I wonder what is happening in modern Europe which has long been looked up to as a source of freedom to the rest of the world! Highly disturbing reports are that anti-Semitism is on the rise even in the United Kingdom, the mother of rule of law and democracy in our world. In the Tower Hamlets section of East London the other day, there were words “liars” and “killers” on a poster advertising a local Holocaust Memorial Day event (January 27). At Birmingham University there was signs of swastikas and anti-Islamic slogans found on a wall of a student dorm. Britain’s former Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks has stated that the current level of anti-Semitism in the UK is at an all- time high. He said, “After what happened in Paris, you are beginning to get British Jews asking, ‘Will I be safe going to synagogue or going to a Jewish shop? Will my children be safe in a Jewish school?’” Sacks explained however hard one tried to “eradicate the virus of hate, it kind of mutates and it hangs around.”
The reports go that the famous Women’s International Zionist Organization, which has branches in France, Belgium, Germany and Sweden, has admitted many European Jews are afraid to identify themselves as Zionists and supporters of Israel in the continent. Jewish nationalism is decreasingly acceptable. In France there is a very bad atmosphere around. The Jewish people do not have the right to wear kippot. They are afraid to put on their Star of David. They have no place to say “I am Jewish.” If they are to say so, ‘it’s quite a revolution.’
The women’s organization says that in Sweden the Jews have started to “ self-censor” themselves. They hear anti-Semitism. They do not act as they “don’t feel safe in reacting.” The Swedish government is “very weak .” Its recognition of a Palestinian state outside of the framework of a negotiated solution gave “courage to the Palestinians and to those who are violent to act in this fashion.” In Germany “there is little press interest in reporting on coexistence projects run by the Zionist group.” Jewish children have begun to see themselves as German Jews.
All governments in the West must neutralize such rising anti-minority waves in time. It is one of the functions of every modern state to see to it that its minorities feel safe and are able to develop themselves to their best along with the rest of the national population. government I am happy to learn that the British government is determined to crush this anti-Semitism. In a recent comment piece in a newspaper , British Premier David Cameron has said, “The idea that the Jewish people once again feels unsafe in Europe is a truly sickening thought that strikes at the heart of everything we stand for…. We…have seen a completely unacceptable rise in anti-Semitism.”
Prime Minister Cameron has declared, “ We are going to fight anti-Semitism with everything we have got….My policy is simple: zero-tolerance. No exceptions and no excuses. So let me be clear: no disagreements on politics or policy will ever be allowed to justify racism, prejudice or extremism in our society. Over generations we have built something incredible in our country: a multi-ethnic, multi-faith democracy – and we are not going to let anti-Semitism destroy it.”
Cameron has said the government needs to deal with the causes of the security threat and not just its consequences. It has to go “ after the poisonous ideology of Islamist extremism that perverts the Islamic faith in an attempt to justify the most sickening barbarism and brutality” To defeat this ideology “Britain needs to deal with all forms of extremism – not just violent extremism. The current legislation going through Parliament would place an obligation on all public bodies to play their part in tackling extremism … We have banned extremist preachers, increased the resources available for programs that prevent radicalization and why we are getting extremist material taken down from the Internet.”