My Word: Nice Words Are Not Enough

The recent surge in antisemitic attacks across the UK has brought into sharp focus the inadequacy of mere words in addressing deeply rooted prejudice. As someone who left the UK for Israel over 45 years ago, I find the current climate deeply concerning. The British Jewish News weekly's mock Bingo board cover, juxtaposing a stabbing attack with the phrase "Bull$# @ # bingo," poignantly captures the community's frustration with the predictable and often hollow responses.

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British “Zionists… don’t want to study history” and despite “having lived in this country for a very long time, probably all their lives, they don’t understand English irony either.”

We hear the same platitudes after each incident: "This is not who we are as a country," "We stand with the Jewish community," "Our hearts go out to the victims." These phrases, while perhaps well-intentioned, have become so overused that they ring hollow, failing to convey genuine commitment or effective action. The same trite words were uttered after the Yom Kippur synagogue attack in Manchester, highlighting a pattern of fleeting sympathy rather than sustained engagement.

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Bull$# @ # bingo” “Jews bleed. Cue the clichés..."

Figures like Jeremy Corbyn, who once attempted to deflect criticism by distinguishing between "Zionists" and "Jews," have learned, albeit slowly, that such semantic games are transparent. His recent statement on X/Twitter, condemning the stabbing of two Jewish men and also an attack on a Muslim man, while seemingly inclusive, risks diluting the specific threat of antisemitism by framing it as just another instance of hatred. This approach, as journalist Nicole Lampert Brockman rightly points out, can be perceived as a "dog whistle attack" suggesting that Jews are exaggerating their oppression.

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This is not who we are as a country,” “We stand with the Jewish community,” “We must choose unity at a time like this,” “Our hearts go out to the victims and their families,” and, the most clichéd of all: “Our thoughts and prayers are with you.”

The core issue is that while all forms of racism are abhorrent, the specific and historical nature of antisemitism requires a distinct and robust response. To suggest that focusing on the threat to Jewish people is somehow "Jewish supremacist" behavior is a dangerous mischaracterization. The article argues that the current discourse often attempts to minimize the danger, implying that the threat against the Jewish community is not as severe as it is made out to be. This underestimation is precisely what allows antisemitism to fester and grow, making "nice words" tragically insufficient.

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The stabbing of two Jewish men is horrifying. So too is the attack on a Muslim man the same day, ignored by much of our media. All human lives are equal – and we should oppose all hatred and violence wherever it appears. That’s how we build a safe & peaceful society for all.”