The War Against Britain's Jews

Anti-Semitism is a growing problem in modern Britain. Figures show that the number of attacks against Jewish individuals and institutions has doubled since 2000.

As Britain gains more and more 'ethnic minorities' and ethnic politics becomes increasingly important (for some, at least), Jews are becoming Britain's 'forgotten minority', particularly as they integrate and move out of their traditional, close-knit communities, which in turn are taken over by other minority groups.

The following documentary, part of Channel 4's 'Dispatches' series, explores these issues in more detail. Anti-Semitism in Britain is not, it seems, just a standard form of racism. It is a unique and complex issue.

Far from being the preserve of the far-Right, it now finds most popularity amongst Muslim youths and even the far-Left.

As the 'Palestinian' cause gains popularity amongst British and Muslim youth, becoming one of the most fashionable Left-wing causes on university campuses and elsewhere, many people are choosing to identify the policies of the Israeli government with Jews, with 'Zionist' or 'Israeli' often used as a code word for 'Jew'.

The police acknowledge there is a growing problem; some Jewish communities in Manchester have had to bomb-proof windows in Jewish schools and synagogues, and some Orthodox Jews who are easily identifiable by their appearance need a police escort to worship safely.

This documentary was made nearly two years ago, but after the 'pro-Gaza' riots of January 2009 I think its message is more relevant than ever.

Those events saw a British diplomat arrested at a rally screaming 'f***ing Jews' and 'I hope the Israeli army is wiped out in Gaza', and Tony Blair's sister-in-law Lauren Booth accused of anti-Semitism after telling a packed demonstration 'Britain should expell all Israelis'.

Ideas which were once confined to loopy neo-Nazis are now becoming mainstream - I've had very Left-wing friends tell me to find out the 'truth' about 9/11, how it was a Mossad job and the proof is 'no Jews died'; the belief that Jews control the Government and therefore our foreign policy towards Israel is also rising, along with other shadowy conspiracy theories that many hoped had died with Hitler. As well as this is the frighteningly ingrained belief, explored in the documentary, that if one supports Israel or is against anti-Semitism in an outspoken way one must be Jewish, even 'secretly'.

This is a problem which needs addressing, and fast, but the politicians seem reluctant to address the root cause.