Where is Rishi Sunak? Britain’s Jewish community is more fearful for its safety than at any time since the Second World War, according to the Chief Rabbi; lies, conspiracy theories, genocide denialism, blood libels and violent language are rampant at demonstrations and on social media; and what is the Prime Minister actually doing about it? The lack of leadership from No 10 is heartbreaking.
“Holding Scotland Yard to account” is insultingly insufficient. Senior Tories have expressed their disapproval of the marches and of the language used, but this is mere talk, and too sotto voce. There is no game-changing strategy to shift the narrative, no plan to combat disinformation, no immediate proposals to tighten legislation or ban dangerous groups, no moves to prevent train carriages, poppy sellers or branches of M&S from being targeted.
Abominable ideas – such as the lie that Hamas didn’t kidnap any Israeli children, and that posters of hostages are fake – are spreading, and yet there is a vacuum, an abdication of responsibility in Whitehall and it is emboldening every kind of maniac and inflaming every kind of hideous tension.
None of this was meant to be possible. The modern British model is in crisis: a tiny minority is under immense pressure, and the police, the Crown Prosecution Service, the BBC, the Government, the human rights advocates and the virtue-signalling middle classes are doing the bare minimum they can get away with. » | Allister Heath | Wednesday, November 8, 2023
