Prince Charles worried by anti-Semitism in Britain
Charles worried by "poisonous, debilitating intolerance," he says in speech honoring outgoing UK Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks.
By JPOST.COM STAFFPrince Charles wearing a kippa 370(photo credit: REUTERS/Kacper Pempel)
Charles, Prince of Wales has warned that Britain is suffering from an "apparent rise in anti-Semitism," in a speech that praised the work of Britain's outgoing Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks, the Guardian reported on Monday.Prince Charles also expressed concern at the rise of "forms of intolerance.""I sometimes fear not enough recognition is given to the role of the faith communities in the life of our country in promoting such a critical principle, and I join with you, in mounting anxiety, at the apparent rise in anti-Semitism, along with other poisonous and debilitating forms of intolerance," Prince Charles was quoted by the Guardian as saying.Earlier this month, British MP Patrick Mercer sparked ire in Israel when he was caught on camera describing an Israeli soldier as a "bloody Jew."Mercer told of entering an “intelligence establishment” during a recent Israel visit and facing a security guard.“An 18-year-old girl, wearing a uniform, with her sort of hair in plaits, and crazy jewelry and open-toed sandals, with a rifle up my nose,” he said.“Who the f**k are you, you know? ‘Well I’m a soldier.’ Are you? You don’t look like a soldier to me. You look like a bloody Jew,” Mercer said.Another MP, Lord Nazir Ahmed, resigned last month over accusations that he blamed his dangerous driving jail term on a Jewish conspiracy.The Labor MP was suspended in March after The Times of London quoted him as saying that his prison sentence was a result of pressure applied on the court by Jews “who own newspapers and television channels.”A report by the Community Security Trust (CST) on anti-Semitic incidents in the UK published in February shows a slight rise of five percent in 2012 compared to 2011. A total of 640 incidents were reported, against 608 in 2011.
According to the report, the total of 640 incidents included 100 reported under a new exchange program with the Metropolitan Police Service, whereby CST and MPS exchange all anti-Semitic incident reports received by either agency, in full anonymity, throughout the year.“This contributed to a 55 percent rise in anti-Semitic incidents recorded by CST in the capital, alongside the 5 percent national rise. Without these 100 ‘extra’ recorded incidents, a like-for-like comparison with the 2011 figures would suggest an 11 percent fall in real terms in the UK-wide anti-Semitic incident total for 2012,” the CST, which has recorded anti-Semitic incidents on behalf of the Jewish community since 1984, said.European Jewish Press and JTA contributed to this report.
