Is Britain really not safe for Jews anymore?

May we believe without nuances a columnist who claims that anti-Semitism is ‘endemic in “progressive” British politics,’ … and ‘the Left controls the universities, the BBC and the artistic and cultural world [so i]t is Britain itself that’s no longer safe for Jews.’

More importantly, how does one argue such a position successfully? (I don’t mean: What do people say who disagree with her? I mean: How does one convince of the opposite people who think she’s right?)

The idea of Britain is unsafe for Jews goes hand-in-hand with the century-old feeling among Jews that no Gentile can be trusted except for a few exceptions that confirm this rule. And some historic truth lies at the root of this paranoia. So, arguing the opposite must row against centuries of mistrust.

Then there are Jews who dislike to mistrust and they flip to total naivety. I’m obviously not going there either.

So, what main argument could topple the idea that the UK is not safe for Jews anymore – if anything?

It is a major tactical mistake to not distinguish between die-hard anti-Semites and the rest, who have heard many stereotypes about Jews and believe some of them

The main point is this: If one wants to be realistic, one needs to distinguish between die-hard anti-Semites, who made fighting “Jewish world-power” the center of their lives, and the rest of us, who have heard many stereotypes about Jews and believe some of them, at least somewhat. To not tell these two apart is a major tactical mistake.

(Of course, we should not even give up on the worst anti-Semites, but we also should not hold our breath to see if they can be our friends. Just, we could always try to love or rebuke a villain so well that he breaks down and gives up his murderous hostility. Just only try this if you are safe or as a means of last resort.)

An example of an innocent bigot who could easily repent is Washington D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson. Hit by a sudden unpredicted snow storm, he assumed that ‘the Rothschilds’ must have been meddling with the weather, because we all know that the Jews manipulate everything in the world. He now stands corrected.

My first employer – I was 18 – warned me to do a good job or else ‘I will have you been taken away by an old Jew.’ I replied: I’m not scared of my father, and she blushed. She never associated the expression of the village of her youth with actual Jews. Curiously, she was an exceptional girl so in the village – without any Jews – they called her the Jewess. And she had Jewish friends, among them my mother, and if people were Jewish wasn’t even an issue for her.

My dear mother, a Holocaust survivor, had her measure of naivety. I remember my young sister once saying to her: But mother, not everyone is like you.

The flip side of ‘we hardly have any friends’ is to make unbelievable saints of any Gentile who likes and protects Jews. If they risked their lives for us, they are saints, but for the rest they’re only being human.

The extension of ‘Jew friends are saints’ is not to recognize Jews who saved Jews with danger to their own lives as righteous among the Nations. They are, according to some Jews, nothing special.

Doom thinking about allies for Jews denies cooperation with them and prevents us from winning over and maintaining almost everyone else as allies

Conclusion: doom thinking about allies for Jews has some value to stop Jews being overly naive. But for the rest, it denies cooperation with our allies and prevents us from winning over and maintaining almost everyone else as allies!

About the Author

MM is a prolific and creative writer and thinker, an almost daily blog contributor to the Times of Israel, and previously, for decades, he was known to the Jerusalem Post readers as a frequent letter writer. He often makes his readers laugh, mad, or assume he's nuts—close to perfect blogging. He's proud that his analytical short comments are removed both from left-wing and right-wing news sites. None of his content is (partly) generated by AI. * As a frontier thinker, he sees things many don't yet. He's half a prophet. Half. Let's not exaggerate. He doesn't believe that people observe and think in a vacuum. He, therefore, wanted a broad bio that readers interested can track a bit about what (lack of) backgrounds, experiences, and education contribute to his visions. * If you don't know the Dutch, get an American peek behind the scenes here: https://youtu.be/QMPp6h6r72M * To find less-recent posts on subject XXX among his 2000 archived ones, go to the right-top corner of a Times of Israel page, click on the search icon and search "zuiden, XXX". One can find a second, wilder blog, to which one may subscribe, here: https://mmvanzuiden.wordpress.com/. * Like most of his readers, he believes in being friendly, respectful, and loyal. Yet, if you think those are his absolute top priorities, you might end up disappointed. His first loyalty is to the truth. He will try to stay within the limits of democratic and Jewish law, but he won't lie to support opinions or people who don't deserve that. He admits that he sometimes exaggerates to make a point, which could have him come across as nasty, while in actuality, he's quite a lovely person to interact with. He holds - how Dutch - that a strong opinion doesn't imply intolerance of other views. * Sometimes he's misunderstood because his wide and diverse field of vision seldomly fits any specialist's box. But that's exactly what some love about him. He has written a lot about Psychology (including Sexuality and Abuse), Medicine (including physical immortality), Science (including basic statistics), Politics (Israel, the US, and the Netherlands, Activism), Oppression and Liberation (intersectionally, for young people, the elderly, non-Whites, women, workers, Jews, LGBTQIA+, foreigners and anyone else who's dehumanized or exploited), Integrity, Philosophy, Jews (Judaism, Zionism, Holocaust, and Jewish Liberation), the Climate Crisis, Ecology and Veganism, Affairs from the news, or the Torah Portion of the Week, or new insights that suddenly befell him. * His most influential teachers (chronologically) are his parents, Nico (natan) van Zuiden and Betty (beisye) Nieweg, Wim Kan, Mozart, Harvey Jackins, Marshal Rosenberg, Reb Shlomo Carlebach, and, lehavdil bein chayim lechayim, Rabbi Dr. Natan Lopes Cardozo, Rav Zev Leff, and Rav Meir Lubin. * One of his rabbis calls him Mr. Innovation [Ish haChidushim]. Yet, his originalities seem to root deeply in traditional Judaism, though they may grow in unexpected directions. In fact, he claims he's modernizing nothing. Rather, mainly basing himself on the basic Hebrew Torah text, he tries to rediscover classical Jewish thought almost lost in thousands of years of stifling Gentile domination and Jewish assimilation. (He pleads for a close reading of the Torah instead of going by rough assumptions of what it would probably mean and before fleeing to Commentaries.) This, in all aspects of life, but prominently in the areas of Free Will, Activism, Homosexuality for men, and Redemption. * He hopes that his words will inspire and inform, and disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed. He aims to bring a fresh perspective rather than harp on the obvious and familiar. He loves to write encyclopedic overviews. He doesn't expect his readers to agree. Rather, original minds should be disputed. In short, his main political positions are among others: anti-Trumpism, anti-elitism, anti-bigotry and supremacy, for Zionism, Intersectionality, and non-violence, anti those who abuse democratic liberties, anti the fake ME peace process, for original-Orthodoxy, pro-Science, pro-Free Will, anti-blaming-the-victim, and for down-to-earth, classical optimism, and happiness. * He is a fetal survivor of the pharmaceutical industry (https://diethylstilbestrol.co.uk/studies/des-and-psychological-health/), born in 1953 to parents who were Dutch-Jewish Holocaust survivors who met in the largest concentration camp in the Netherlands, Westerbork. He grew up a humble listener. It took him decades to become a speaker too. Bullies and con artists almost instantaneously envy and hate him. * He holds a BA in medicine (University of Amsterdam) – is half a doctor. He practices Re-evaluation Co-counseling since 1977, is not an official teacher anymore, and became a friendly, empowering therapist. He became a social activist, became religious, made Aliyah, and raised three wonderful kids non-violently. For a couple of years, he was active in hasbara to the Dutch-speaking public. He wrote an unpublished tome about Jewish Free Will. He's being a strict vegan since 2008. He's an Orthodox Jew but not a rabbi. He lives with his library in Jerusalem. Feel free to contact him. * His writing has been made possible by a (second-generation) Holocaust survivors' allowance from the Netherlands. It has been his dream since he was 38 to try to make a difference by teaching through writing. He had three times 9-out-of-10 for Dutch at his high school finals but is spending his days communicating in English and Hebrew - how ironic. G-d must have a fine sense of humor. In case you wonder - yes, he is a bit dyslectic. If you're a native English speaker and wonder why you should read from people whose English is only their second language, consider the advantage of having an original peek outside of your cultural bubble. * To send any personal reaction to him, scroll to the top of the blog post and click Contact Me. * His newest books you may find here: https://www.amazon.com/s?i=stripbooks&rh=p_27%3AMoshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&s=relevancerank&text=Moshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1