The Kantor Centre, based at Tel Aviv University, said the publicity around allegations of Jew-hate in Labour was likely to have "emboldened offenders"
April 11, 2018 12:10
Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party is partly responsible for the rise in antisemitic attacks in Britain, according to a report published today.
The study by the Kantor Centre, based at Tel Aviv University, said the publicity around allegations of Jew-hate in Labour was likely to have "emboldened offenders".
There had been a "rise in leftist antisemitism" which "supports radical Muslim anti-Israeli attitudes expressed in antisemitic terms such as in the BDS and Antifa movements, and certainly in the UK Labour party led by Jeremy Corbyn”, the report said.
It added: "The recent strengthening of the extreme right in a number of European countries was accompanied by slogans and symbols which remind, not only the Jewish population, of the 1930s, despite the significant differences between the two periods."
According to the Centre, British Jews had lost their “traditional political home, because of the change the Labour Party has undergone, to which they feel they cannot be partners.
"Jews regard the present stances of the Labour Party as no less than betrayal.”
The global study into antisemitism said there was an increase in feelings of insecurity among European Jews.
The Centre said while the number of violent incidents had fallen, there was an increase in harassment and abuse, which explained the heightened sensitivity within the Jewish community.
It found that in 2017 there were 327 major incidents of violence, and vandalism, compared with 1,118 in 2009. When the study began, in 1989, incidents were recorded at just 78.
The 105-page report looked at the rise of antisemitism in Europe, the post-Soviet region, the US, Canada, Australia, South America and South Africa.
The decrease in physical attacks was put down to improved security and more government funding.
The report also said the decrease could be explained by fewer people physically identifying themselves as such Jewish on the street.
“Once some Jews do not participate in Jewish traditional gatherings, do not appear in the public sphere identified as Jews, avoid mentioning their real name on the internet, do not openly support Israel, if communities run out of the financial resources given heavy security costs and not much is left for culture and education activities – the ability to live a full Jewish communal and individual life is jeopardised, and so is Jewish identity,” the report says.
It said the decrease in violence was not necessarily perceived in Jewish communities as a positive development.
“The presence of security measures means that they are a necessity, and mainly because it is overshadowed by the many verbal and visual expressions, some on the verge of violence, such as direct threats, harassments, hateful expressions and insults,” it said.
“These take place in working places, schools, universities, playgrounds, near Jewish homes and institutes, on football/soccer fields, during demonstrations in the streets, and all the more so in the social networks.”
It referenced demonstrations which took place around the world after Donald Trump’s announcement that the US would recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Protests against his decision often included antisemitic slogans, including calls for murder, and the burning of the Israeli flag.
“These incidents do not necessarily originate in Muslim and Arab circles and countries, but rather come from a variety of groups and circles, from most of the political spectrum, left-wing groups included.”