Latest news with #AntiSemitism
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
PETER HITCHENS: Only two views are allowed on Gaza... and both are simple-minded rubbish
There are two permitted views on the horrors in Gaza, and I don't hold either of them. What should I do? I simplify only slightly. The first view, popular among 'Right-wing' media, is that the hideous Hamas massacre of October 2023, and the seizure of hostages, justifies Israel 's actions – and that if you oppose them you must therefore be a Hamas sympathiser and an anti-Semite. And quite possibly a terrorist.
Telegraph
7 days ago
- Telegraph
Jewish schoolchildren kicked off plane after singing Hebrew songs
A group of Jewish children returning to France from summer camp in Spain were escorted off a flight to Paris after at least one child sang a Hebrew song. Spanish airline Vueling allegedly removed the director of a Jewish summer camp and approximately 50 children forcibly from the flight, according to footage shared on social media on Wednesday. The airline said they had 'compromised passenger safety'. Israel's diaspora affairs and combating antisemitism minister, Amichai Chikli, said the children, aged between 10 and 15, were singing songs in Hebrew on the plane. Mr Chikli alleged that the camp director was arrested in what he called a 'serious' anti-Semitic incident. The children, all from France, are currently in Valencia, awaiting return to France, Ms Chikli claimed. Many of the children were reportedly wearing religious items, including Star of David jewellery, when the incident occurred. The group had been travelling home from their vacation program when the disruption unfolded. Vueling responded to the incident on Thursday, claiming that a group of teenagers mishandled emergency equipment and were confrontational during the mandatory safety demonstration, ignoring cabin crew safety instructions. The airline noted that actions by on-board staff were 'solely in response' to behaviour that compromised passenger safety. The crew requested the intervention of the Guardia Civil, who decided to disembark the group to prioritise passenger safety. According to the airline, the group continued to act aggressively towards authorities at the terminal, leading to one of the group members being arrested. Vueling denied that the crew's decision was related to the passenger's religion. But parents expressed outrage after Spanish police forcibly removed the group of children and handcuffed and detained their 21-year-old supervisor, who insisted they had done nothing wrong. Karine Lamy, whose child was among the ejected passengers, told i24NEWS that crew members had warned: 'If you continue, we will call the police,' after a young passenger started singing in Hebrew. She said that despite the child immediately stopping, police officers boarded the aircraft minutes later and ordered the group supervisor and all children to exit the plane before takeoff. Once removed from the aircraft, law enforcement officers demanded the children place their mobile phones on the ground to check no one had recorded the incident, according to the mother's testimony. The group supervisor intervened, telling officers their actions were illegal, which prompted police to physically restrain her. Officers pushed the 21-year-old woman to the ground and handcuffed her before taking her away, leaving the children aged 13-15 with their counsellors. The remaining officers then instructed the children to retrieve their luggage, and they made it clear they would no longer be permitted to board the flight. Police cited the noise created by the child's singing as justification for barring the entire group from travel, according to the account shared with i24NEWS. The children and their supervisors remained stranded at Valencia airport, searching for alternative flights to return to France. The parent expressed outrage at Vueling Airlines' response to the situation. 'The Vueling company they were travelling with didn't even offer them an alternative solution; they abandoned them. We are panicking for them,' she told i24NEWS. 'A 21-year-old woman was handcuffed because a child sang - we have returned to the worst hours of World War II. And I'm not even talking about the moral damage caused to our children,' she alleged. The incident follows a series of alleged anti-Semitic incidents involving Israeli tourists in Greece. Earlier this week, a large pro-Palestinian protest prevented an Israeli-owned cruiseliner from docking on the island of Syros, forcing the vessel and its 1,600 passengers to reroute to Cyprus. Photographs showed a large crowd on the dock waving Palestinian and Greek flags and brandishing a banner saying 'stop the genocide'. The incident prompted Greek government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis to condemn the protest as 'outrageous'. 'Antisemitism and any form of fascism and racism will not be tolerated in Greece,' he told Parapolitika Radio. Meanwhile, on Rhodes, a popular holiday destination for Israelis, a group of Israeli teenagers were allegedly attacked by a mob armed with knives as they left a nightclub. It followed a reported shouting match between Israelis and pro-Palestinians outside the club, which is known to be frequented by Israelis. The group of 17 to 18-year-olds decided not to get involved, but were allegedly pursued by dozens of assailants.
Telegraph
7 days ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
It's time to speak up: what the Prime Minister should be saying on anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism is being normalised in the UK. Stamping it out requires leadership at the highest level. This is the speech to the nation Prime Minister Keir Starmer should deliver: I speak to you today on a matter I now consider to be a national emergency. It is said that the greatest test of a democracy is not the experience of the majority but the way in which it protects the rights and wellbeing of the minority. In the UK today, there are under 300,000 Jews. Jewish people make up just 0.5 per cent of our population. They are a tiny group who contribute a great deal to public life and communities across the nation. I must tell you today that Britain is failing its Jewish community. I also tell you that I am drawing a line in the sand. The Jew-hate we are seeing in our country must end now – and as the Prime Minister I am personally going to lead the fight against anti-Semitism. For those who would like to pretend that racial hatred of Jews is not a very serious problem in our society today, let me put you straight. We are seeing it on the streets of Britain on a weekly basis. Just last weekend, large numbers of protestors in London chanted 'F--- your Jewish State'. Note the language here. Not opposition to the war Israel is fighting but a direct attack on Jews. An open display of racism. The war between Israel and Hamas has divided opinion. I know that. But it should never be an excuse for the Jew-hate that is creeping its way into the fabric of our society and our national institutions. Take schools. More than half of Jewish teachers have reported anti-Semitic abuse since the war in Gaza began. They are finding swastika graffiti in the classroom and facing chants of 'F--- the Jews'. Some teachers are even fearful of disclosing their religion at work. This is entirely unacceptable. It should shame us all. Then there's the NHS. Jewish patients have been abused and left in fear, Jewish doctors and nurses have faced discrimination. In one case a nurse was confronted with the anti-Semitic trope of Jews 'drinking blood'. It is hard to believe this is happening in our caring professions. Institutional blindness to anti-Semitism must end now. The question we must all ask ourselves is: how do we stop this hate in its tracks? It requires leadership, courage and conviction and I am prepared to show it. Today I announce a National Inquiry on Anti-Semitism. It will be tasked with collecting evidence and providing recommendations for urgent national change. It will build on the excellent work led by Lord Mann and Penny Mordaunt for the Board of Deputies of British Jews. I am not prepared to wait long for this. It must report back to me directly in six months. In the meantime, I am tasking ministers and civil servants across the land to make a difference right now. I will be asking them: what have you done this week to tackle anti-Semitism? I will make sure that there is zero tolerance of Jew-hate in our education system, whether the perpetrators are teachers or students. Any university lecturer or schoolteacher proven to have displayed anti-Semitism should be fired. Any student or pupil should face the strongest of disciplinary processes. Holocaust education is already part of the national curriculum. I announce here that compulsory education on anti-Semitism will join it. In our health system, I will ensure that Jewish people can feel as confident in the care they receive as every other citizen of our nation. Again, those proven to have been racist against Jews or provided an inferior service based on race should lose their jobs. They should have no place representing our nation through our public services. Wes Streeting has shown leadership by pledging decisive change in the NHS on anti-Semitism. I support his ambition and will monitor results closely. Discrimination in the arts must end now too. The cancellation of Jewish artists and performers and the silent boycotting of their work will not be permissible. I call on local councils to withdraw the licences of any venues that discriminate against Jews. I will also ensure that any publicly-funded arts institution guilty of permitting anti-Semitism will no longer receive government money. I want the nation to know that I am making a personal commitment to fighting Jew-hate in our society, just as I did in rooting out anti-Semitism from the Labour Party. I am not prepared for the legacy of this Government to be a failure to stamp out this poisonous racism. It is not who we in Britain are. We are better than that. Our values are better than that. Our democracy is better than that. The change starts now.
Telegraph
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
‘Anti-Semitic' trans activists ban Zionism at pride event
Trans activists have been condemned for calling for 'Zionists' to be excluded from a pride event in London. The demand was criticised as anti-Semitic by gay Jewish campaigners, who said most Jews regard themselves as Zionist, believing in their right to self-determination and a Jewish homeland. The controversy erupted when London Trans Pride published leaflets and posters stating that its event on Saturday was 'not the place for' racism, religious discrimination, sexism, xenophobia or a number of other attitudes and beliefs. It ended the 'banned' list with the word 'Zionism'. Jewish LGBTQ campaigners have written to the organisers to point out that the blanket exclusion of Zionism and Zionists 'is not only discriminatory, it is anti-Semitic '. The Hineni Project, which works to 'mobilise the LGBTQ+ community in the fight against anti-Semitism in all its forms', wrote in its letter: 'Over 90 per cent of Jews identify as Zionist. 'For the overwhelming majority of LGBTQ+ Jews, Zionism is not an abstract ideology. It is a lived identity tied to survival, self-determination, and ancestral belonging. 'It is a belief that Jewish people – who have endured exile, genocide, and marginalisation for centuries – deserve safety, equality, and a homeland.' It added: 'To declare that Zionism is unwelcome at Pride is to implicitly declare that LGBTQ+ Jews are unwelcome too.' Jewish LGBTQ campaigners have also accused London Trans Pride of double standards in ignoring the oppression and persecution of gay, lesbian and trans people in areas controlled by Hamas and the Palestine Authority. The Hineni Project stated: 'This is not theoretical. Since Oct 7, queer Jewish people across the UK have faced exclusion, isolation, and abuse from the very spaces we helped to build. 'Queer Jews have been central to the fight for liberation – from Harvey Milk to Larry Kramer, from ACT UP to the founders of Pride itself. And yet now we are treated with suspicion, silenced, or forced to renounce a core part of our identity just to participate. 'To equate Zionism with oppression while ignoring the persecution of queer Palestinians by Hamas and Fatah is to promote a distorted, dehumanising narrative. 'To focus your activism on Israel – a democracy with legal protections for LGBTQ+ people, including Palestinians – while remaining silent on the 64 countries that criminalise homosexuality, including many where queer people are imprisoned, tortured or executed, reveals a double standard that demands reflection.' Commentators have said there is a paradox in some anti-Israel campaigners adopting the slogan ' Queers for Palestine ' in protest marches against the Israeli military response to the Hamas attacks of Oct 7 2023. They point out that gay and lesbian people in Gaza have long faced persecution and have struggled to be accepted in societies with hard-line Islamic governments, in contrast to the treatment of LGBTQ people in Israel. A spokesman for Campaign Against Anti-Semitism said: 'This kind of exclusion is despicable. 'Not only are Zionists not welcome at London Trans Pride, but the organisers view Zionism as being in the same category as racism and sexism. 'Eighty per cent of British Jews consider themselves to be Zionists; only 6 per cent do not, according to our polling. Zionism is the right of Jews to self-determination in their ancestral homeland. 'According to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of anti-Semitism, denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, is an example of anti-Semitism. 'Yet again, for all that 'progressive' spaces boast of inclusivity, that inclusivity doesn't extend to Jews. Not very 'progressive' at all.' Saturday's London Trans Pride will see a march from outside BBC Broadcasting House, through central London to Parliament Square for speeches and music.
Telegraph
20-07-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Anti-Semitism rife in UK schools
Anti-Semitism is rife in the UK's schools, with more than half of Jewish teachers reporting abuse. Jewish teachers have reported increasing instances of swastika graffiti and chants of 'free Palestine' and 'f--- the Jews'. One Jewish teacher said: 'On multiple occasions, students have shouted 'free Palestine' at me. On another occasion, someone shouted 'f--- the Jews' outside a meeting of Jewish students.' The findings were revaled in a survey of Jewish teachers by the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT), which has more than 300,000 members. It comes after a Government-backed report found that anti-Semitism has been normalised in middle-class Britain. The survey found that 51 percent of Jewish teachers had experienced anti-Semitism in their schools since May 2023. A total of 44 per cent reported swastika graffiti appearing at their school since May 2023, and 39 per cent have witnessed or been subject to Nazi-related comments. Jewish teaching staff reported being told 'it's not racist to say Jews are rich – it's just a fact', while others have faced assumptions that they are Israeli and not British citizens. The rise in the abuse is being fuelled by 'dangerous' rhetoric from the far-Right and misinformation on social media, according to Matt Wrack, the acting NASUWT general secretary. But the union's response has been criticised for failing to address anti-Semitism from far-Left or Islamist groups in the aftermath of the Oct 7 Hamas terror attack on Israel.
