CST’s new report, Antisemitic
Discourse in Britain 2016, looks at the presence of antisemitic ideas or
language, and discussion of antisemitism in general, in mainstream media,
politics and public debate last year. Explicit prejudice or hostility towards
or about Jews, simply for being Jewish, is rarely voiced in British public
life; but antisemitism became a national political issue in 2016, while media
discussion of the subject was more prominent than it had been for many years.
This occurred largely because of the controversy over
antisemitism in the Labour Party, which peaked in April 2016 with the
suspensions of Naz Shah MP and Ken Livingstone for alleged antisemitic comments.
This topic was front-page news and the subject of three investigations or
inquiries by the Labour Party; written about in opinion columns in national
newspapers; and argued about repeatedly at Prime Minister’s Question Time in
Parliament.
In particular, Livingstone’s claim that Hitler “was
supporting Zionism” before he “went mad and ended up killing 6 million Jews”
provoked outrage from many politicians, media commentators and others. His
statement was rooted in old Soviet anti-Zionist propaganda effectively equating
Nazis and Zionists, and brought this ex-Soviet propaganda into the centre of
contemporary antisemitic, anti-Zionist, and anti-Israel discourse within and
around the Labour Party.
Specific allegations of antisemitic comments made by Labour
Party members, activists, councillors and other office holders were linked to a
broader concern inside and outside the Jewish community that antisemitic
stereotypes and conspiracy theories, often expressed through the language of
anti-Zionism, have become widespread and accepted in large parts of the
anti-Zionist and anti-Israel left. The Labour Party and its leadership took
steps to address the issue of antisemitism, including through the Chakrabarti
Inquiry and its recommendations, but many British Jews were unpersuaded that
these were sufficient or effective.
Other political parties, including the Conservatives,
Liberal Democrats and the UK Independence Party, also had to address
allegations of antisemitic comments made by members or office holders. One such
complaint led to Baroness Jenny Tonge leaving the Liberal Democrats in
anticipation of being expelled by the party.
This report also looks beyond the main political parties,
including at the problem of antisemitism on the internet. it was revealed in
2016 that Google searches relating to the Holocaust or to Jews repeatedly
returned antisemitic search results and direct users towards antisemitic
websites. It was suggested that neo-Nazi or other extremist activists
deliberately manipulate Google’s search algorithms to ensure that this is the
case. Google altered their search results after this problem was highlighted.
The report also
examines surveys published in 2016 that suggested antisemitic attitudes are
more prevalent amongst British Muslims than in the general population. This was
particularly the case in relation to conspiracy theories about alleged Jewish
power and influence in politics, media and finance.
Several important steps were taken in 2016 to combat
antisemitism and antisemitic discourse, which is recognised in the report.
These included the Government’s decision to adopt the International Holocaust
Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism (known as the IHRA
Definition), which includes several examples of discourse that may, depending
on the context, be considered as antisemitic. This definition has since been
adopted by the Labour Party, the National Union of Students, the Scottish and
Welsh governments and several local authorities, and is used by the Crown
Prosecution Service when assessing potential prosecutions for antisemitic hate
crime.
Other steps taken to combat antisemitism included the
Government action plan on hate crime, Action Against Hate; a report on
antisemitism from the Home Affairs Select Committee; and the decision to
proscribe the neo-Nazi group National Action under the Terrorism Act 2000.
