Challenging anti-Semitism is a moral imperative for non-Jews

One of the functions of the honours system is to articulate our principles and priorities. Amid the cringe cronyism and inexplicable baubles for even more inexplicable mainstays of public life (Sir Chris Bryant, Lord preserve us), there are the nods to good people doing good work, whether in their community, the charity sector, industry, research or other areas of public life. In acknowledging their efforts, we say something about what we value as a nation: bravery, excellence, compassion, innovation and public service. These are our ideals and we want those who practise them to be rewarded — and emulated. 

So in bestowing honours on Ephraim Mirvis, Marie van der Zyl, Jonathan Arkush, Mark Gardner and Rachel Riley, we are saying not only that these Britons have made exemplary contributions but that we as a nation wish to be known by their example.  

This is understandable. Mirvis, who received a knighthood, is the Chief Rabbi, the spiritual figurehead of Orthodox Judaism in Britain and the Commonwealth. Throughout a life of service he has taught but also lived the Torah, with an emphasis on achrayut, a Hebrew term for the responsibility one bears to others. As Chief Rabbi, Mirvis has conscientiously pursued interfaith relations with Christians and Muslims and has spoken against China’s treatment of the Uyghurs.  

Van der Zyl, awarded an OBE, is president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews. Along with her predecessor Jonathan Arkush, who also becomes an OBE, she led the Board through one of the most testing periods for modern British Jewry: the Labour anti-Semitism scandal. Gardner becomes an MBE for his work as chief executive of the Community Security Trust (CST), a group that supplies Jewish schools and synagogues with safety equipment including CCTV cameras, security doors and anti-ramming bollards. TV host Riley, also given an MBE, has been recognised for her efforts on behalf of Holocaust education.  

They are not the only British Jews to be acknowledged on the New Year Honours list but they have in common a commitment to confronting anti-Semitism and a record of making people in power take notice of the problem. In recognising their efforts, the honours committee is expressing admiration for their public service and an affinity with the cause of fighting anti-Semitism. This is all well and good but it’s not enough. It’s not enough to give recognition or solidarity to Jews then go back to letting them tackle anti-Semitism on their own. Anti-Semitism and its suppression is not a ‘them’ thing but an ‘us’ thing. 

The first six months of 2022 saw 786 anti-Semitic incidents in the UK, four in five of them taking place offline and one in ten involving assaults. Although this marked a reduction on the first half of 2021, another disturbing trend emerged: where age could be ascertained, one in five perpetrators were under the age of 18. Between 2020 and 2021 there was a 59 per cent increase in anti-Semitic incidents on UK university campuses, taking the total to the highest in the 20-year history of recording this statistic. The CST has also documented how the Covid-19 conspiracist movement has laundered tropes like the blood libel, Jews poisoning the well, and secret Jewish plots into its narratives about the virus and the vaccines.  

Anti-Semitism in Britain reflects a mightier tide of anti-Jewish hatred sweeping the globe. In 2021, anti-Semitic incidents rose 29 per cent in Germany, 54 per cent in Canada, 74 per cent in France and 119 per cent in Austria. Jews continue to be the foremost victims of religious hate crimes in the United States, including in New York City, where such incidents increased by 125 per cent last year. Kanye West has given a celebrity hechsher to Jew-hatred while Donald Trump, reportedly gearing up for another White House bid, had dinner with Nick Fuentes, a white supremacist who ‘ironically’ denies the Holocaust and says ‘the Antichrist is the Jewish state of Israel’. 

Commending Jews for standing up to all this hatred is like applauding when the woman you’re watching being mugged across the street gets a decent punch in. Challenging anti-Semitism is a moral imperative for non-Jews and one that is growing more urgent by the day. Holocaust survivors have been pivotal in educating each new generation about where anti-Semitism leads but vanishingly few remain. Of the six featured on the latest honours list, the youngest is 85. When we lose a survivor we lose a living testament and it becomes all the harder to debunk the lies and madness of Jew-hatred. Gentiles must bear their responsibility to combating anti-Semitism. Achrayut is a Jewish principle but it doesn’t apply to Jews alone.