I was recently honoured to deliver the keynote address to a Policy Dialogue in Sydney, Australia, to launch a new national approach to addressing antisemitism in Australian schools.
Current evolving issue in the UK is how quickly those inflamed by Israel, and the unwitting antisemites that travel among them - treat attacks on Jews as false flags by Mossad - or as one particularly obnoxious commentator pronounced after the ambulance arson attacks - without a shred of evidence - “this was an insurance claim” only to pivot to the usual unexamined “anti Zionist” bollocks. This is little better than the disgraceful contrafactual claims about the SandyHook school shootings being a false flag for which the shock jock was righteously and successfully sued.
I am currently at something of a loss at how to deal with the levels of antisemitic inanity on the left when none of the offenders seem capable of understanding the offence.
Yes, recall Jeremy Corbyn's self-declared "anti-racist to the bones" rejection of allegations of antisemitism inside the Labour Party that the EHRC confirmed to be the case, and still denied it. But it seems to go hand-in-hand with a similar blindness among the supposedly anti-fascist left movements to fascism when the fascists aren't "white" Europeans.
Always worth reading what Dr. Rich has to say; thoughtful considered and rational.. However the rational approach he and others propose is overshadowed by the sight of protesters appearing to be incandescent with anti-Semitic rage on our streets, others blocking and defacing ‘Israeli’ linked/owned businesses while the police watch and seem to take no action. There are many fine words delivered by our political leaders but seemingly precious little action. This is surely why so many of us are seriously considering moving to Israel despite the situation in the M.E. We live in depressing times even more so for future generations.
Unfortunately, the teaching profession attracts "liberal, progressive" people.
I don't entirely agree about Shylock. To a notable extent, Shakespeare was writing Against the antisemitism of his time. Compare the Merchant of Venice with Christopher Marlowe's the Jew of Malta. Marlowe's play is unredeemably antisemitic, whereas Shakespeare, being Shakespeare, cannot help but make Shylock human - "If you prick us, do we not bleed?" etc. Not good enough but not the root of all subsequent antisemitism.
P.S. Forgot to add:The critical change in population demographics across Europe makes the medium term future for Jews and other minorities quite problematic
Current evolving issue in the UK is how quickly those inflamed by Israel, and the unwitting antisemites that travel among them - treat attacks on Jews as false flags by Mossad - or as one particularly obnoxious commentator pronounced after the ambulance arson attacks - without a shred of evidence - “this was an insurance claim” only to pivot to the usual unexamined “anti Zionist” bollocks. This is little better than the disgraceful contrafactual claims about the SandyHook school shootings being a false flag for which the shock jock was righteously and successfully sued.
I am currently at something of a loss at how to deal with the levels of antisemitic inanity on the left when none of the offenders seem capable of understanding the offence.
Yes, recall Jeremy Corbyn's self-declared "anti-racist to the bones" rejection of allegations of antisemitism inside the Labour Party that the EHRC confirmed to be the case, and still denied it. But it seems to go hand-in-hand with a similar blindness among the supposedly anti-fascist left movements to fascism when the fascists aren't "white" Europeans.
Always worth reading what Dr. Rich has to say; thoughtful considered and rational.. However the rational approach he and others propose is overshadowed by the sight of protesters appearing to be incandescent with anti-Semitic rage on our streets, others blocking and defacing ‘Israeli’ linked/owned businesses while the police watch and seem to take no action. There are many fine words delivered by our political leaders but seemingly precious little action. This is surely why so many of us are seriously considering moving to Israel despite the situation in the M.E. We live in depressing times even more so for future generations.
Unfortunately, the teaching profession attracts "liberal, progressive" people.
I don't entirely agree about Shylock. To a notable extent, Shakespeare was writing Against the antisemitism of his time. Compare the Merchant of Venice with Christopher Marlowe's the Jew of Malta. Marlowe's play is unredeemably antisemitic, whereas Shakespeare, being Shakespeare, cannot help but make Shylock human - "If you prick us, do we not bleed?" etc. Not good enough but not the root of all subsequent antisemitism.
P.S. Forgot to add:The critical change in population demographics across Europe makes the medium term future for Jews and other minorities quite problematic