The growing antisemitism following Hamas conflict on October 7

I've been a v. alarmed at the levels of Israelophobia and antisemitism on display in the UK following October 7. I am worried for conflict in Britain's communities, and I'm v. disturbed at the nasty recrudescence of mobs and hatreds.

This post is a few things that have stood out over the past week or so. 

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1. Last week, the BBC declined to call the unspeakable acts of barbarism and evil on some 1400 Israeli citizens (and other nationals) as a "terror attack", or those who perpetrated it as "terrorists". John Simpson has defended the broadcasters policy going back to WW2 and their disinclination to refer to the Nazis as evil or wicked etc. Fair point, but I think certain words - like terrorism - really should retain their force to describe certain events. People can be convicted on terrorism offences, and Hamas is proscribed as a terrorist organisation. This terrorism is being funded by Iran and its antisemitic proxies; and has nothing to do with Palestinians. The BBC should speak plainly.

There is an excellent article by Vernon Bogdanor about Hamas being a group dedicated to killing Jews:

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2. There was an interesting article on the eruption of Jewish-Israeli-hatreds across the world (especially in England) when they're at their lowest by Madeline Grant. Including the Sydney Opera House, and their embassies. From the BBC, the pulling down of the flag of Israel days after it was raised above Sheffield town hall in solidarity with the massacred victims of Hamas, is symptomatic of this boiling culture.

Mob brown-shirts have been in our streets apparently support of the pogrom against Jewish people. A stark contrast to dignity Jewish street vigils.

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3. Some double standards on the Western response to Israel's actions.

People have been talking about the appalling devastation in Gaza and the suffering of the civilian population - but not about Hamas safely in their tunnels etc. Journalists have been frequently claiming that Israel's reaction to Hamas's terrorist attack is disproportionate. But, who cares to explain what is the 'proportionate response' to a savage enemy that hides behind the civilian population and whose sole aim is to destroy Israel and butcher its citizens. Then, there was that outrageous letter from the jokers at the "Artists for Palestine UK" (incl. Steve Coogan, Charles Dance, and Tilda Swinton) calling for Gaza ceasefire but failed to mention the terror attacks.

While our Prime Minister has taken a strong and balanced stance on the war; it is interesting to have seen the anti-Israel bias in the media this week. When that rocket hit a hospital car park in Gaza, everyone jumped on the bandwagon and it was quickly reported by some of our big media - incl. Reuters & BBC - as being caused by the IDF. Many were only too willing to believe. Within 24 hours it was obvious that the faulty rocket had been fired by the terrorist within Gaza. (Some 450 rockets, aimed at Israelis, have landed short and fallen into Gaza, since war broke according to the IDF. As Bogdanor wrote above, Hamas is the enemy of the Palestinians themselves). The problem? Passions - already red hot - become inflamed. People don't notice the corrections and the original headlines morphs a destructive fiction.

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Update 23.10.2023 – There has been an excellent column in this week's Sunday Telegraph examining the BBC's moral quandary by Mr Danny Cohen. With regards to the awful reportage on the Al-Ahli Hospital and the unwillingness to properly define the pogrom of Oct 7th ... he has diagnosed this malady as an anti-Jewish sentiment within our institutions:

On multiple platforms the BBC had blamed Israel before the facts were known and other media organisations picked up their line. Across the world people believed Israel was responsible for the bombing of a hospital. More anti-Semitic violence and anger followed, from riots in several cities in the Middle East to the cancellation of a series of crucial diplomatic meetings with Arab leaders that had been planned by US President Biden.

The thing is mistakes happen once, maybe twice. When they happen multiple times they are not mistakes. They are institutional fault lines which reveal bias and deep-rooted prejudice. And this takes us to the heart of the issue. Again and again, the BBC seems to have a problem when it comes to the Jewish State and by extension the Jewish community. The organisation has form. 

The BBC must therefore urgently ask itself the following questions. What are the institutional biases which mean that this keeps happening? What is it about its reporting which consistently leads to these failures? Is it prepared to undertake the challenging level of self-examination required to really get to grips with the anti-Israel bias that has existed at the BBC for far too long?

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Since Hamas attacked Israel just a few days ago Jewish schoolchildren in the UK have been advised to hide any signs of their religion on the way to school. Antisemitic incidents in the UK have increased by over 1300%.

It is a terrible indictment that our national broadcaster is only making this problem worse.