UK faces ‘epidemic of anti-Jewish hate,’ United Synagogue president says at rally

Great Britain faces an “epidemic of anti-Jewish hate,” with arson attacks, stabbings and open intimidation of Jews on British streets, United Synagogue president Saul Taylor tells a London rally against antisemitism.

Some 20,000 people attended the rally, including many non-Jews, organizers say.

In a strongly worded speech, Taylor criticizes the broader anti-racism movement for failing to stand up for Jews.

“If this were any other community, this would be a national outrage,” he says. “Where are the Jewish Lives Matter marches? Where is the so-called anti-racist movement? As we know only too well, Jews don’t seem to count.”

British Jews have been rooted in the country for 370 years, and “are not going anywhere,” Taylor says.

“We are, and we always have been, proud British Jews, and we do not want to leave,” Taylor says. “We will not be beaten.”

Jews should not have to live under constant security, Taylor says, citing security measures that cost the United Synagogue about £1 million a year. Calling it a “tax on being Jewish in Britain,” he notes that one synagogue alone spends £20,000 a month on security.

Following the recent stabbing of two Jews in the heavily Jewish neighborhood of Golders Green, the government has moved more to fight antisemitism in the past week than it has in a long time, Taylor says. “But there is much more that needs to be done,” he adds.

Taylor praises organizations such as Community Security Trust, Shomrim and Hatzola for their role in community protection. He urges the government to ban extremist groups and “hate marches” — referring to the pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel marches that have frequently been accused of engaging in antisemitism.

He calls on Prime Minister Keir Starmer to ensure that offenders feel “the full force of the law.”