Living in Israel can give you a skewed view of what it’s really like out there in the big, wide world in terms of antisemitism.
With an abundance of Jew-hatred on social media and the anti-Israel bias of the mainstream media, one could be forgiven for assuming that the whole world is against us.
But actually, this isn’t how things are in reality.
While the haters spew their bile, shouting obscenities and stirring up trouble whenever the opportunity presents itself, there are even more who sit quietly – either supporting Israel from the sidelines or not giving much thought to the situation at all.
And why would they?
For most, just getting through each day is enough of a struggle. The cost of living, family problems, and health issues – these are just some of the daily challenges that must be dealt with before the outside world even gets a look in.
A war in the Middle East is not going to be a major concern for anyone outside of Israel unless they are connected in some way.
Leaving Israel and seeing a new perspective
I realized this during a recent trip to my hometown: Manchester, UK.
Before the trip, I was a little apprehensive, not knowing what to expect. With reports of weekly pro-Palestine marches through Manchester City Center, as well as other towns and cities across the region, I was minded to avoid these areas altogether.
Sticking to safe spaces, however, seemed somewhat sad and defeatist, and made me uncomfortable. Although I wouldn’t go looking for trouble, I decided that nowhere would be out of bounds for me. Further, if the subject arose, I wouldn’t hide my Jewish identity or where I live.
I experienced my first potentially tricky encounter midway through my trip when buying lingerie. I had spent some time with the lovely shop assistant, chatting amicably about our shared concerns and experiences (she was the same age as me). When it came to paying, she helpfully suggested that she would order one of the bras in a different color, to be picked up at a later date.
I politely declined, explaining that I wouldn’t be there to collect it as I live abroad.Then this happened.
“Where do you live?” she asked.
“In Israel,” I replied.
She was stunned.
“Why…? Did you move there for work, or your husband’s work?” she continued.“I live there because I’m Jewish,” I said, simply.WITH THAT, she broke into a broad grin and asked me lots of questions. Although perhaps I ought not to have been, I was extremely surprised by her reaction. Her genuine warmth and interest in our lives was palpable, and a big relief.
On its own, such narrow anecdotal evidence cannot be regarded as an indicator of the general feeling among a whole population. Just because the woman who served me didn’t recoil at the mention of Israel, this did not mean that the Great British public would react in the same way.
I was able to gauge a more accurate view of the attitudes of Brits in general toward Jews and Israel the next day when I joined the Northwest Friends of Israel hostage vigil in Manchester City Center. This weekly event began soon after October 7, when over 250 hostages were forcibly kidnapped into Gaza by Hamas and their supporters.
Each week, around two dozen people stand in a busy shopping precinct holding large placards bearing the faces of the hostages while leaflets are handed out to passersby.
When I arrived, I was given a placard with a photo of Oded Lifshitz, 83, and was asked to stand alongside several others holding similar placards.
Some shoppers, clearly eager not to get involved, kept their heads down and passed through without making eye contact with anyone. Others took a leaflet but didn’t engage, while a few stopped and chatted, asking questions in a bid to find out more about what’s been happening.
At no time, however, did I see any sign of trouble, even from those who were “openly Muslim.”
The only whiff of hostility that I witnessed was from a young woman with pink hair and a number of piercings and tattoos who seemed almost indignant to have been approached. She haughtily refused the leaflet with the reassurance that she did know exactly what was happening.
Other than that, the vigil was uneventful, as the organizers assured me was the case 99% of the time.
CONTRARY TO what I, and many others who live in Israel had been led to believe, Jew-hatred and anti-Israel sentiment is not rife on the streets of Manchester, the UK’s third-largest city. And I’m reliably informed that it’s the same across the country.
People with no obvious connection to Israel are, in the main, either supportive or simply not interested.
Happily, the hostility so often encountered on social media was absent in real life. Apart from when the bi-monthly pro-Palestinian demonstrations are taking place – which have caused significant disruption over the past months – everyone, including Jews, is free to go about their lives peacefully. The threats and intimidation that I’d anxiously anticipated never materialized.
You may think it reprehensible of the majority to remain silent in the aftermath of October 7. However, I do not believe it is reasonable to expect people, who have no connection whatsoever, to take the time and trouble to actively involve themselves in a decades-long conflict on a different continent.
After an initial interest in unfolding events, most people, understandably, simply slip back into their lives, perhaps dipping back in by watching the news or reading an article about it when time permits.
We’d do well to remember this when those with no connection to the war in Gaza noisily extol the virtues of the terror group Hamas while criticizing Israel for defending itself.
The fear they have created among the wider Jewish community is borne of a toxic mix of ignorance and antisemitism.
They do not understand the complex nature of the situation and they certainly do not speak for the silent majority.
The writer is a former lawyer from the UK who now lives and works in Israel as a freelance writer for The Jerusalem Post.