by Stephen Shashoua

Many of us have a good understanding of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in the UK.  It takes the form of, among other things, malicious graffiti on religious buildings, desecrated tombstones or in rantings and snide comments revealed through the media. While we can usually deal with the manifestations of this kind of violence, it is rare that it matches the blatancy of recent demonstrations by the so-called English Defence League against Muslims.

Now is the time for communities to act together to defend their neighbours, proclaiming that this is not the Britain in which they want to live and, in fact, to assert their Britishness by acting together to defeat a common foe.  It is easy to shrug it off as someone else's problem, but the  refrain of Pastor Martin Niemöller’s poem “First they came for...” has particular relevance in times like this. Defending our neighbours should not be left only to the organised Anti-Fascists, but should be a duty for our communities. 

The EDL seeks to sow further discord and mistrust between communities. Evidence of this can be seen through the use of the Israeli flag in their protests. We can only combat ignorance and mistrust  of our neighbours  by uniting to break down barriers.  The time for action is now. On this we must stand together.