Why is Anti Semitism rising in Britain?

Why is Anti Semitism rising in Britain? There is a blog from one of my favourite (ex) Barnet Council numpties, Richard Weider of this title. Richard Weider used to be a councillor in Barnet, before upping sticks and moving to Israel. Now given that Mr Weider clearly passionately cares about the subject, I expected an informative, sensible and dispassionate blog from someone who could view the situation with detachment and cast some new insight into the problem. Unfortunately, for a blog with such a promising title, I was left none the wiser.

It seems that Mr Weider thinks that because David Milliband criticised the Conservative Party for getting into bed with a bunch of Uber Rightists in the European Parliament, people up and down the country will now be joining the BNP. I can't quite see how he arrived at this conclusion, maybe he's enjoying the good life a bit too much.

I suspect that of all the reasons I've heard for the rise of anti Semitism, this is one of the least likely. Statistically, I'd guess that the majority of the rise is probably due to the changing demographics of Great Britain and Barnet. Many immigrants to the UK arrive from places where there is acceptance if not open support at governmental level of anti-semitism. These attitudes can take generations to dissipate. I'm not aware of any initiatives either in Barnet or nationally to address the prejudices we may be importing.

Is anti-semitism on the rise amongst the indigenous population? I would suspect that in areas where the BNP is organising effectively, there would be some degree of growth, but often this is offset by an equally strong growth in anti-fascist activity. Whilst there have been some appalling cases of anti-semitic activity in the Borough, I personally believe that these are more isolated incidents of mindless vandalism, than evidence of coordinated activity. Barnet has a large Jewish population and I think it's fair to say that this is overwhelmingly perceived as a positive feature of the Borough. Most people who have lived for any length of time in the Borough will have mixed with people of all colours and creeds and I'd say we're a pretty tolerant lot.

I suspect that probably the thing most likely to stir up trouble is people such as Richard Weider using anti-semitism as a tool for other purposes. His blog was really just an excuse to try and turn a few Jewish voters against the Labour party. When such an important issue is seen as being deployed to attack people such as David Milliband, who clearly are not anti semitic, it undermines credibility of people fighting real examples of the prejudice. Richard Weider is like the little girl who cried wolf. Let us hope that Mr Weider sees sense and in future writes blogs which are a bit more sensible, interesting and informative.