Antisemitism in Britain today: two evangelicals share their experiences

Joel Barder writes: I remember 7 October vividly. It was a day when life suddenly changed; and the reality I normally hide away came back to the surface like a whirlwind.

As an evangelical, trusting in the authority of Scripture, my relationship with my Jewishness has been a life-long struggle.

My father is Jewish – our family fled Krakow, Poland in the 19th century. During the Holocaust, it is believed more than 90% of Krakow’s Jews were murdered. There were roughly 70,000 Jews in Krakow in 1939 at the outbreak of WW2 (about 25% of Krakow’s population), and today there are roughly 100 or so.

Had my family not found a home in Britain, they would almost all certainly have died in Auschwitz or Sobibor and I would not be alive today. That’s the reality.

Identity, which we rightly find primarily in Messiah Jesus, is also expressed through our sense of belonging. It is hard to know whether it’s permissible to be proud to be Jewish – but, even if it is, I am not; but nor am I ashamed of it. I see it as a gift, but also a burden.

I don’t belong fully anywhere except in Jesus, the Jewish Messiah. There are times when being a Christian and being Jewish are thrilling dual realities. Other times it is beyond painful.

I have faced Christian antisemitism many times. I remember a renowned British evangelical leaving me in tears – the only time I have ever walked out of a sermon as he proudly stated that if Chasidic Jews were seen on the streets of Aberystwyth, Christian students were to point to them and shout: ‘You are not a Jew!’

As a 21-year-old, I challenged him afterwards, to which he replied: ‘I have many Jewish friends.’

The day my life changed

On 7 October 2023, a barbaric terrorist attack took the lives of more Jews on a single day than on any day since the end of the Holocaust. This was the Jewish people’s 9/11. The murder of 1,400 men, women, children – because they were Jewish, in the land God had promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – stung like a thousand bee stings.

Around 240 people were also kidnapped, including Holocaust survivors. Have you seen the images of people burned alive in their cars? The children shot to death in their beds, or the unidentifiable remains following a grenade that had been thrown into a bomb shelter? The music festival goers gunned down as they tried to escape? Or the women raped and paraded through the streets of Gaza?

It’s difficult to explain the pain I feel as a Jewish person. There is guilt – why am I safe and secure? There is the longing to be there – to comfort, to support, to make a difference. It’s like the loss of close family members (alas, that is what it is).

I cannot tell you how much I have cried and felt driven to despair. The words of God, that He comforts those who mourn, echo in your head, but your heart still bursts with pain.

And then the question hits you – where are my Christian friends? What are they saying and thinking?

The vast majority have not said a word to me. Some have reached out, to whom I am truly grateful – beyond what they could possibly know.

Most have been silent.

Is it my fault for not wearing my Jewishness more clearly? Or is it because we have somehow become so divorced from the heritage and origins of our faith that, as the wonderful David Baddiel phrased it, ‘Jews don’t count’?

Those who stood up loudly proclaiming their support for BLM (Black Lives Matter) after the death of an African-American man at the hands of a police officer, were strangely silent as Jews were systematically targeted by a terrorist regime, because of their race.

I am still haunted by the telephone conversation released between a Hamas terrorist and his parents, the terrorist joyfully proclaiming: ‘Look how many I killed with my own hands! Your son killed Jews! … Dad, I’m talking to you from a Jewish woman’s phone. I killed her and I killed her husband. I killed ten with my own hands.’

His glee at his murder of innocent Jewish people stabbed like a thousand knives over my body.

I know there will be readers already thinking: ‘But what about Palestinians?’

What about you?

While it was clear Israel would have to respond (and even though some political leaders expressed support for Israel), those, like me, knew what was coming. We have seen it all before, though not at this scale.

Pro-Palestine rallies have reminded Jewish people they should not feel safe on the streets of European cities. London, where my family found a home, has had train stations closed down because of thousands chanting ‘Free, free Palestine!’ and the genocidal call for the annihilation of the state of Israel and its Jewish population: ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine shall be free’.

Perhaps most people gathered for these marches for honest, good reasons – to seek a ceasefire. And my heart breaks for the innocent lives that are lost. But we must not forget October 7.

But too many sat silently as Jewish lives have been threatened and attacked. I ask you to look at yourself as you read this.

On the streets of London, antisemitism has become commonplace.

We all know that our Saviour, Jesus the Christ, was Jewish (as were His disciples and apostles). Were it not for Jesus, we would be as lost sheep, stricken, afflicted and without hope. So why are we so quick to forget this?

Whether you like it or not, you and I as evangelicals are linked to the Jewish people in a way we should never forget.

Great is His faithfulness

Ultimately, we are in a spiritual battle that is undoubtedly currently raging. The continued existence of the Jewish people is a testament to God’s faithfulness. Satan would love to destroy God’s promises and His covenant people; and he will use genocidal terrorist organisations to try to achieve this.

The challenge for us as evangelicals is to stand with the innocent and afflicted; but also to see this for what it is. Let’s bring truth into dishonesty: Hamas, Hezbollah and other terrorist groups are dedicated to the destruction of Israel, the Jewish people – and also of Christians. On our behalf, Israel is fighting against the evils of terror – fighting for our freedoms.

While Israel must seek to minimise civilian casualties, as far as is possible in war, it must also be victorious against the hate-driven reality of Islamist terror, which is a threat to us all.

Next time you turn on the news and hear of this conflict, why not reach out to a Jewish friend and express your love – it will mean the world to them.

When Jews were systematically murdered in the 20th century it was because they did not belong. Israel was then to be the one place where they could belong.

Terror groups, who aren’t interested in the concerns and lives of innocent Palestinians, want to drive the Jews out again. But to where? Where will Jews have a home?

I long that they will have one in your heart and your prayers.

‘Listen to me, you stubborn-hearted, you who are now far from my righteousness. I am bringing my righteousness near, it is not far away; and my salvation will not be delayed. I will grant salvation to Zion, my splendour to Israel’ (Isa. 46:12-13).

Our connection with the Jewish people is one that the Scriptures do not allow us to dismiss. ‘This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘In those days ten people from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, “Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you” (Zech. 8:23).

The hem of his garment, or rather the tzitzit (the tassels on the prayer shawl (Num. 15:38)), symbolise the commandments of God. Therefore, the people of all nations cling to the faithfulness of a Jew who is following God’s commandments perfectly, and we know this to be Jesus.

Jewishness, as much as you or I may feel it to be, is not inconsequential when considering God’s plan for the world. Paul knew that too, as he engaged with the theological reality of the spread of the Jesus Movement to more Gentile audiences.

As much as it may not seem it then, God has a plan to rescue the Jewish people. Is there any chance at all that Paul did NOT foresee a future restoration of the Jewish community? And if he did, surely we have a responsibility to be the only friends the Jewish people have.

‘Do not be conceited’, says Paul in Romans 11. A question we need to be asking of ourselves and the church today is this: ‘Are we conceited and ignorant? Or, do we stand up against the genocidal aims of terrorist organisations and speak up for the Jewish community, to which, whether we like it or not, we are intrinsically linked?

Joel Barder studied theology at Trinity College, Bristol. He lives in Wales.

Regan Blanton King writes: We have definitely seen an increase in antisemitism. Up to now, our membership has been reasonably united. But among regular attenders to services and church functions, antisemitism has reared its ugly head.

One individual who regularly attended the church had to be removed from our church WhatsApp for repeat posting of antisemitic material and links to sites promoting antisemitism.

Another deplored ‘the police state’ the UK is in (evidenced, he said, by the arrest of youths at the violent protests in London). In reality, video footage shows a great deal of patience and chances given to these youths.

Another person who we feed regularly at our drop-in said he doesn’t hate Jews just ‘******* Zionist nutjobs’. He was unable to provide a meaningful definition of Zionism.

Many of these instances are because of ignorance, reflecting years of media indoctrination and hearing only one narrative.

Outside of the church, the increase in antisemitism is far more evident. Vandalism, Jew hatred, defacing of posters of the hostages and kidnapped, as well as the scenes of glee and celebration on 7 October in Edgware Road and elsewhere. There were attempts to disrupt dignified gatherings of Jewish and Israeli mourners in Downing Street and Trafalgar Square.

There is also a general feeling of insecurity within the Jewish community. A discussion with a processor at the Community Security Trust (a Jewish security organisation) said applications to join their team have skyrocketed.

We are thankful to members of The Angel Church for their support and prayer, and for the church’s collective and public stand on this issue. We recently met with our local rabbi and handed a card and gift over assuring of our love and prayers – there was a ripple effect of gratitude in the community.

But we have been saddened to see a great deal of silence or simply ‘both-sides’ language from Christian friends and Christian bodies who are normally quick to comment on other events without hesitation.

There were prayer meetings and all sorts of other gatherings to discuss racism following George Floyd’s death in America. The Ukrainian flag was posted everywhere, and widespread prayer and practical support for Ukraine given, with many (including our church) providing housing to refugees.

But on 7 October – and the days immediately after – leaders who always comment on everything said nothing. Some argued it would damage their perception by Muslims or ex-Muslims in the community. Yet we have at least ten former Muslims in our church who have been unflinching in their expression of love and support for Israel against Hamas.

This is a moment for discipleship. To remind people of the promises God made to ethnic Israel – even eternal promises in some cases; to reflect on the historic evangelical support for a Jewish return to the land of Israel (including C.H. Spurgeon, J.C. Ryle and R.M. M’Cheyne).

It is also a time to unequivocally support our Jewish community which feels very threatened. Write a card; give a financial gift; meet with your local Rabbi. Don’t argue about your disagreements (now is not the time) – simply show the love of the Jewish Messiah Jesus.