How the Jewish Chronicle weaponises 'antisemitism' to fuel a moral panic

On Yom Kippur, two British Jews were killed at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Manchester, during a cruel, antisemitic act of violence. One of them was accidentally shot by police. 

Later that week, while discussing antisemitism at the dinner table, my teenage son, who frequents a high school in Hackney, London, took out his phone and displayed scores of antisemitic Instagram reels. 

Numerous AI-generated clips depicted Orthodox Jews in different settings, appearing to be obsessed with money, while other reels denied the Holocaust - questioning, for example, the possibility of preparing six million pizzas in 20 ovens. A few of his school friends liked the reels, thinking they were funny.   

Antisemitism is alive and well in the UK and across Europe. This must be vigorously clamped down on. But, instead of focusing on this very real problem, major Jewish groups have instead followed the Israeli government by instrumentalising antisemitism in an effort to criminalise and silence Palestinians and their supporters in the struggle for liberation and self-determination. 

The cruel irony is that, in effect, these organisations are dramatically weakening the real fight against antisemitism.

Read more: How the Jewish Chronicle weaponises 'antisemitism' to fuel a moral panic