Britain and Anti-Semitism

The recent blurting by Shimon Peres that "There is in England a saying that an anti-Semite is someone who hates the Jews more than is necessary," has got me thinking once again about this little problem that often bugs me, but that I say very little about.

We often hear of demonization of Israel and Jews in the press, but demonization by Israel or Jews of another country is very little talked about. The fact that it does exist, and is swept beneath the rug bothers me a great deal. Being as I am, very patriotically British with a connection to Judaism and Israel, it puts me in an awkward position that I find sometimes is close to untenable.

Most who read Haaretz and Jpost will not have noticed this, but (being sensitive to these issues) over the last six or so years I have noticed a marked increase in hostility to Britain amongst the writers and editorials of both publications. The criticism is sometimes based on policy decisions or slips of the tongue, the sort of diplomatic gaffes that plague the relations of any two nations. However I cannot escape the feeling that more and more of this is cultural criticism.

Most of it is based in horrendous ignorance, and a falling toward a default position that is simple to expound, and difficult to remove.

The default position runs thus. Britain is getting full up with Muslims. Muslims hate Israel and Jews. Ergo combine this with the snooty attitude of Britons towards foreigners and you have a Jewish nightmare, a new breeding ground of fascist hate and concomitant loathing for the Jewish state.

I do not deny that many British people have problems with the state of Israel. But the reasons for their dislike are varied and not at all as monochromic as many seemingly believe.

Some are hard headed realists: Britain’s interests come first, Israel means as much as Indonesia. Simply put if it gets in the way, it is a problem to be dealt with because it hinders the national interest. Others dislike Israeli policy vis-a-vis the Palestinians and thus find it hard to like Israel, whom they view as an aggressive overly nationalist remnant of the 20th century. A small minority have a deep dislike of Jewish presence in the Middle East and stupidly link that to Jewish presence in the Diaspora. Many of these individuals are to be found on of the far left and right, and also to some extent from the Muslim population of the country.

This I would equate with genuine anti-semitism.

However most importantly, the vast majority of British citizens simply don’t care. They’ve never seen or met a Jew in their life, have no idea where Israel is apart from on the news (which they almost never watch), and think Zionism is a nice tasting sauce added to curry.

Which brings me nicely onto my next point:

Disproportionate Attention.

this needs a brief comment. Again yes the Guardian and the BBC love to stick Israel on the front pages, but guess what? Jewish Organisations are just as bad. Having worked for some and been involved in British-Israel relations for over six years I can categorically say that it was our paranoia and overly hasty actions that worked against us on a number of occasions.

A case in point; one organisation I worked for was terrified by the British academic boycott against Israel (a heinous decision in all fairness.) The problem was that in their panic to combat it, they forgot one important thing: ALMOST NO ONE IN BRITAIN KNEW ANYTHING ABOUT IT. By pumping information and one sided propaganda into the country we actually did two things:

1) Raised awareness of the boycott to a far greater level. 2) Turned people who cared not one iota about it in favour of the boycott due to our over aggressiveness, and horrendously misplaced communication strategy (which involved the use of world war two imagery...big mistake in Britain, just incalculably wrong).

By worrying too much about the activities of the far left and the Muslim population, our carpet bombing response has been catastrophic and insensitive. We tar and smear people in ways that we ourselves have hated to be depicted. Too often in Israel I found myself describing to people that Britain is actually a very nice place to live, and not full of people with crow bars just waiting to bash the nearest Jew or graffiti the nearest synagogue.

Hearing the amount of ignorance and vitriol spewed at my country I often found hurtful and extremely worrying. How did well educated young Jews form such a negative opinion of a country that has boasted an even greater level of social mobility for Jews than the United States of America?

(Arguably) The two of the most powerful men in the last two hundred years were both British Jews: Benjamin Disraeli, and Edwin Samuel Montague. Both men controlled populations that totalled into the hundreds of millions, commanded trade routes the likes of which the world had never and will never see again. Both men were openly and proudly Jewish (Disraeli’s conversion to Anglicanism was a matter of personal belief which he separated from his pride in his ethnic Jewish identity).

Likewise today’s crop of politicians have displayed exceptional social mobility, not once rescinding or backing away from their Jewish identity (this is not the same as backing away from religion, which has become a requirement for nearly any public figure in our overly secular lifestyle.) Millibands Ed & David, Michael Howard, Malcom Rifkind, Nigel Lawson, John Bercow, Leon Brittan, Oliver Letwin have all exercised enormous power over our nation, and never was their Jewishness an issue.

I challenge any nation on Earth to measure Jewish social mobility, and to find itself ahead of Britain. This includes Israel, where one’s particular type of Jewish identity can certainly be a hindrance to success or power. Further, to equate an Israeli Prime Minister to a Viceroy of India is so ridiculous that it is not even worth exploring.

As for the United States, a population of six million Jews I assert has not matched the level of influence that 300,000 Jews has in Britain, nor has it provided a Jewish President as of yet.

This piece is not denying that there is anti-Semitism in Britain. It is not denying that being Jewish can be problematic at times, and that levels of personal security are sometimes affected. It is not denying that a latent racism amongst some British citizens does exist.

All it asks for is that the facts that it has presented are oft forgotten, and that one should remember those facts before criticising Britain and the role of the Jewish people’s place in its cultural, spiritual and political life.

As for Peres let me be British in my assessment; the man is so in love with the French that of course he stereotypes us. May I suggest that he return to eating cheese and frogs legs, surrendering, smoking cigarettes, and wearing onions for a living...ta