Despite having lived in Israel for almost eight years – during which time my three British-born children learned to speak Hebrew fluently, completed their schooling, and served in the army – I still feel very British.
Since making aliyah, I’ve visited my hometown, Manchester, on a regular basis to see my eldest son and his wife, get my hair cut, do a spot of shopping, and meet up with old friends.
I’ve always felt at home there – more so than here, at times. Until now.
The horrifying events of October 7
The horrific events of October 7 have left both Israelis and Jews across the globe reeling. While there has been no shortage of heartwarming stories of support from both inside and outside of Israel, the indifference to our plight in some quarters, coupled with the outward displays of support for the Hamas terrorists, has been utterly depressing and only serves to heighten our frustration and despair.
The UK in particular has been complicit in this regard, making life for British Jews extremely uncomfortable.
In Manchester, in a demonstration called within hours of news of the Hamas attacks – and held while the massacre was ongoing, long before any response from Israel – over 5,000 people rallied in support of the “Palestinian resistance.” There they applauded the speech of the chair of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign who lauded the massacre of infants and the elderly alike, calling for the resistance to be turned into a “global tsunami.” No one dissented, and despite this apparent glorification of terrorism, no arrests have been made.
The following week, when UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak visited Israel, he said all the right things about standing with Israel. Meanwhile, back in London, anyone trying to highlight the plight of the hostages in Gaza, whose number exceeds 220 and includes babies and small children, as well as the elderly, was silenced. Vehicles displaying the faces of the abducted children were prevented from driving around the capital, lest they cause a breach of the peace, and more recently, similar posters are being torn down almost as quickly as they go up.
Last Saturday approximately 100,000 people descended on central London for a pro-Palestine march. Chants of “from the river to the sea,” rang out as the procession made its way from Marble Arch to Whitehall and Parliament Square, bringing the capital to a halt.
Those who claim that this march was merely a show of support for the Palestinians, with its heinous rallying cry, are either naive, ignorant, or dangerous – or a toxic brew of all three.
AS THE Anti-Defamation League (ADL) explains: “This chant can be understood as a call for a Palestinian state extending from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, territory that includes the State of Israel, implying the dismantling of the Jewish state. Indeed, this rallying cry has long been used by anti-Israel terrorist organizations such as Hamas and the PFLP, which seek Israel’s destruction through violent means. Usage of this phrase can have the effect of making members of the Jewish and pro-Israel community feel beleaguered and ostracized.”
British Home Secretary Suella Braverman also weighed in, branding the slogan “from the river to the sea,” antisemitic. She claimed it was “widely understood” to call for the destruction of Israel, something which was undoubtedly on the minds of many who joined the march.
Nevertheless, this hate-filled antisemitic slogan filled the air as the march proceeded through the streets of London while the Metropolitan Police simply looked on, doing nothing.
Hamas on the streets of London
Outward displays of support for the terrorist group, Hamas, were also a prominent feature of the march. An investigation by The Jewish Chronicle found that four out of the six groups behind its organization are thought to have ties with Hamas or are Hamas sympathizers, another troubling feature that was overlooked by the Metropolitan Police.
While that huge demonstration was taking place, a second rally, held by Hizb ut-Tahrir – an Islamist group that is banned in Saudi Arabia, Germany, and Pakistan – also went ahead outside the Turkish embassy in London. The rallying cry of this group, which referred to the October 7 massacre as “a day of good news,” was “Jihad!”
In a pitiful attempt to justify their decision to allow cries of “Jihad!” to resound in the heart of the British capital, the Metropolitan Police released the following statement: “The word has a number of meanings but we know the public will most commonly associate it with terrorism.” They then went on to say they had “assessed the video and have not identified any offenses arising from the specific clip.”
That same afternoon, similar pro-Palestine marches also took place in various cities across Britain.
Tens of thousands of people of all ages and from all backgrounds joined pro-Palestine rallies across Britain last Saturday and will do so again this, notwithstanding the atrocities committed in the name of the cause they espouse.
Calling for hostages to be released
MEANWHILE, UNDER a cloak of secrecy, rather smaller solidarity rallies and vigils (comprising largely Jews alone) were organized in Manchester and London, calling for the hostages taken by Hamas to be freed. Details of the rallies were shared only on the previous evening, for fear of disruption if word got out.
Just as members of the Jewish community weren’t left in peace on the evening of the attacks when they gathered to pay their respects to the victims at the Israeli embassy in London (some were even prevented from doing so by those who had also gathered there for a pro-Palestine rally, just hours after details of the Hamas atrocities came to light), so too were the people who attended the vigil abused as they peacefully called for the return of the hostages.
According to The Standard, The Metropolitan Police said two arrests were made for public order offenses involving shouting abuse at those taking part in the vigil.
With safety uppermost in the minds of Jews across the world right now, extra measures have been put in place to bolster protection. Armed police are now stationed at the gates of the school in Manchester which my children attended before we made aliyah, for example.
There are also reports of Jewish families removing their mezuzot from their front doors.
As antisemitic attacks have risen exponentially in Britain since the October 7 massacre, the fears of the Jewish community there are well-founded.
According to the Metropolitan Police, antisemitic hate crimes in London are up a staggering 1,350%.
Sadly, British Jews have grown used to adapting their behavior in order to stay out of harm’s way. As Dave Rich, policy director for the Community Security Trust (CST) says, a “huge spike in anti-Jewish hate crime happens every time Israel is at war.”
This time, however, the CST warned, “the increase… appeared unusually large.”
The trust also went on to confirm that, “In many cases, the perpetrators of these disgraceful incidents are using the symbols and language of pro-Palestinian politics as rhetorical weapons with which to threaten and abuse Jewish people.”
It beggars belief, therefore, that the Metropolitan Police and other forces are allowing this situation, not only to continue but to be inflamed by the large demos taking place across Britain in which people openly chant their support for terror groups and call for the destruction of Israel – and all in the aftermath of one of the worst atrocities to have befallen the Jewish people.
It’s as shameful as it is obscene.
Since October 7, it has become crystal clear to me that, in spite of all the problems here, Israel is my home.In the words of the stirring song by Ehud Manor, “I have no other country.”
The writer is a former lawyer from Manchester, England. She now lives in Israel where she works at The Jerusalem Post.