With the ceasefire now in effect, we hope that the worst of the antisemitism will soon be over. But for CAA, our work is only just beginning.

I will explain why.

Antisemitism in Britain does not appear from nowhere and then simply disappear from our streets, campuses, schools and social media networks just because the media and politicians shift their attention elsewhere.

Our community has learned the hard way that, for all the announcements of police investigations, there is no guarantee that the antisemites who have spent the last two weeks causing havoc for Britain’s Jews — many of whom are still at large — will actually be identified and prosecuted. As I told the Prime Minister at our meeting yesterday, it is of the utmost importance that those who wish British Jews harm see that justice is done.

But bringing antisemites to justice is the work of years.

Our motto, from the Torah, is “justice justice shalt thou pursue”. That’s because justice won’t be done for our community unless a dedicated team is there to pursue it.

With your help, that is what we will continue to do.

Here is a sample of how we have responded to the surge in antisemitism over the past two weeks — and the work that lies ahead:

• Multiple protests have been held at which we have seen far-right figures unite with the far-left and Islamists. We have seen Hamas-style headbands and calls for Jews to “go back to the s**tty countries you came from”. We have seen protesters chanting the battle cry “Jews…the army of Muhammad is returning” and flaunting the emblems of Hamas and other terrorist organisations. Many of these people committed criminal offences in plain sight, and we have submitted evidence to the police and are reviewing the possibility of private prosecutions with our lawyers if the Crown Prosecution Service refuses to act.

• A ‘Free Palestine’ convoy headed down to London and its members called out “F*** the Jews…rape their daughters”. Police were warned a week beforehand but did nothing, only reacting after a huge public outcry as videos circulated, dispatching a helicopter as the Prime Minister and Home Secretary demanded action. We heavily publicised the incident in traditional and social media and, thanks to a Jewish member of the public who took a high-resolution photo of the registration plates, four men have now been arrested. We will be monitoring the progress of the investigation to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice.

• A police officer who chanted “Free, free Palestine” and hugged people at one of these antisemitism-infested marches is under investigation by the Metropolitan Police following a complaint from us. We have also submitted a complaint against another officer who shook hands with and encouraged the driver of a car in the ‘Free Palestine’ convoy, and we are preparing a complaint against a third officer, because the Jewish community must be able to have confidence in our police forces.

• Multiple antisemitic crimes have been committed in Manchester, including some not yet in the public domain, and our Incident Response Unit is assisting victims in seeking redress through the criminal justice system.

• Politicians have issued inflammatory, one-sided statements one after another. John McDonnell, the former Shadow Chancellor, tweeted a photo containing an antisemitic placard describing how “proud” he was to march alongside such people. Elsewhere, one mayor demanded “a joint statement from the Jewish and Muslim faith leaders of the city to condemn the killings of the innocent and Palestinian people”. We are releasing a detailed report and will be making multiple disciplinary complaints to the relevant political parties in the coming days. This expose comes on the heels of the damning report into Labour antisemitism by the EHRC, in whose investigation we were the complainant. We will continue to hold all political parties to account over antisemitism.

• Many journalists have poured fuel on the fire. The worst example must be the BBC’s Jeremy Bowen instructing “every Jew'' to read an article headlined “Racism, hate and violence are Jewish values too”. We have launched a petition and submitted a complaint to the BBC, which is now investigating. This is just the latest action we have taken in relation to antisemitism in traditional media, which, as our polling shows, remains a hostile arena for British Jews.

• Social media has been engulfed with hatred. Last week, a Holocaust survivor was bombarded with antisemitic hatred and praise for Hitler on TikTok after wishing followers a “lovely, peaceful weekend”. We publicised the incident in traditional and social media and have published guidance for schoolchildren and parents on how to deal with antisemitic bullying. We will continue engaging with and pressuring social media companies to deliver on their promises to fight hate on their platforms, and continue advocating for online harms legislation as we have for years.

• Antisemitism on campuses has metastasised, culminating in death threats being directed at Jewish students at UCL. We are assisting students there and elsewhere. Not uncoincidentally, UCL has also become ground zero in the campaign by academics against the International Definition of Antisemitism. We monitor adoption of the Definition by universities across the country, and, in a rare bright spot, in the past few days we reached a milestone as half of British universities have now adopted the Definition.

• We have publicised other recent heinous antisemitic acts — including the brutal beating of a rabbi in Essex, car rammings of Jewish drivers in Hendon by cars in the ‘Free Palestine’ convoy, graffiti on a Jewish Messianic institution in Norwich, the tearing of mezuzot from the walls of Jewish homes in Borehamwood and the affixing of hostile signs to the doors of flats in apartment blocks in Stamford Hill — because we believe that we will only raise awareness of antisemitism in wider society if we shine a spotlight on it.

It will take years of work to respond fully to the events of the past fortnight.

To illustrate what I mean, consider that just this week we finally secured very serious criminal charges against someone who claimed that “Zionists” burned down Grenfell Tower as part of a “ritual sacrifice”, while earlier this month we scored a major regulatory success in our efforts to have a pharmacist held to account over similar comments linking “Zionists” to the Grenfell tragedy. The antisemitic acts themselves took place in 2017, but it took our perseverence over four years to ensure that justice was done. Had we not done so, I have no doubt that these racists would still be inciting hatred against British Jews.

Our message to the antisemites who have menaced British Jews over the past two weeks is that we will not rest until you are brought to justice, and your supporters see the ruinous consequences of your actions.

That is how we defend the Jewish community, and it is thanks to the generosity of people like you that we are able to do so.

How you, your family and friends can help us:

1. Volunteer your time and encourage others to volunteer. There is plenty that each of us can do. We might not call on you immediately, but put your name down at antisemitism.org/volunteer. To those of you who have already done so, thank you!

2. Donate. Most of our work is done by volunteers, but we have a staff team and our vital legal work, which holds antisemites to account, is expensive. If you donate already, thank you for enabling us to stand up for British Jews. For those who do not donate, please consider making a donation at antisemitism.org/donate. You can make one-off donations, but monthly donations allow us to plan and so are especially appreciated.

We are particularly grateful for donations at this difficult time, knowing the immense volume of work that awaits us in the coming months and years.

Lastly, if you have faced antisemitism or witnessed an incident, we are especially keen to help you. Please e-mail [email protected] or call us on 0330 822 0321.

Thank you for supporting us in our work to stand up for British Jews.

Best wishes,

Gideon Falter
Chief Executive