Tuesday, November 6, 2007
This is just a quick link to follow -- an "aside." These are links to interesting things that, for one reason or another, I didn't place into a full posting. Click the link to visit the full article. Go to the blog index for a regular listing of posts.
Melanie Phillips: Britain's Anti-Semitic Turn - '...According to the Community Security Trust, the defense organization of Britain’s 300,000-strong Jewish community, last year saw nearly 600 anti-Semitic assaults, incidents of vandalism, cases of abuse, and threats against Jewish individuals and institutions—double the 2001 number. According to the police, Jews are four times more likely to be attacked because of their religion than are Muslims. Every synagogue service and Jewish communal event now requires guards on the lookout for violence from both neo-Nazis and Muslim extremists. Orthodox Jews have become particular targets; some have begun wearing baseball caps instead of skullcaps and concealing their Star of David jewelry...'
A lot of the material in this piece is old stuff, the same anecdotes that have been repeated over and over again during the last several years. Still, reading this article is a chilling experience.
I have the impression that Melanie Phillips is a fiery type. I'm hoping that her depiction of anti-Semitism in Britain is an exaggeration. If it isn't, I wouldn't feel totally comfortable as a Jew living in Britain.