Creating more light

This week, in the world of antisemitism:

Nick Fuentes, the new star of the American far (and not so far) right, went on Piers Morgan’s show and insisted that “Hitler was very fucking cool”. Their interview has had over 4 million views on YouTube. Morgan clipped that part of the video and put it on X where it has 373,000 views.

Candace Owens was interviewed by Russell Brand and told him that Jews use incest to brutalise their children and normalise evil, so that Jewish children grow up to be evil psychopaths. This explains Israel, she said. Brand nodded along, then clipped that extract and put it on X where it has 364,000 views.

Primal Scream played at the Roundhouse, one of London’s best-known concert venues, and put on a show that included images of swastikas entwined with Stars of David. In other words, Jews are Nazis.

Sometimes antisemitism is coded, hidden behind ambiguous language and esoteric imagery. Not here. There’s nothing ambiguous about “Hitler was cool”. Nothing coded about saying Jews are evil psycopaths. As for combining the best-known Jewish symbol with a swastika: it’s as if a Jewish woman wearing a Star of David necklace is no different from a neo-Nazi skinhead with a swastika tattoo. Like I said, it isn’t subtle.

They differ in the details. Morgan challenged Fuentes. Primal Scream think they are anti-racists. Russell Brand is… well, god knows. But none of that matters as much as the fact some of the biggest names in our cultural and political world are giving huge audiences to some of the most incendiary, toxic and dangerous anti-Jewish ideas and motifs, of a sort that wouldn’t be out of place in Nazi propaganda.

This is just one week, and not an especially unusual one. And this is happening now, not decades ago. Antisemitism is out of control and not enough - nowhere near enough - is being done about it.

There are strategies and policies in place, with commitments from government and police. It is right that this is the first place people look for action. But after Heaton Park, the challenge goes much wider. It is for all of British society, every institution, public or private sector body, every regulator and every public figure, to ask themselves whether they really take antisemitism seriously. Do they see it as enough of a priority to educate themselves about it, and take strong action when they see it? Too often, the answer comes in a failure or a slowness to act.

However, there are a few small signs that the penny may be starting to drop. The new mandatory antisemitism training for all BBC staff is a welcome first step (full disclosure: I was one of a small group that advised the BBC on its content). The arrests and suspension of Rahmeh Aladwan feel like a change of direction. The discontent over West Midlands Police’s decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans is an important test of whether the threat of protest will be allowed to interfere with our way of life. There are other examples too, and it’s important to recognise the good news as well as the bad. But we need much more of this, as part of a sustained, relentless effort across society.

There is one more factor that gives me hope: the resilience of the Jewish community. For all the fears about the future and understandable talk of whether this will be a safe country for our children, there is also a quiet determination not to give in, and to stand our ground against the hatred. There are more public Chanukah lightings planned this year than last, just as there were more after October 7 than before. Creating even more light in the darkness: it’s an appropriate metaphor for this time of year and for the fight we face.