Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
This is a Global Player original podcast.
A religion is now being singled out and targeted for attack in this country none of us have seen in our lifetimes.
Keir Starmer was visiting a synagogue last week. He called out Zach Polanski, the Green Leader. as disgraceful.
Chapter 2: What recent events have highlighted antisemitism as a national emergency?
Do you agree with Keir Starmer?
If you want to understand the actual threat that Jews face, just turn on the news today.
Keir Starmer tweeted, we hear these sorts of words a lot, what is going to be done, but you feel you're back in a ghetto that belonged to an era before the Second World War.
When I say that an attack on Britain's Jews is an attack on Britain itself, I mean it.
That's Sarah Sackman. She's the Justice Minister, but she's also the MP who in Golders Green, where just hours ago, two people were stabbed in broad daylight by a man with a knife. The latest attack on the Jewish community of North London.
Yeah, and it comes in a series of attacks on the Jewish community. Kemi Badenoch has called it a national emergency of anti-Semitism. Is she right? Welcome to the News Agents. MUSIC The News Agents. It's John. It's Maitlis. It's Lewis.
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Chapter 3: How have political leaders responded to the rise in antisemitic attacks?
And we are recording this at 1.35, sort of lunchtime on Wednesday. And a lot of reports coming in of a ghastly incident in Golders Green in northwest London. Very densely populated Jewish area.
where it seems two people have been stabbed, a man has been arrested, and it is the latest in a long line of attacks, that if you just go back over the past month, March the 23rd, four Hatzola ambulances destroyed by arson at a Golders Green synagogue. April the 15th, attempted firebombing at Finchley Reform synagogue. April the 17th, arson attacked at a former Jewish charity. April the
19th, accelerant thrown into Kenton United Synagogue and a Jewish-owned shop in Watford set on fire. April 28th, an arson attack on a memorial wall for October 7th victims in Golders Green. The pattern is unmistakable and it does look like... If you are Jewish, you are subject to attack.
It is as though a religion is now being singled out and targeted for attack in this country, which is none of us have seen in our lifetimes like this.
Yeah. And just to put this in the context, the geography of Golders Green, where there are around 30 synagogues, I think it's about one in two people, pretty much half the population. self-identify as Jewish, of the Jewish faith. And so this is seen as, if you like, one of the most, if not the most concentrated areas in the entire country of Jewish residents.
And on the one hand, it is sort of unmistakable that this is a pattern of anti-Semitism. And on the other hand, we've had these claims of responsibility in the past, we don't know yet about this one, from a group that is in some way connected to Iran's IRGC, the Revolutionary Guard Corps. Nothing has been proven. We're going to be discussing that a little bit later.
But you have this extraordinary set of circumstances where you cannot tell if this is part of community policing or community relations that needs to change or whether there are frankly, hired guns by Iran, you know, who are being sent out to try and damage specifically one targeted community, which is somehow a sort of much bigger political question for us to get our heads around.
Take it for the sake of argument, because we can't know yet whether this is connected with Iran or not. I think what is absolutely clear is that there has now been a pattern of attacks which should make everybody in this country, everybody's blood run cold. Because we're seeing a pattern of attacks against one particular ethnic minority in this country, one community, on a repeated basis.
Keir Starmer tweeting saying the anti-Semitic attack in Golders Green is utterly appalling. Attacks on our Jewish community are attacks on Britain. Those responsible will be brought to justice. I think that we hear these sorts of words a lot.
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Chapter 4: What evidence suggests a pattern of antisemitic violence in North London?
Yeah. I remember when we recorded the first episodes of the podcast, After October the 7th, which was a very dark time and the reactions to it, you know, I don't want to really get all of it. But the point I made then I would say again now is that the guy who runs the kosher butcher shop in Golders Green is no more responsible for Israeli foreign policy.
The Muslim bloke who runs the halal butcher shop is responsible for the way Hamas behaved that day. And the idea that you target a religious community because you don't like the policies of a country is just horrific. And I've got to say that I think... You know, on the left, there has been this view that maybe the Jews are exaggerating a bit. And are we taking this all?
You know, it's not what it seems. And there are false flag exercises. And not enough has been done by certain groups to distance themselves from some of the narratives that have been coming out. When it is absolutely crystal clear that there is a campaign. Now, the Iranian involvement, I mean, remains to be proven. And it won't be that there are IRGC groups.
you know, operatives going around with cans of petrol, they will be paying kind of little local hoodlums to do their business for them. It's rent a thug for not very much money. And we've seen that the Russians have done that to attack a Ukrainian warehouse where people were, you know, low life thugs, idiots were hired.
They set fire to a warehouse that is owned by Ukrainian businesses and they've been put in prison for it.
I do think that, and I see David Lammy, the Deputy Prime Minister's tweet as well, saying we stand with the Jewish community, we must root out this hatred. I do think now, partly because we see that this is becoming a recurring phenomenon.
Whatever the origin of it, and we can't know that, we'll presumably find out more in the next 24 hours by the time we record again, what we can certainly say is that Jewish people appear to be repeatedly and consistently targeted.
And are terrified. And are terrified. I mean, frankly, that's something that I think you... You cannot understate now the number of people that I hear from or talk to who say, I'm thinking about getting out.
Absolutely. And I think that the political pressure on this and the political salience of this is now going to rise and going to become more intense very quickly. And I think there will be a lot of pressure on the government now.
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Chapter 5: Is there a connection between these attacks and Iranian influence?
I would welcome that, John, to be honest with you. I think that the Jewish community is a canary in the coal mine. What starts with Jews doesn't end with Jews. When I say that an attack on Britain's Jews is an attack on Britain itself. I mean it. Those remarks have been echoed from the top to bottom of government, and I would welcome cross-party working on this.
This is a genie that's out the bottle. It's not going to be easy to put back in. We need solidarity from all different communities and from all different institutions. And I think that there are some things that are above politics.
And I would hope that everybody can not just condemn this, but come together to work on the values that we share as British people and thereby stand with our British community to say that you're not just tolerated, you're not just accepted, but you are British. I'm reminded of a phrase. I was recently in Amsterdam visiting with my children and I took my children to the Anne Frank House.
And she had a line in her diary saying that she looked forward to the day where we could get back to just being people, not Jews. I know that many British Jews and I feel exactly the same.
On exactly that point, Sarah, when Keir Starmer was visiting a synagogue last week, he called out Zach Polanski, the Green leader, as disgraceful for saying it was important to distinguish between the actual threat to the Jewish community and the perception of unsafety. Do you agree with Keir Starmer? Do you think that is disgraceful?
Or do you think that Zach Polanski has allowed what he calls nuance in this debate? What do you feel?
I think it's quite simple. If you want to understand the actual threat that Jews face, just turn on the news today. There have been Jews stabbed in my constituency for no other reason than they are Jewish. And if you want to understand how racism and terror works, it's designed to strike fear into people, not just about what's actually happening, but what may happen.
And that is where those who are seeking to divide us, who do not share our values, are seeking to sow that fear. That is what they are doing, through petrol bombing towards synagogues, through surveillance of Jewish sites, of nurseries. When I take my children to Hebrew school on a Sunday, I'm holding their hands that little bit tighter. That's not perception, that's reality.
And so I hope that across the political divide, people wake up and understand that once again, an attack on Britain's Jews is an attack on British values.
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Chapter 6: What role do community leaders play in addressing antisemitism?
Leading Britain's conversation.
So we now understand a little better why the King will have been so apprehensive, I guess, about how his speech to Congress would be received and would go down, because the truth is, he did not hold back. It was far more political than I think certainly many in the room were expecting and certainly many of us at home were expecting.
And as we said on Monday, there was an element of speak over the head of the principal here, Donald Trump, and tell the people in the room and at home what your real message is. And so he went to places that were quite frankly, in the lion's den. He talked about NATO and he talked specifically about Article 5, which was invoked by European nations after 9-11 to help America.
I don't think that was not deliberate. And he talked about Ukraine and the importance of helping Ukraine. And at one point, he clearly talked about the potential excesses of executive power. Just have a listen to this phrase, because this was aimed quite firmly at those who wanted to over-exaggerate their role and to all those who might be allowing that to happen.
Roots go even further back in history. The US Supreme Court Historical Society has calculated that Magna Carta is cited in at least 160 Supreme Court cases since 1789, not least as the foundation of the principle that executive power is subject to checks and balances.
He gets a big round of applause there and a standing ovation. Clearly, the Democrats are on their feet there, but also a lot of Republicans. And the King delivers it with that extraordinarily mellifluous voice and is at times quite cheeky. And I was doing a bit of digging around. I said, who's the speechwriter behind this to somebody in the know?
And I was told it's a team effort, but likely to be Joshua Pools, who is the private secretary on Commonwealth Matters, who worked for Charles right back when he was the Prince of Wales and is now doing a stint at Buckingham Palace.
So in other words, somebody who knows Charles inside out and will have understood the remit of this, which was to reach into places that very few other international leaders, frankly, would dare to go.
Yeah, I thought what he did well was also to deploy that light touch, humour, bonhomie as well, whilst delivering tough messages. And, you know, you listed a few. You know, the King went on about his own service in the Royal Navy and his family's historic service in the Royal Navy. I wonder why he felt it necessary to talk about that.
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Chapter 7: How does the Jewish community feel about safety and security in current times?
I mean, when I say we've played this before, what Trump does is that he loves the royal afterglow. He loves being around it. He loves strutting around like a sort of peacock, pretending that he himself is a king. And we saw the White House literally tweet out a picture of the two of them saying, Two kings trolling all of his opponents, as he often does.
But he banks it, he enjoys it, and then literally 24, 36, 48 hours later, he moves on. Let's not forget that it was only in September, September, that we had his visit here. At that visit, the state dinner at Windsor Castle, an experience Trump described as one of the highest honours of my life.
Merely months later, he's attacking the Royal Navy and belittling Keir Starmer as a coward for not entering the US-Israeli war in Iran.
I think that's right. But make no mistake, I think that was a roast. I think it was an actual royal roast. And if you go away and if Trump... That's got to be grouse, surely. Maybe grouse, maybe quail. But I think if Trump were to go away and just have somebody spell out to him just quite how many moments that was deeply insulting.
You know, the Royal Navy, as you say, is about the Straits of Hormuz. NATO is about Trump saying, we don't need you. And Charles saying, actually, you really did. Ukraine is you've abandoned our friends. We get that. There was a piece which was about real estate on the White House. Let's just play that line because it's quite a good one.
I cannot help noticing the readjustments to the East Wing, Mr President, following your visit to Windsor Castle last year. And I'm sorry to say that we British, of course, made our own small attempt at real estate redevelopment of the White House in 1814. LAUGHTER
So he gets a big laugh at the end from the crowd there. This is a reference to the British attempt to burn down the White House in that year. And I think the thing, just to come back to it, when he spells out, executive powers and checks and balances, the ultimate roast is saying, I'm the king and you're acting like one.
Like, can you figure out the irony of what is going on right now in your country? And you're right. He'll be on a plane out. I mean, he'll be on a plane out before Trump wakes up to that. There is a certain snobbery that we all get the jokes and he doesn't.
I rather tragically went through the invitation list for the state banquet, obviously upset, gutted that I had been invited. I told you to stop upsetting yourself.
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Chapter 8: What actions are being proposed to combat antisemitism?
Yeah. Look, it was I thought it was a really fine speech. I thought it was, you know, well crafted, brilliantly delivered, funny, but pointed at the same time. It ticked every box. And, you know, could it have been improved on? Not really. How much difference will it make? I think it's made us feel better in Britain. And I don't think that.
many other countries would get the red carpet rolled out in quite the same way.
Do you think people out in the country are feeling much more jolly today as a result of this? Yes, I do.
Well, honestly, I think there may be some political elites who do. I don't think many people out in the country are feeling much jollier today having seen those speeches about checks and balances.
What do you think people out in the country are feeling then? How do you think people out in the country are feeling? They're not all feeling the same thing out in the country.
No, but I don't think if we're talking about improving the sort of morale of the nation, I don't think there are many people in the country who have watched that exchange about checks and balances in the Magna Carta who are thinking, I feel a lot happier today. as a result of seeing that.
No, I don't. Well received in America. And I've been really interested.
I've been really interested to know what the engagement traffic is on social, you know, for on global player for, you know, how many people have looked at the sort of pictures of the state banquet. I bet quite a lot of people have looked at that stuff and looked at his speech. I've had various people totally unconnected with the media bubble. So I thought he made a brilliant speech last night.
And so an awful lot of people, I think, did tune in to watch it. They probably connect to that more than they do to the Mandelson saga.
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