Fox News article

Calling all Brit Jews!

An article in Israel National News caught my eye this morning. It’s based on a letter Jeremy Jacobs, a British Jew, wrote to The Telegraph.

Mr. Jacobs discusses his reasons for putting his house on the market and planning his family’s aliyah. He discusses his fear for his family’s safety, the hostility and outright hate rampant in modern England, and compares that to his visit to Israel last year during wartime.

Apropos, someone posted a historical truism on Twitter years ago. It read something like this:

We are all survivors. Long ago, each of us had a distant relative who said to his family, “I have a bad feeling. Let’s take a boat out of here.”

Of course, it could have been a train, a long walk, or a horse and buggy ride instead of a boat. There is now El Al.

Charles the Third

Recently, Charles the Third visited the Jewish community to offer sympathy and promises of support. He also gave the annual King’s Speech to Parliament on May 13, which included the following:

In this volatile world, my Government will continue to pursue foreign policy based on a calm assessment of the national interest. It will continue its unflinching support for the brave people of Ukraine, who fight on the frontline of freedom. My Ministers will seek to improve relations with European partners as a vital step in strengthening European security. It will continue to promote long term peace in the Middle East and the Two-State solution in Israel and Palestine. (Bold added)

Years ago, I said and wrote:

Perfidious Albion absolutely “loves” its local Jews as tokens of altruism. Israeli Zionists are despised for being successful and thereby trashing the Church of England’s claim to religious superiority and being the rightful heir to Jerusalem and the Holy Land.

Church of England takes a stand

The new Archbishop recently visited several Jewish organizations and offered understanding. sympathy and hope for the successful protection of all Jewish people and organizations.

A CofE article summarized her visits, including:

“From charity work and healthcare, to education and the arts, your flourishing community enriches society and embodies the best values of this country.” Speaking of the ongoing rise in antisemitism in the UK, the Archbishop said: “This is not a problem for the Jewish community to solve. It’s on all of us — every single member of our society — to call out antisemitism whenever we see it, and to oppose it without hesitation or qualification.

In her response to the King’s Speech, the Archbishop “spoke about the importance of hope at a time of rising hate crime, intimidation and hostility.”

*The work of integration has never been more urgent. We have witnessed a deeply concerning deterioration in intercommunity relations. I therefore welcome the commitment in the Gracious Speech to do more to protect the Jewish communities following the recent appalling attacks and in doing so I wish to assure both Jewish and Muslim communities of my support as they face the unacceptable rise in hate crime, intimidation and hostility. (Bold italics added)*

The Church of England has long held that the right of all people to practise their faith without fear must be protected.

If either Charles the Third or the Archbishop has made public statements encouraging Christian citizens to speak out against antisemitism, please leave the link in the replies.

The Web Theory — an essay

Last year, while revising my Anglophobic essay, The Web Theory — Part 1, about the relations between Jews and the island’s residents, I discovered this graphic on The Church’s Ministry Among Jewish People (CMJ) home page.

Is that some new site in Jerusalem?

Is that the proposed new Church of England Temple Mount?

In closing…

I love Jerusalem and wouldn’t live anywhere else. Not all Jews feel that way, of course. Years ago, I worked with a wonderful woman who was German by birth and British by way of the Kindertransport. I always thought she shared my attachment to Jerusalem.

Surprise. When she moved to Netanya, she never looked back. She had the sea, flat ground for easier walking on mostly level ground, and was comfortable in less religious surroundings.

As Jeremy Jacobs wrote about his visit to Israel:

The atmosphere was so strong, so collegiate. Everyone was so happy to work together, looking out for each other. This idea that people pull together in war — the spirit of the Blitz — that’s how it felt. When I walk in Israel, even in a war zone, I feel at home. In London, where we live, that feeling has gone.

There are many fears. There is the New Yorker’s fear of visiting Israel. There is the Tel Avivian’s fear of visiting Jerusalem. There is the Jerusalemites fear of visiting Hebron.

The worst fear is being afraid to say you are a Jew.

Thanks for reading.

If you are British and approve this story, please consider republishing it for your followers.

The Web Theory is divided into 8 parts and can be found in LISTS on my home page.