There’s a rally planned for July 4th. American Independence Day. Though its nothing to do with America. Nor independence. Its about Jews. Specifically its about “The Jewification of Britain” according to the far-right dickheads who are arranging it in their semi-literate way. And even more specifically its in opposition to the ‘Shomrim’, the volunteer security group who guard Jewish areas. Because why are the Jews allowed to have their own ‘private army’? Good question. The answer to which is probably because such dickheads who ask it are the ones who attack Jews, desecrate synagogues, smash up cemeteries and persecute and pester overtly religious Jewish people. Who dress in a way that ‘differentiates’ them from the rest of the population. God never actually instructed His chosen people to dress like they live in Warsaw in 1863, but its what happens. Its just a uniform. Punks dress like punks, skinheads dress like skinheads and Chassidic Jews dress like they do. They’re allowed. Unlike other types of uniform, its not exactly ‘threatening’ in any way. You wouldn’t cross the street in fear of an 80 year-old rabbi wearing a black hat.

So they’re having what is basically an anti-Jewish rally. In Golders Green. The home to more Jews, percentage-wise, than anywhere else in Britain. They had a rally in Stamford Hill last year and it fell completely flat as everyone ignored it. Good job.

But in fact its not a good job. Because the rally, whatever its called, whatever its proclaimed ‘aims’ or ‘points’ is actually of rally for anti-semitism. And it makes very little sense.

The population of Britain has 0.5% jews. There are more Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus than there are Jews. There are as many Bhuddists. There are, collectively, more ‘other religions’ not mentioned above, (try to think of an ‘other religion’ that isn’t just a part of a mainstream one, just one), than there are Jews in a Britain which has 60 Christianity and 30% who don’t claim any religious affiliation at all.

So numerically the Jews aren’t much of a threat. And Jews don’t evangelise. We don’t convert (or subvert, even) others, other than introducing them to bagels and chicken soup. We don’t attack others. We don’t form gangs, perform acts of terrorism, declare wars or do anything that would make us late for Friday Night Dinner. Most of us don’t even pray. And those who do don’t do it very often.

And yet if you’re born a Jew you are a Jew. And you’re always conscious of that fact. Even if you live a life completely at odds with that. Hitler showed that to the world. That you can assimilate all you like, but when the trains are waiting in the stations bound for Poland, if you had just one Jewish grandparent then you were given a little yellow badge to wear and membership to a club no-one wanted to join.

I’m not a big ‘holocauster’ generally. But it started from rallies by far-right anti-semites and thus ignoring such things really can’t be that ‘good job’. And it lead to the motto ‘never again’, which is powerful. In this instance, ‘semi-literate’ is an anagram of ‘anti-semite’. Metaphorically if not actually. Unless you’re dyslexic.

Happy Friday

A xxxx