Anti-semetic Acts Up in London
Posted by mykela1 on February 17, 2009
In London, anti-semetic acts of violence are on the rise according to the Community Security Trust, a NGO that has been tracking anti-semitism in England since 1984. As stated by a recent CNN article, “[t]he group recorded more than 200 incidents in the month of January alone, the highest monthly total it has seen since it began keeping records….” This increase is said to be a direct affect of the Palestinian/Israeli Conflict in the Gaza Strip. But, in order to combat this problem, London hosted it’s first ever international conference to discuss solutions to this issue and ways to fight anti-semitism. People from over 35 countries took part in this two-day forum, and according to the article, most of the policymakers were not Jewish, lending itself as a great example of one of Shattle’s Secondary Principles: Cross-Cultural Empathy.
Imagine There's No Countries . . . 
jonthepackardman said
Wow, I’m quite surprised by this development… do Londoners think that by attacking the Jews that live in England that they’ll change what the Jews in Israel are doing? that is just absolutely absurd.
mykela1 said
I completely agree. And the part that surprised me the most was that the attacks are overwhelmingly on Jews rather than Muslims, despite the anti-Muslim feeling very prominent in Europe right now.
mayacu said
I doubt that any Londoner who performs an anti-semetic hate crime thinks or even hopes that their action will somehow change the course of events in Israel or Palestine. Hate crimes are emotional acts of violence not done to cause change, but to hurt someone because you are angry with them or what you believe they represent. Jewish people around the world are being negatively affected by the actions of the Israeli government, whether they agree with those actions or not. There are plenty of Jewish people around the world who do not agree with the Israeli government’s actions. I think it would be wise for the Israeli government and other supporters of Israel to see if their policies in Gaza and the West Bank are really making them safer or just making them and their people a target for angry people around the world. Step one to ending anti-semetism: end the Israeli occupation of Palestine. I am very interested to see when England, or any other “western” country for that matter, will hold a conference addressing the issue of anti-Muslim actions by governments and individuals.