Mick Hartley

Another day, another arson attack on a synagogue.

Jonathan Sacerdoti in the Spectator:

Jewish Britons are increasingly sick of hearing from our politicians that there is ‘no place for anti-Semitism’ in our country, because the attacks carry on happening anyway. There clearly is a place in our society, or many places, for Jew-hatred to grow and thrive. And those places, both literal and ideological, are often under-policed, overlooked and skirted around for fear of seeming ‘racist’ or ‘intolerant’.

Existing legal tools already allow for us to tackle some of the ideological breeding grounds for these bad and poisonous ideas, including the exclusion of foreign nationals who promote hatred or violence. But it seems they just aren’t used evenly or sensibly. Kanye West was rightly barred form entering the country after his numerous pro-Hitler anti-Semitic episodes, each one designed to appeal to a large audience. The Dutch political activist Eva Vlaardingerbroek was also recently barred from entry to the UK, less justifiably so. Yet many Islamic hate preachers still seem free to enter our country and preach the kind of material which encourages anti-Jewish, anti-women and anti-Western ideology, sometimes leading to real-world violence and terrorism. 

Similarly, the government itself has done little to counter the regular expressions of hatred directed either towards Jews or even towards our traditional British way of life, whether they have been part of regular street protests, moments of violence and destruction aimed at buildings or objects, or deliberate acts of public worship and dominance. So-called ‘far right’ protestors have been pushed through the justice system swiftly and imprisoned in record time, but those who vandalised legal defence sector factories, struck the police physically, or preached hatred inside mosques as religious leaders have all somehow escaped the same heavy hand of justice. When violence stems from religious belief or dogma, it can’t simply be given a free pass.

We can hardly be surprised when some people feel emboldened enough to carry out violence towards synagogues or churches. Our national weakness gives them strength.