Last month in Washington DC, Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim were murdered when leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum hosted by the American Jewish Committee. Both victims worked for the Israeli Embassy, but the attacker was targeting a Jewish event at a Jewish museum; he was targeting Jews.
Sarah Milgrim was 26. She had previously worked at Tech2Peace, an organisation that brings together young Israelis and Palestinians to develop high-tech skills while engaging in constructive peace-building dialogue. She had also spent time living in the village of Neve Shalom –Wahat al Salam, a community of Palestinian and Jewish Israeli citizens dedicated to justice, peace and equality in Israel, Palestine and the wider region. Her partner, 30-year-old Yaron Lischinsky, shared her passion for fostering understanding and dialogue between people of different faiths.
They were murdered by a hateful man in the name of a “free Palestine”. His violent act did not free Palestine. It only served to show that the calls to violence we have seen on our streets, on campus and online for the last 19 months are not theoretical, nor is violence against Jews contained to the Middle East. Hamas, Hezbollah, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and others are active and pose a very real threat to the Jewish community here in the UK.
In October last year, MI5 confirmed that they had responded to 20 Iran-backed plots presenting potentially lethal threats. Just last month, five Iranian nationals were arrested on suspicion of preparing an act of terrorism, allegedly against the Israeli embassy. It is only thanks to counter-terrorism police, the security services and, of course, the Community Security Trust that we have not seen an attack of this nature succeed against our community here,
Just two days before the attack in Washington DC, the British government went as far as it has in living memory in condemning the actions of the Israeli government. It also took the deeply disappointing decision to suspend free trade negotiations with Israel. I share concerns about the severe humanitarian situation in Gaza and increased violence in the West Bank. The loss of all innocent life is heartbreaking, and, as in all conflicts, every effort must be made to avoid civilian casualties and ensure humanitarian aid reaches those in need.
However, that should not excuse the use of divisive and inflammatory rhetoric designed to dehumanise Jews and Israelis, hidden by the language of progressivism. Today, on social media, on university campuses, in our workplaces, on the news and in Parliament, Jews and Israelis are frequently labelled as colonisers, white supremacists, baby killers, and genocidal maniacs.
Indeed, history teaches us that from the Spanish Inquisition to the Holocaust, the murder of Jews has always been preceded by a vicious propaganda campaign centred around a lie. The purpose of these lies has always been to make Jews the enemy of whatever society considers most sacred and call it justice or resistance when Jews are attacked. Be that religion in 15th Century Spain, race in 1930s Germany, or human rights in the West today.
Those who claim to be committed to human rights must reassess how their language about Israel impacts ordinary Jews living in the diaspora. As a community, we have become far too used to the fact that when conflict in the Middle East escalates, the Jewish community in the UK becomes a target. Politicians must take care to avoid inflammatory rhetoric.
We must not let such hatred and violence detract from the peace-building efforts to which Yaron and Sarah dedicated their tragically short lives. In their memories, I call for the return of the 58 remaining hostages and peace for all in the region.
