Know Who I am - Know Where I Stand

I reject the accusation that I am antisemitic or pro-Hamas simply because I have chosen to criticise the current actions of the Israeli government.

I am a Jew by heritage, though an atheist now. I laid my parents’ ashes to rest at Hoop Lane Jewish Crematorium in Golders Green, London, where other members of my family also lie. I have close Jewish friends and family members, and my identity is rooted in that heritage.

I did not live through the Holocaust, and I have not endured the most extreme forms of antisemitism, but I know what it felt like to be called “Jewboy” at school. I remember the anxiety of leaving the school gates quickly, sometimes running part of the way home to avoid the bullies who targeted me simply for being Jewish.

Like most people, I long for peace in the Middle East. Where views may differ is in how we interpret or respond to the events unfolding there. In my view, Israel’s response to the horrific Hamas terrorist attack of October 7, 2023 has become profoundly disproportionate. I believe that, in the immediate aftermath, Israel had the sympathy and support of much of the international community. Had it chosen a measured and just response, it could have retained that support. Instead, its continued actions have alienated many, and tragically, in the eyes of much of the world, the words "Jew" and "Israeli" are seen as synonymous.

I do not claim to have a solution to the complex and longstanding conflict between Arabs and Jews. But I do believe Israel’s conduct in Gaza is morally indefensible. Thousands of innocent Palestinians are suffering and dying; people who bear no responsibility for Hamas’s atrocities. And as public perception continues to conflate Jewish identity with Israeli policy, I fear this path will only fuel further antisemitism rather than end it.

None of this makes me anti-semitic. None of it makes me pro-Hamas. To suggest otherwise is not only wrong, it is defamatory. For the first time in sixteen years on Facebook, I have felt compelled to use the block button.