We must heed history
HUW EDWARDS, who has reported from war zones, looked shocked. As I was being interviewed by him on College Green, opposite the Palace of Westminster, a group of men behind us started shrieking: “Gas Gina Miller”.
There was such hatred and violence in their words that, no matter what the old nursery rhyme might say, they hurt. I don’t know whether the men — and they are nearly always men — were aware that my husband, Alan, is Jewish, but to anyone with any awareness of modern history these words could hardly have been more incendiary.
There has been a lot of talk of the war among the advocates of Brexit — none of whom have, of course, fought in it themselves — but let us not lose sight of why, out of that bloody carnage, those who had risked their lives fighting evil dreamt of a united Europe. Although economic stability did come into it, it wasn’t ever about money for them. It was something so much more valuable — peace.
I have no doubt JC readers — in common with almost every other demographic — are divided on Brexit. I don’t seek in this piece to change anyone’s mind on the EU and, in any case, there are bigger issues now at stake.
I am writing this simply to make a heartfelt appeal to all involved in this great debate to remember the lessons of history and to accord to each other greater respect and understanding.
Some of the individuals pushing the Brexit agenda — a tiny, but wellresourced minority — are resorting to a playbook that’s all too familiar.
Much of the messaging that we have seen around Brexit singles out for opprobrium anyone who is different, by dint of faith, skin colour, sexuality — or even if they have been forced to seek asylum. The results are shocking but inevitable and I have experienced them myself. They have
resulted in the conviction of a viscount for “extreme racial abuse”.
This month’s report from Community Security Trust showed that more than 100 antisemitic incidents are being recorded every month in Britain as the organisation said that bigots are feeling “more confident to express their views”. As for homosexuals, this demographic saw a 147 per cent increase in attacks in the three months that followed the EU referendum vote. According to a Home Office Report, there was, between 2015–16, “a sharp increase in the number of racially or religiously aggravated offences recorded by the police following the EU referendum”. The number of racially or religiously aggravated offences recorded by the police in July 2016 was 41 per cent higher than in July 2015.
Minorities in our society might well begin to wonder whether a hostile environment isn’t being deliberately and cynically created for them, and, worse, whether the state isn’t quietly and discreetly condoning it.
I don’t suggest for one moment that Theresa May is prejudiced in any way, but I have been shocked sometimes by her and her government’s failure to condemn incidents of hate crime or incendiary language. I see what is happening as a crime of omission rather than commission.
It is what senior figures in our government — and, yes, our opposition — are not saying and doing to combat this that is so chilling. Our country has always been about checks and balances, but when we look to the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn, what we see is not redemption, but more of the same.
Again, it is not what Mr Corbyn says on antisemitism in his party, but what he does not say. It is shocking that it has got to the point where the Labour Party, on his watch, has received 673 complaints in the last 10 months alleging acts of antisemitism by its members.
Our great country was known around the world not so long ago for its tolerance and morality. I know that hatred of the kind we are witnessing now is not representative of the overwhelming majority of our people. It cannot be tolerated and politicians and people in positions of power and responsibility must heed the lessons of history.
They must represent us not at our very worst, but at our very best.
UK was once known for its tolerance