For the last few years, Jews in Britain, like those around the world, have been subject to a rising tide of antisemitism. It has taken many forms, from media bias, to exclusion from cultural spaces, to the nadir of a terrorist attack on a Manchester synagogue on the holiest day of the year, Yom Kippur.
Despite this backdrop, too few politicians are willing to accurately describe the problem, instead offering platitudes and thoughts and prayers whenever another horrific incident occurs. That makes interventions from those offering plain truths about the problem all the more valuable. That’s what former prime minister Tony Blair did in our pages last week. And it’s what Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the opposition Conservative Party, is doing today. On the occasion of Passover, she has written an open letter to Britain’s Jews. We think it is a robust and coherent response to the problem, which is why we’re publishing.
— The Editors
Why is this year different from all other years?
Because in other years, we haven’t seen Jews murdered in a synagogue on their holiest day. Because in other years, we haven’t seen Hatzolah ambulances torched in the middle of a Jewish area. And because in no other year have I met so many Jews asking me whether it’s safe for them to stay in the UK.
