Sincerely, A British Jew

So you’ve heard of James O’Brien.

The antisemitic commentator on LBC.

And to all those people who will say- ‘Jews call everything antisemitic.’

O’Brien went on air basically saying ‘Young Jews are being taught to hate. Be aware of this threat.’

So let me tell you this.

As a ‘young jew’ who was brought up religious; in religious schools, a religious household-

Hate is not what I was taught.

How in the face of an extreme rise of antisemitism in the UK, are Jews being called the threat?

 There is a reason that there are multiple reports happening in the government discussing this alarming rise.

There is a reason that there has been a rise of reports of antisemitic incidents on campus and throughout the country.

When there is a national news reporter like O’Brien going on air calling young jews a ‘threat’, the country hears.

When LBC and O’Brien won’t call out the antisemitism in his speech, why should the country?

The media has a huge influence on the countries attitudes and the uneducated or uninterested majority. Most listeners won’t look into the information they hear, they won’t bother questioning what they hear, and it will remain subconscious knowledge.

Eventually, they won’t remember where they heard it, meaning they won’t know it was called out as inaccurate, therefore, it leaves them with the idea or attitude that Jews are indeed a threat to the country.

Yes, O’ Brien said ‘Sorry’.

However the damage has been done. Words cannot be taken back when the impact of the words is unknown. Even if this has impacted only one person’s attitudes towards Jews, then damage has been completed and cannot be undone.

How is this meant to make Jews feel safe, when the national news won’t admit to their antisemitism, when damage is undoable and unknown.

Further, An apology is only an apology when it means one understands what they did wrong, in the hope of never doing it again. This does not seem to be the case- and that is what worries me.

A problem is only solvable when a problem is admitted.

Sincerely, A British Jew