London Most Antisemitic Capital in West as Islamists and Hard Left Join Forces, Warns Israel

Pro-Palestinian activists and supporters wave flags and hold placards as they gather near
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Oliver JJ Lane

Antisemitism in European cities is reaching 1930s levels and London is the worst of them all, an Israeli government minister says, warning of mass migration, radicalisation, and the hard left coming together and “serious consequences” for inaction.

The growth of antisemitism in Britain is “terrifying”, says Israeli government figure Amichai Chikli, who warns freedom of speech is being extinguished in the old “beacon of light and democracy”. “Wokeism”-infected London is now the “most antisemitic place in the West”, the Diaspora and Antisemitism Minister said, counselling the United Kingdom and other Western nations to take another look at their open borders polities and soft-touch approach to extremism.

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – MAR 09, 2024 – The National March for Palestine in central London. (Photo credit should read Matthew Chattle/Future Publishing via Getty Images)

London has become particularly hard-hit by hate, Chikli said, because the “radicalised Islamist” minority has coalesced with the hard left, reports The Jewish Chronicle. He told a meeting of visiting European journalists in Israel: “The anti-Semitism we see today in the West is the worst since the 1930s and it is because of a ‘red and green’ alliance – the combination of the radical Left and the radical Islam groups that work together.”

He went on to say that while London is “a centre of Western civilisation, the country of the Magna Carta and one of the leading democracies of the West with a rich legacy of freedom of speech, of human rights. But it seems what is happening now in Britain is that freedom of speech no longer exists.” Jews in London hide their faith for fear of attacks, he said, while reflecting on the febrile atmosphere in the city in recent months and years, and particularly since Hamas launched a massive terrorist attack on Israel last year.

Chikli’s comments follow others by the UK’s Commissioner for Countering Extremism Robin Simcox, who said London became a “no-go zone for Jews every weekend” because of the attitudes and aggression on display at the weekly anti-Israel protests in Westminster. He said earlier this month: “Anti-Semitism skyrocketing… Protests [are] becoming ever more vociferous, with “from the river to the sea” beamed onto the side of Big Ben during a vote on Gaza.”

The Community Security Trust, a Jewish charity in the United Kingdom, said it has been told by many British Jews that they now avoid central London while demonstrations are taking place. A spokesman for the group said he was one of those who felt he couldn’t be in London’s capital because of the environment, saying: “I don’t go into town when there’s these demonstrations… We hear all about the right of protesters to demonstrate, but God forbid anybody say anything against them. Then you will find out about your freedom of speech.”

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – MAR 09, 2024 – The National March for Palestine in central London. (Photo credit should read Matthew Chattle/Future Publishing via Getty Images)

Chikli urged the United Kingdom and other Western states to take action towards the key contributing factors of rising antisemitism. While he emphasised most Muslims “have nothing to do with hard-line Islamism”, nevertheless he said “the dangers of open immigration [is] allowing extremism to build up”. This is in part down to a failure of integration, Chikli said, continuing that: “If you think that anyone who is coming now from Algeria or Iraq or Syria can be part of Western liberal society just by crossing the border – you need to understand that it is not that simple… It is extremely dangerous for Western countries to have this approach. Many organisations can take advantage of it… What is happening in the mosques? In the schools?”.

The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan hit back at the Israeli government man’s comments through a representative, reports GB News, which recorded him as saying that while rising antisemitism is a problem, so is anti-Muslim hate. The spokesman said: “The Mayor speaks with members of the Jewish community regularly, and despite their ongoing and real concerns, most don’t agree with the extent of the language used by the minister.”

The remarks from Israeli minister Chikli are not by far his first on the subject, and British establishment news outlets have generally described him as “controversial” and “inflammatory” for his past comments. As previously reported, Chikli has called on Jews worldwide to proudly display articles of their faith in public and not be afraid, and has affirmed his view that “the overwhelming majority” of antisemitism spread online by the pro-Palestine left.

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