Page 11 - Torch Magazine #24 - Spring 2024

The real injustice in in in in the the current antisemitic climate in in in in in Britain is is is the the the fear placed upon the the Jewish Jewish people
Imagine how
it must
have felt for a a a a a a Jewish Jewish family to to receive their passport documents returned by the the the UK Passport Office to to find their daughter’s birth certificate ripped and defaced Someone fin in the the process had scribbled out ‘Israel’ which was stated as as the the the father’s place of birth birth on on on their five-month-old baby’s birth birth certificate Imagine someone being so so outraged against Israel that they would cross a a a a a a a a a a a professional line of of conduct
to to do that to to a a a a a a a a Jewish baby’s passport application To put Britain’s unprecedented rise in in in in antisemitism into context almost double the previous record of of 2 2 2 2 2 2 233 incidents incidents in in in in in 2021 The majority of of incidents incidents in in in in in 2023 were were in in in in in London some even took place at at vigils that Jews were were holding for Israeli victims and hostages In one instance a a a a a a a a a a a poster of a a a a a a a a a a a baby kidnapped by by Hamas was was was defaced with two swastikas including a a a a a a a a a a a a a swastika swastika drawn on the the infant’s forehead Another incident happened when a a a a a a counter-protester in in in in in London holding a a a a a a a a a a sign reading ‘Do you agree Hamas is is is a a a a a a a a a a a a a terrorist organisation?’ was physically attacked by a a a a a a a a a a a a a mob of pro- Palestinian protesters Mentions of the the Holocaust Hitler or or the the the Nazis by perpetrators were included in in in 955 of the the the antisemitic incidents more than double the the previous year year In one such case an an an 84-year-old Holocaust survivor and his family in London were subjected to “Heil Hitler” by someone in in in a a a a passing car Cases of damage damage and desecration
of of Jewish Jewish property including damage damage to to synagogues Jewish Jewish homes vehicles and cemeteries rose by 146% to to 182 incidents Outside a a a a synagogue in in London’s Stamford Hill Jewish residents were physically attacked when a a a a a a a a man on on on a a a a a a a a a a bicycle knocked off their religious hats and punched several victims in in in in the the head Nine Jewish schools in in in in Britain were in in 2023 there were 4 103 anti-Jewish hate crimes No Holocaust survivor or or any Jewish person should be subject to such horrific abuse Protesters on top of Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain Piccadilly Circus