Joy Morrissey: British Jews, we are on your side

Joy Morrissey is Conservative MP for Beaconsfield and Deputy Chief Whip of the Conservative Party

It’s hard to know what to say to the Jewish people of this country. I can scarcely believe the Manchester attack happened. In Britain. A country built on tolerance. But let’s not deny the truth.

We should all have seen this moment coming and we should have spoken and acted sooner against the stench of anti-semitism being normalised on the streets of London, on our TV screens and on our social media. Well, now we must act.

So how did we get here? Like all hatreds, anti-semitism always bubbles below the surface looking for an outlet. Gaza provided that outlet, with fanatics – I choose that word deliberately – marching on our streets chanting for every Jew to be wiped out.

They took advantage of our democracy to spout their hatred and they were allowed to make our capital city a no-go area for people based on their religious beliefs. This happened in Britain, a country of long-standing religious tolerance.

But the real crux of how we got here goes deeper. Turn away now if you are of a sensitive disposition. We got here because our country now has a group of people, often safely ensconced in their middle class comfort, who have enabled this behaviour.

They have taken every opportunity to reframe the indefensible through their prism of self-righteousness and their organs of truth, such as the Guardian. Take Jewish fans not being able to watch their team safely in Birmingham. In their world, that’s not anti-semitism, that’s about football hooliganism – a story belonging on their sports pages. They are driving us into an Orwellian reality and we must act now.

Many people on the left of British politics – from the Greens to Labour and the Lib Dems – who view themselves as intellectually and morally superior, have ensured a whole generation are growing up viewing Jews as evil.

The world has been here before and we said never again.

“I am not Jewish, nor have I ever been to Israel. But I believe in standing up for British values” – that is what I began a short social media video with, now viewed over two and a half million times across my various social media channels. It sparked two equal and opposite reactions. Take a look if you aren’t squeamish. In the comments a whole swathe of open anti-semitism. These people are not even hiding behind aliases anymore.

But, there’s hope, the voice of the silent majority is emerging, blinking into the light. People saying enough is enough. Asserting that to be British is to hold dear the values of decency and tolerance. People saying our country can be better than it has now become for many thousands of our fellow Jewish citizens.

It is the start of a crescendo of voices that can win this battle. It is time for all of us, not just Conservatives but all decent British citizens, to make our voice louder than those who enable and bring hatred to our shores.

To any Jewish person who might read this article, mine is just one voice, but please know that the overwhelming majority of people in this country are with you, are looking on in disgust at what you are being subjected to – but you would never know that whilst the enablers are able to frame the debate, able to portray their minority view as the approved line, able to happily march alongside those who would see you annihilated. In their world you are either good or evil. You have to choose sides. That makes it very simple, because anyone with a shred of decency is on yours.