My geographic and demographic knowledge of England is minimal. Could it be that in certain areas or regions this would be more accurate than in others?
The variances here in the US can be quite dramatic.
Even in major Jewish cities (London, Manchester etc), the UK this family says is happening isnt.
I am of course nor denying there may be some antisemitism (on that note read on to my next paragraph), but the FACTS are that the UK was last year found by the world’s foremost antisemitism study group (the ADL) to be the 6th LEAST antisemitic nation on earth, ONE AHEAD of the US!. So we are actually LESS antisemitic than the United States......yet people here are reading this and thinking/saying the UK is a country with a serious antisemitism problem.
NOT TRUE. The UK and the US are two of the best countries for Jews to live in, as they have been for many decades.
Another BIG factor is where antisemitism and anti-israelism (or criticism of Israel) are lumped together. I hate that, its lazy and disingenous. One is a faith and race of people, one is a political state. Its no more ‘antisemitic’ ot criticise Israel than being unable to abide Obama makes me ‘racist’.
Also, we take this family and story in isolation. Do we know what they are like?. Are they people who see any criticism of Israel as evidence of ‘antisemitism’?. You have plenty of blacks, gays and hispanics, as we do, who will jump on th slightest thing as ‘evidence’ of whatever ‘phobia’ they want. Its the curse of living in PC times.
Also, am I the only one to be suspicious that the father is a businessman?. Nice bit of national publicity for him.
Frankly, could it be they are just a couple of whiny people with chips on their shoulders?.
UK antisemitism (and again we are talking REAL antisemitism) has been always on the fringes of UK society: racist groups like the BNP, neo-nazi thugs, or now sadly some more extreme Muslims.
Far from being some terrible country hating Jews, the UK is in fact an open country where millions of people with Jewish ancestry and faith live safe and where the Jewish faith is respected and celebrated.
British TV on all five main network channels made primetime Jewish documentaries on Jewish life, culture and religion in 2012 and 2013. Did NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox, the WB etc?. The UK is a nation where the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition and many top politicians are proudly and openly of Jewish/part-Jewish descent. The UK is a nation where the daily religious thought for the day on the nation’s iconic BBC intellectual radio channel (Radio 4) is usually spoken by a Rabbi.