Mick Hartley

A depressing report in the Times from Eliana Silver:

When I was accepted last year to do a master’s degree at a prestigious university in London I was excited. Being the daughter of a diplomat I had spent my life travelling and had never felt particularly linked to my Jewish identity. There is a thriving Jewish community in London and I was thrilled with the prospect of making some Jewish friends. Along with being ready to connect with my fellow students, I was also enthusiastic about the film course that I had been accepted on to. Then, the week after I started, Hamas perpetrated the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust.

While the events of October 7 unfolded, I was glued to the television, tears rolling down my face. As the death toll rose and before Israel even began to think of retaliating, thousands of people spilt on to the streets of London celebrating “the Palestinian resistance”. And so instead of seeing empathy for those who lost their loved ones, I found myself at an epicentre of hate in London.

When I opened Instagram I saw students I had met the week before on my course posting messages in support of Hamas: “Resistance is justified”, “Free Palestine”, “Freedom fighters”. It was surreal.

I deleted them all right away because I didn’t want to be connected to the hate they were promoting. In addition, I was terrified that they would learn from my account that I was Jewish or, God forbid, a Zionist. But I was so furious that a few days later I brought a “F*** antisemitism” sticker to class on my laptop. It was then that I saw a shift in their attitude towards me. Our conversations went from amicable to none at all. I noticed the eyerolls every time I spoke in class, and I could hear their voices drop as I passed by….

One friend was cornered by another student after a seminar and questioned if she claimed Israel as a Jew. This student then went on to call her a baby-killer. The same friend was also spat at on campus while speaking about Israel on the phone.

A friend from a different university in London told me how she was shunned by her peers and kicked out of the class group chat. She had not shared her views on Israel — she was ostracised for simply being Jewish. She was told later that students she had considered her friends had celebrated her departure from the group chat with images and emojis.

I wish I could say things quietened down over time, but they didn’t. Students wore keffiyeh scarves and displayed “Free Palestine” phone cases and pins. Many of my classmates, despite having no personal stake in the conflict, adopted this new fashion trend in solidarity.

A new fashion trend. Yep. The new fashionable antisemitism.