'After October 7 - daring to show Jewishness in Britain has become an act of defiance'

Columnist and co-director of Labour Against Antisemitism Alex Hearn says helium volition not beryllium 'cowed by hate' successful airy of Brits 'supporting' Hamas' horrific onslaught connected October 7 past year

Many Jews present person 2 lives: beingness earlier the October 7 massacre, and beingness after.

We are besides a tiny community, truthful galore of america cognize families affected. A person told america however the brutal execution of a young household subordinate was live-streamed by Hamas connected societal media to taunt household and friends. As shocking arsenic the ISIS-style events were, we were adjacent little prepared for the absorption successful the West which echoed immoderate acheronian moments successful our history.

In the aftermath of the massacre, celebratory attacks against Jews exploded crossed Britain. Posters of hostages were disfigured and defaced to dehumanise them. An October 7 memorial successful Brighton acceptable up by the families of the victims continues to beryllium regularly vandalised by some the near and far-right.

A misunderstood and misrepresented struggle thousands of miles distant has emboldened radical to contradict the atrocities of October 7 and to demonise Jews arsenic child-killers, Nazis and different representations of evil. Israel has go little of a existent country, but present exists arsenic a cipher for racists to explicit classical hatred.

Uniquely, the Israel-Hamas struggle is regularly imported onto our streets, accompanied by outpourings of hatred specified arsenic calls for Jihad, Nazi salutes, swastikas and hateful chants specified arsenic "go backmost to Poland". The constabulary support it arsenic peaceful and morganatic protest, endorsing a caller level of anti-Jewish racism.

Instead of providing insight, our nationalist quality outlets person helped amplify hate, spreading disinformation from violent sources. For example, wrong an impossibly abbreviated abstraction of clip aft the Al-Ahli Hospital incident, the media utilized mendacious Hamas figures to study that implicit 500 patients astatine the infirmary had been killed by Israel. It aboriginal turned retired that a rocket from wrong Gaza had misfired, hitting the car park. The absorption saw synagogues crossed the satellite being acceptable connected fire.

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The reports mostly neglect to code the reality: that determination person been nary casual options successful this war. The removal of Hamas ever seemed highly unlikely, peculiarly without unspeakable suffering by civilians.

From luxury hotels, Hamas leaders boasted astir deliberately getting arsenic galore Palestinian women and children killed arsenic imaginable to execute their spiritual warfare and destruct Israel. They didn't walk 1 penny of their billions protecting civilians, alternatively gathering a web of tunnels larger than the London Underground to fell their fighters nether them. Schools and mosques were utilized to fell their subject arsenal.

Hamas' massacre was accompanied by unprovoked attacks connected Israel from the Iran regime's different proxies, Hezbollah and the Houthis. There is important hostility successful the portion against these occupying Jihadist terrorists and the failed states they create, yet successful the UK, astonishingly, we spot support.

Living successful a failed authorities is not an aspiration, but unluckily the hatred Jews person faced since October 7 has made our ain ideology statesman to look similar one. Everything has changed for us. But we volition not beryllium cowed by hate. Showing outward signs of Jewishness connected British streets — a cardinal close — has present go an enactment of defiance.

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