Senior Jewish Leader Calls for National Reflection In Wake of Attack

The UK's head Jewish cleric has declared that countless individuals of the Jewish community and further afield are questioning the cause for rallies like the ones against the prohibition targeting Palestine Action are permitted to continue.

Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis commented: “Certain ones contain overt anti-Jewish sentiment, explicit endorsement of Hamas. Not every participant, however we see a great deal of such behavior, that is obviously risky to many within our community.”

Addressing ahead of traveling to Manchester this Friday to support grieving families the deaths of two victims during a terror incident outside a Jewish house of worship, he highlighted an immediate necessity for national soul-searching.”

The incident happened following what he described as a constant surge of hostility targeting Jewish people” on Britain’s streets, campuses, social media and within various segments of news outlets, the chief rabbi stated on the BBC's Today show.

Highlighting the chant “globalise the intifada” – which many view as an appeal toward aggression against Jews – he remarked the nation had seen “with tragic clarity” this past Thursday the meaning of those words.

Coming back to what he described as expressed in public spaces and on the internet, he noted: “A great deal of it is deeply offensive and additionally, when there is the unjustified demonisation toward Israel that feeds directly into anti-Jewish feelings in the atmosphere across the nation which then promotes radical views. National leaders must be aware of that.”

In response to queries about marches staged by advocates for Palestine urging a halt to hostilities within Gaza and protests calling for the revocation of the ban on the outlawed entity the group Palestine Action, he answered that “a large part” of such activities are dangerous to countless within the nation.

“From the 7th of October last year there are countless citizens who have wondered for what purpose these demonstrations are allowed to take place in public spaces.”

“One cannot divide the rhetoric across the nation, the behaviors of people in such manner and what ultimately follow … The two are intertwined and so we call on the government again to assert authority over these protests as they are dangerous.”

Religious figures also had a particular duty to play, the senior rabbi stated further, noting: “It is vital to discuss concerning managing our words, the perspectives that we express, how we express those views and additionally a religious leader should promote coexistence and calm across public spaces and in domestic settings.”

His statements came as the president of Israel, Isaac Herzog, declared that the day was a “terrible day” for Jews in Britain, the wider UK, and Jewish populations around the globe.

“It is a stark warning of what we have been warning for a long while, that this heatwave of anti-Jewish sentiment and hostility to Jews across the globe ultimately results in bloodshed,” he told a national broadcast.

Among those urging additional state measures on antisemitism included ex-controller Danny Cohen, the past director from BBC One, who told a news station there should be a “national inquiry regarding anti-Jewish sentiment established straightaway” because “an issue has turned deeply troubled across our community, and it demands immediate attention.”