by the Bishop of Pittsburgh whose response to the shooting was, ‘This terror is added to the heap of such crimes we have witnessed in the past. Yet our hope is not dimmed. “Behold, I set before you this day, life and death, blessing and curse: therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live’’ (Deuteronomy 30:19).’ See

Published in Worldwide
Friday, 21 September 2018 09:55

The CofE in Parliament

On 13 September 2018 the House of Lords debated a motion from Lord Popat, ‘to ask Her Majesty’s Government what actions they are taking to reassure the Jewish community over the impact of anti-Semitism in the United Kingdom.’ David Urquhart, the Bishop of Birmingham, said, ‘There is a need for constant vigilance to ensure that anti-Semitism plays no part in the life of our country’. A further report on the theology of Christian-Jewish relations is in preparation, led by the Bishop of Lichfield.

Published in British Isles
Thursday, 26 July 2018 21:51

Anti-Semitism in politics

In February we reported that anti-Semitic hate crimes in the UK had hit a record high, prompting prayers for more visible and frequent prosecutions for such incidents. The Jewish community was targeted almost four times a day last year, which also saw the highest tally of incidents since data gathering began. Three-quarters of all anti-Semitic incidents were in London and Manchester, where most Jewish communities live. Hatred is rising, and Jewish people are suffering as a result. This should concern everybody because it shows anger and division, threatening all society. In 2015 the international community agreed on a definition of anti-Semitism. The UK’s Labour party has not signed up to it, saying its own code of conduct already covers the definition. On 23 July Labour MPs and peers backed the international definition. Jeremy Corbyn disagrees.

Published in British Isles
Friday, 27 April 2018 01:04

Lord Sacks challenges the nation

Lord Sacks recently commented on Radio 4, ‘I have been doing Thought for the Day for thirty years, and never thought that in 2018 I would still have to speak about anti-Semitism’. He was born after the Holocaust and recalled people saying ‘never again’. But in 2018 anti-Semitism is debated in parliament and is a focus for the Labour Party. Anti-Semitic incidents have risen to their highest level since records began in 1984, averaging four a day. Lord Sacks said, ‘This is not the Britain I know and love’. He reminded listeners that anti-Semitism is not confined to Britain. ‘Jews in almost every European country no longer feel safe. This is within living memory of the Holocaust, when 1.5 million children were murdered simply because their grandparents were Jews. All it takes for something bad to flourish is for good people to do nothing.’

Published in British Isles
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