Protest groups targeting supermarkets over the sale of Israeli products risk importing Middle Eastern violence to British high streets, Jewish have leaders insisted.
In a joint statement the leaders of Britain’s main Jewish community organisations condemned a series of incidents at shops selling Israeli goods and kosher food accusing the organisers of intimidation and stirring up tensions.
They specifically challenged trades unions to distance themselves from the protests which prompted one branch of Sainsbury’s in central London temporarily to clear its shelves of kosher food amid fears that anti-Israel protesters were about to ransack the shop.
On Monday night the TUC spoke out against intimidation of shop workers and Usdaw, which represents retailers, said it supported its members in protecting their safety and their livelihoods.
It comes amid an upsurge of anti-Semitic incidents in Britain and other parts of Europe since the outbreak of fighting in Gaza this summer. » | John Bingham, Religious Affairs Editor | Monday, August 18, 2014
