Being Jewish 'never provocative', says Home Office

[Behind the Aegis]

Being Jewish "should never be seen as provocative", the government has said after the Met Police apologised when an officer used the term "openly Jewish" at a pro-Palestine march.

Gideon Falter was wearing a kippah skull-cap when he was stopped in the Aldwych area of London and threatened with arrest on Saturday.

The Campaign Against Antisemitism chief executive was told by police his presence was causing a "breach of peace", in a video posted online.

A Home Office spokesperson said people of any religion "should be free to go about their lives and feel safe doing so".

more...

It shouldn't be, but it sure as fuck is with a certain element!

[RockRaven]

1. This is one of those articles which benefits greatly from clicking through

and reading the whole thing (it is pretty short). It's not (just) a bigot cop. It is a management problem.

The two cop quotes were different officers, the former possibly a warning about danger of the local circumstances (yes, that is being generous), the latter plainly a threat of arrest for bullshit reasons.

And the rest of the article indicates that there is a general, longstanding failure of the Met Police to do what is right instead of what is easy when it comes to dealing with these sorts of protests (cowering before the crowd at the cost of others instead of drawing clear lines for the crowd and enforcing them).

And while that is understandable if not excusable at the individual officer level given that they are always terribly outnumbered at such events, it would be terrible public policy to knowingly behave thusly as a strategy. And since it is an issue of long duration, it is therefore a failure of policy/management.

[betsuni]

2. "Openly Jewish" reminds me of someone who said "aggressively Black" but now can't remember who.

[Cha]

7. I remember that, too.. but niot who said it.

I know bravenak went by "aggressively black Bianca" on the twitter machine. So we know she saw it and ran with it.

[PCIntern]

3. Yeah well...you know...Jooz...

Jooz are a big problem for all these “right-thinking” people until they got a polio vaccine which saved their families from lifelong disability for example. I’ll tell you something else: what makes these anti-semites nuts is that we don’t proselytize so they take that as an insult, that we don’t want them personally.

I’ll give these motherfuckers credit for being correct for a change.

[Igel]

4. Has been for decades.

That's from experience as a Jewish-appearing goy.

For me, tonight's Passover. Unleavened bread and wine.

Tomorrow's the night of watching. For most Jews, that's when there's a seder.

Tuesday, I'm taking off from work.

[ismnotwasm]

5. From what I see and understand

Is many folks refuse to acknowledge how entrenched anti-semitism is. Or even what is.

It is the OG of bigotry’s, literally a blueprint. One of the great shames and absolute horrors of human history.

[Cha]

6. Well fuck that "element".. omg.. "openly Jewish.. " And?!

Good on the Home Office