British Jews are living under the shadow of fear: Whatever happens in Israel and Palestine, nothing excuses bigoted and criminal behaviour in the UK

British Jews are living under the shadow of fear: Whatever happens in Israel and Palestine, nothing excuses bigoted and criminal behaviour in the UK

By Khadija Khan   The increase in anti-Semitic incidents following Hamas’s barbaric attack on Israeli civilians on October 7 is abhorrent – but regrettably not surprising. Whenever tensions flare up between Israel and Palestine, this decades-long conflict spills out from the middle east and makes its way to our shores. When Hamas terrorists crossed the border from Gaza into Israel, and slaughtered 1,400 people before taking hundreds of innocents as hostages, most right-thinking people sympathised with Israel. For this was the worst pogrom against Jews since the Holocaust. And yet…

Why are we still not taking anti-Semitism seriously?

Why are we still not taking anti-Semitism seriously?

By Khadija Khan   On a Sunday morning in May, a group of men travelled 200 miles from Bradford to London. When the convoy of cars, draped in Palestinian flags, arrived in a predominantly Jewish area of Hampstead, a man emerged from a vehicle and started shouting through a loudspeaker: ‘F*** the Jews… F*** all of them. F*** their mothers, f*** their daughters and show your support for Palestine. Rape their daughters and we have to send a message like that. Please do it for the poor children in Gaza.’…

No I am not a racist, pervert or bully – I have legitimate unanswered concerns about Malia Bouattia on anti-Semitism

No I am not a racist, pervert or bully – I have legitimate unanswered concerns about Malia Bouattia on anti-Semitism

By Haydar Zaki   I am starting to see articles and TV interviews with the newly appointed NUS president, Malia Bouattia, discussing the accusations that have been put to her with the headlines that she “is clearing her name.” However, from the pieces and interviews I’ve seen, it seems that nothing has actually been cleared up. In fact if anything, the accusations of anti-Semitism and extremism apologia are even more muddied. One exchange with an interviewer in particular had summed up the whole situation. The interviewer asked her: “Do you…

Naz Shah proves that anti-Semitism is still a problem

Naz Shah proves that anti-Semitism is still a problem

By Rasool Bibi     Karma is a bitch, isn’t it Naz Shah? This week, anti-Semitic posts made by Naz Shah nine months before she won her seat in Bradford West have been exposed. As an activist against extremism, if I hadn’t already lost all my faith in her, this would have come as a surprise. We were inspired by her story of overcoming a forced marriage and domestic abuse to become a rising politician and cheered her on. We loudly expressed disgust when George Galloway and many in Naz’s Muslim community led a poisonous…