If the international media see rising anti-Semitism in the UK then that is indeed cause for great concern.

Thank you for taking the time to answer my points.

Frankly, there are always going to be anti-Semites. What matters is what they do with it and, lately, in England, they’re getting loud and proud of it. That’s what’s scary. Going from disliking a group, to attacking it. I attribute that trend to the coming together of British Leftists and Muslims, who have found a common enemy that they can loudly bash, while still scoring political points.

I do agree that, historically, the British have always set a standard for tolerance. That’s one of the reasons I fell in love with British history: your country shook off intolerance ahead of other countries and set a gold standard. And that’s why I find it exceptionally sad that Britain is abandoning that position and starting to sound very shrill about “the other.”

As for history, we should certainly remember it and its lessons, but it’s the here and now that matters and I stand by my conviction that the UK is not institutionally anti-Semitic and that the British people are among the most tolerant and accepting in the world.

Incidentally, Freedom Fighter is right about the way the retreating British in Palestine attempted to ignore the UN division and throw the country to the Arabs. It was a craven thing to do.

I’m a native Brit and I can honestly say that in my sixty years I’ve never encountered any serious instance of anti-Semitism. The only incidents that come close are jokes in dubious taste, but then we like to poke fun at everyone - including ourselves.

Yes, we have our fair share of extremists and assorted nutcases and one would expect a degree of anti-Semitism amongst the large Muslim community, but generally, I can see no increase in activity against Jews.

In my immediate vicinity, there are two Indian families, one Greek family, two Chinese families, and a group of Arab men who run a convenience store. I don’t even know if there are any Jewish families because no one has ever drawn my attention to them if they exist. During the past twenty years, I have not witnessed or heard of one single instance of racial hatred or abuse in this area.

Incidentally, England does not equal United Kingdom!

As far as I’m concerned, Britain and the Arab world were complicit in the Holocaust.

Not only that, but after Israel was created by the UN, Britain armed ( and in the case of Jordan, armed and officered, under the notorious anti-Semite col. John Glubb) the Arab armies with modern weapons even though the Arabs had clearly announced their intention to murder every Jew in Israel.

In more modern times, Britain’s Labour Party in the last general election made a campaign issue out of Tory leader Michael Howard’s Jewish ancestry, actually putting up campaign posters showing Howard seated on a pig and saying `Can we trust this man to put Britain first?’

I won’t even mention the Beeb and most of the British press. They’re despicable.

I have a fair amount of readers and friends across the pond, and they’re decent folks, but if I were a Jew in the UK I’d have been out of there a long time ago.

All best, and good luck with the awards…
FF