‘Manifesto Against Hate’ 2024 – Tell MAMA

June 18, 2024 Article

PRESS THE MANIFESTO TAB

Tell MAMA Launches Manifesto for New Government to Tackle Hate Crime

[London, UK, Wednesday 19 June 2024]

Tell MAMA (“Measuring Anti-Muslim Attacks”) has launched its Manifesto Against Hate ahead of the upcoming General Elections on July 4, urging political candidates to address the significant increase in hate crimes across the country and promote social cohesion through several clear-eyed initiatives.

Founded in 2012 with government support, Tell MAMA has been instrumental in documenting and supporting over 28,000 victims of anti-Muslim hate crimes. These past few months have seen an alarming rise in such incidents. Since last year’s October 7 Hamas attacks into Southern Israel and the ongoing Israel-Gaza War, there has been a sharp increase in such anti-Muslim hate crime and a significant break-down in Jewish-Muslim community relations. Between October 7  and February 7 alone, Tell MAMA recorded 2,010 Islamophobic incidents, predominantly targeting Muslim women and on social media platforms, a stark increase from 600 incidents during the same period the previous year. This surge demands better measures to combat hate speech and physical attacks. Tell MAMA believes that with the measures of its Manifesto, it can tackle hate crime and increase social cohesion across the UK.

Tell MAMA’s Manifesto Against Hate 2024 key proposals include:

  • The appointment of a Government “Hate Crime” Tsar to prioritise and oversee hate crime initiatives.
  • Increase ministerial engagement with local communities to foster inclusivity and reduce social divisions, under the remit of the DLUHC (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities) and the Home Office.
  • The establishment of Boards at local, regional, and national levels to promote dialogue and collaboration between Muslim and Jewish communities.
  • Urge the Government to create a fund sponsored by Social Media companies, aided by legislative measures for compliance, to support organisations combatting online hate.
  • For the administration of the ‘Protecting Places of Worship’ Security Fund to be outsourced to a legal entity that is a consortium made up of hate crime reporting agencies, to enhance accessibility and trust.

Regarding Tell MAMA’s Manifesto Against Hate 2024 launch, Iman Atta OBE, Director of Tell MAMA, stated:

“The sharp rise in hate crimes in the UK, both online and on our streets, is deeply alarming. It is no secret that Muslim and Jewish communities are more distanced and fractured from each other than ever before. Our Manifesto for the next Government is crucial. It is a blueprint for security and social cohesion, urging political parties to create a future free from hate and division, a UK in which all its citizens are safe.”

*** ENDS ***

Tell MAMA – Notes

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Categories: anti-Muslim hate, Conservatives, Election 2024, Greens, Hate Crimes, Liberal Democrats, Manifesto against hate, Manifesto Against Hate 2024, New Government, reports, U.K.

To UK Political Parties: We need the politics of Hope and Not Hate

September 24, 2018 Article

We have diligently followed the social and political discourse in the UK for over 6 years since the inception and implementation of Tell MAMA. Over that period, apart from helping individuals, we have also countered and campaigned against anti-Muslim hatred at a political level and against all forms of hatred and intolerance.

We have seen both political parties, Labour and the Conservatives, alienate both Jews and Muslims. Who would have thought that in 2018, we would have a situation where senior Conservative and Labour politicians would be making comments about the ‘burqa’ as women looking like ‘letter boxes’ and where antisemitism would be denied or reduced.

As Party seasons kicks into swing, let us hope that the politics of hope overcomes the politics of hate. The country is divided over Brexit and over how many see the future of our nation. These are turbulent times, but we need level heads and political discourse that brings people together, rather than dividing communities and religious groups.

 

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Categories: Conservatives, hatred, intolerance, Opinions

U.K.: Former Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks declares Corbyn an anti-Semite

August 29, 2018 Article

Britain’s former Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks has called Labour opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn an anti-Semite and said comments about Zionists he made five years ago were the most offensive by a senior UK politician in half a century.

Labour has been battling accusations of anti-Semitism for months, and Corbyn has previously apologised for what he has described as “pockets” of anti-Semitism in his party.

Sacks, who was Britain’s Chief Rabbi from 1991 to 2013, accused Corbyn of having “given support to racists, terrorists and dealers of hate who want to kill Jews and remove Israel from the map”.

He said Corbyn had depicted a group of British citizens as “essentially alien” when it was revealed last week he said in 2013 that British Zionists “don’t understand English irony” despite “having lived in this country for a very long time”.

“When he implies that, however long they have lived here, Jews are not fully British, he is using the language of classic pre-war European anti-Semitism,” Sacks told the New Statesman political magazine.

“Now, within living memory of the Holocaust, and while Jews are being murdered elsewhere in Europe for being Jews, we have an anti-Semite as the leader of the Labour party and Her Majesty’s opposition. That is why Jews feel so threatened by Mr Corbyn and those who support him.”

Labour said in a statement there is no place for anti-Semitism in their party and that they are committed to rebuilding trust with the Jewish community.

Some opinion polls put Labour ahead or level with Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservatives, meaning he is a potential British leader, although the next election is not due until 2022.

Sacks compared Corbyn’s comments to the infamous “Rivers of blood” speech by Enoch Powell in 1968 in which the then-Conservative shadow cabinet member warned of the dangers of immigration. His speech is widely regarded as one of the most divisive made by a modern British politician.

Labour dismissed the comparison with Powell as “absurd and offensive”.

Since unexpectedly becoming Labour leader in 2015 after decades spent on the left-wing fringes of the party, Corbyn has repeatedly faced accusations of turning a blind eye to anti-Semitic comments in the party and among groups he supports.

Corbyn has responded to protests by meeting Jewish community leaders, reassuring Jewish people they are welcome in the party.

In his 2013 speech to a meeting convened by the Palestinian Return Centre, Corbyn spoke about the importance of history and of how necessary it was for people to understand the origins of the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.

He said Zionists had “two problems” – firstly, that they do not study history and, secondly, they do not understand English irony.

After the emergence of footage, Labour asserted that Corbyn had been referring to a “group of pro-Israel activists” and had not been singling out Jewish people as a whole.

The post U.K.: Former Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks declares Corbyn an anti-Semite appeared first on Faith Matters.

Categories: anti-Semitism, British Zionists, Chief Rabbi, controversy, Enoch Powell, hatred, Holocaust Denial, IHRA definition of antisemitism, Israel, Jeremy Corbyn, Jewish Community, Jews, Jonathan Sacks, News, Palestinian Return Centre, Rivers of Blood Speech, terrorism, UK, Zionists

U.K.: Former Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks declares Corbyn an anti-Semite

August 29, 2018 Article

Britain’s former Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks has called Labour opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn an anti-Semite and said comments about Zionists he made five years ago were the most offensive by a senior UK politician in half a century.

Labour has been battling accusations of anti-Semitism for months, and Corbyn has previously apologised for what he has described as “pockets” of anti-Semitism in his party.

Sacks, who was Britain’s Chief Rabbi from 1991 to 2013, accused Corbyn of having “given support to racists, terrorists and dealers of hate who want to kill Jews and remove Israel from the map”.

He said Corbyn had depicted a group of British citizens as “essentially alien” when it was revealed last week he said in 2013 that British Zionists “don’t understand English irony” despite “having lived in this country for a very long time”.

“When he implies that, however long they have lived here, Jews are not fully British, he is using the language of classic pre-war European anti-Semitism,” Sacks told the New Statesman political magazine.

“Now, within living memory of the Holocaust, and while Jews are being murdered elsewhere in Europe for being Jews, we have an anti-Semite as the leader of the Labour party and Her Majesty’s opposition. That is why Jews feel so threatened by Mr Corbyn and those who support him.”

Labour said in a statement there is no place for anti-Semitism in their party and that they are committed to rebuilding trust with the Jewish community.

Some opinion polls put Labour ahead or level with Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservatives, meaning he is a potential British leader, although the next election is not due until 2022.

Sacks compared Corbyn’s comments to the infamous “Rivers of blood” speech by Enoch Powell in 1968 in which the then-Conservative shadow cabinet member warned of the dangers of immigration. His speech is widely regarded as one of the most divisive made by a modern British politician.

Labour dismissed the comparison with Powell as “absurd and offensive”.

Since unexpectedly becoming Labour leader in 2015 after decades spent on the left-wing fringes of the party, Corbyn has repeatedly faced accusations of turning a blind eye to anti-Semitic comments in the party and among groups he supports.

Corbyn has responded to protests by meeting Jewish community leaders, reassuring Jewish people they are welcome in the party.

In his 2013 speech to a meeting convened by the Palestinian Return Centre, Corbyn spoke about the importance of history and of how necessary it was for people to understand the origins of the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.

He said Zionists had “two problems” – firstly, that they do not study history and, secondly, they do not understand English irony.

After the emergence of footage, Labour asserted that Corbyn had been referring to a “group of pro-Israel activists” and had not been singling out Jewish people as a whole.

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Categories: anti-Semitism, British Zionists, Chief Rabbi, controversy, Enoch Powell, hatred, Holocaust Denial, IHRA definition of antisemitism, Israel, Jeremy Corbyn, Jewish Community, Jews, Jonathan Sacks, News, Palestinian Return Centre, Rivers of Blood Speech, terrorism, UK, Zionists

Act on anti-Semitism or face ‘eternal shame’, says Deputy Leader of Labour

August 6, 2018 Article

The deputy leader of Britain’s opposition Labour Party increased pressure on its leader, Jeremy Corbyn, over anti-Semitism on Sunday, saying the party could “disappear into a vortex of eternal shame” unless he tackled a growing crisis.

Corbyn has been criticised by Jewish groups for what they describe as his tolerance of anti-Semitism in Labour, a crisis that has threatened his standing at a time when the governing Conservatives are struggling to unite behind a Brexit plan.

Corbyn’s again appealed to Jewish members on Sunday, using a video message to press his pledge to drive anti-Semitism out of the party “for good” after a similar attempt fell flat for several Jewish groups on Saturday. One — the Jewish Labour Movement — called for action, not words.

In an interview with the Observer newspaper, deputy leader Tom Watson took aim at Corbyn saying the party had to “take a long, hard look at ourselves, stand up for what is right and present the party as fit to lead the nation – or disappear into a vortex of eternal shame and embarrassment”.

“I think it’s very important that we all work to de-escalate this disagreement.”

He called on Corbyn to adopt in full an internationally accepted definition of anti-Semitism. Labour says it has concerns about part of the definition but had re-opened discussions to take into account Jewish community concerns.

In his message, Corbyn did not refer to the definition but apologised for the hurt caused to many Jewish people and pledged to speed up disciplinary cases in Labour to drive out anti-Semitism.

“People who use anti-Semitic poison need to understand: You do not do it in my name, or the name of my party. You are not our supporters,” he said.

The Labour Party has been benefiting in the polls from a row in the Conservatives over Prime Minister Theresa May’s plans for Britain to leave the European Union, which has deepened divisions and raised the possibility of an early election.

But some Labour members fear the growing row over anti-Semitism will damage the party before an election, which is due in 2022.

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Categories: anti-Semitism, Jeremy Corbyn, News, Politics, Tom Watson

John Mann’s Speech on Anti-Semitism in the Commons

April 17, 2018 Article

“When my family helped to form the Labour Party in 1906, they suffered terribly because of that. The Jewish community in Leeds stood beside them and supported them. That is why I took on the role 13 years ago chairing the All-Party Group. I didn’t expect today when Labour members stand in solidarity with our Jewish colleagues and Jewish communities, to be targeted by an organisation called Momentum, which has happened to all of us who stood in solidarity, but worse than that that, explicitly targeting Jewish members of the Parliamentary Labour Party because they are Jewish. That is what is going on at the moment. I did not expect when I took on this voluntary cross-party role, for my wife to be sent by a Labour Marxist anti-Semite, a dead bird through the post, I didn’t expect my son after an Islamist death threat to open the door in the house as a school boy to the bomb squad. I didn’t expect my wife in the last few weeks from a leftist anti-Semite in response to the demonstration to be threatened with rape. I didn’t expect my daughter similarly to have to be rung up in the last few weeks by special branch to check out her movements in this country. No, I didn’t expect any of that.

“And I tell you the principles that we operated on. The very first speech that I made on this, 13 years ago in this chamber, that every party in this house should look after its own backyard first. And I have said that repeatedly on hundreds of occasions since and I have specifically in private letters to every party in this house, repeatedly challenged antisemitism in all parties. And for years action was taken, painful action and I am not sure people welcomed getting the letters and having the discussions with me in all parties, but that was the principle we operated on and we worked cross-party. And I recall that Jewish people used to say, “Is it true that there is a growth in anti-Semitism?”

“We identified 13 years ago the three forms of anti-Semitism. Islamist anti-Semitism, traditional right anti-Semitism and the anti-Semitism of the new left, all documented and discussed in here. It is not new. And those who say it is a smear, a smear, in raising this issue need to publicly apologise and publicly understand what they are doing and saying and the dangers.

“It does not end with me and my family, it does not end with British members of Parliament here, this stuff ends is what happened in Copenhagen, is what happens in Brussels, is what happened in France repeatedly including 4 weeks ago. People murdered because they are Jewish. That’s where this ends. You know this ends and this is the reality now.

“Last night in my constituency – it is constant, explicit anti-Semitism and then the bigger group. The excusers for anti-Semitism, the people who say this is something to do with who the leader of the Labour Party is and in challenging him. No it isn’t, in the 13 years I have been doing this, what Jewish people say to me now is different to what they said 13 years ago. “Is it true that there is a growth in anti-Semitism”, 5 years ago Jewish people would come up to me and say, “we’re concerned that there is a rise in anti-Semitism”.  I am stopped in the street everywhere I go now by Jewish people who say to me very discreetly, “I am scared”. Young people, old people, “I am scared”. You see what happened in France and you see what happened in Belgium and you see what happened in Copenhagen and then you understand why people are scared.

“People who are scared, young Jewish members to go to a Labour Party meeting with me because they are fearful of how they will be intimidated and threatened and how their identity will be challenged

“Any Jewish person is entitled to say and define that they are an anti-Zionist and I have no right to challenge that. Any Jewish person has the right to say, as the vast majority do, “I am a Zionist” and I have no right to deny them that and those that do are racists. And just that change in language by making the word ‘Zionist’ as a pejorative insult by the Labour Party, just that change, would alter the dialogue in this country in a very big way. We all have a choice on what we do, stand in solidarity with the Jewish members of Parliament under attack today, that is the role of Parliamentarians.”

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Categories: anti-Semitism, Jeremy Corbyn, Jewish communities, John Mann, News, Parliament

Jackie Walker, if People Attending the Anti-Semitism Rally Are Anti-Muslim, What About Us?

April 10, 2018 Article

The Jewish Chronicle has written an article highlighting Jackie Walker’s comments in a 20 minute Facebook speech in which she attacked those attending the EnoughisEnough rally and stated that they were the,

“absolute enemies of Muslims, enemies of people of colour, enemies of our tolerant society.”

So, we have to ask, does Jackie Walker think that we are enemies of a tolerant society? Are we absolute enemies of Muslims when we have been working for over 6 years tackling anti-Muslim hate, instead of speaking to Facebook about challenging anti-Muslim hate, rather than challenging hate. Finally, many of the staff in Tell MAMA are people of colour and so how divisive is her language?

The fact is this. Where many members of a community feel the need to rally and demonstrate on an issue of key concern, we should be there. This is particularly the case when it involves something of central concern such as antisemitism. This is why the Tell MAMA staff and team attended the EnoughisEnough rally and why we felt the need to stand in solidarity. 

We also take umbrage with the assertion that those who attended the rally are the enemies of Muslims, as though people who stand against anti-Semitism, must be anti-Muslim. This is toxic talk and we have had people approach us with this ‘them and us’ world view. It has not been easy to differentiate, particularly early on in our work, though we have learnt that not everyone approaching us has positive social action in their minds. There are some who seek to ‘help Muslims’ with other objectives in mind. We don’t need their help as we do not need people like Jackie Walker speaking on behalf of Muslims. 

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Categories: anti-Semitism, EnoughisEnough, Jackie Walker, Jewish communities, Muslim, News

Naz Shah MP Deserves a Second Chance. As a Campaigner She is a Trailblazer

June 15, 2016 Article
Naz Shah MP

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It is rarely that we get involved into the political melee of the cut and thrust of politics and the political life of Members of Parliament.

On this occasion, we felt that it is was important to show support for a Member of Parliament who genuinely cares and is passionate about people. Naz Shah MP is one of those people and her recent sincere apologies for the hurt that she caused Jewish communities was heartfelt and we have also spoken to her about this. She genuinely was not aware of the impacts of her language and two years (from when she initially made the comments about Israel), have changed and shaped her into caring passionately about what minority communities think and feel and the way that they are perceived.

Naz Shah is one of the unique cases where people deserve the chance to move on and to impart her knowledge and her experiences to others so that hatred, prejudice and intolerance can be broken down. She cares passionately about tackling injustice and has learnt some hard lessons, but she is a tough and robust campaigner who will come back stronger and fitter and more in tune with understanding communities.

We sincerely hope that she can play a front line role in politics in our country. She has made her peace, now is the time that she should lead and with a renewed sense of urgency.

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Categories: Antisemitism, communities, hatred, Muslim, Naz Shah MP, Opinions

Labour Did the Right Thing on AntiSemitism, Now the Conservatives Must on Islamophobia

May 6, 2016 Article

Labour Did the Right Thing on AntiSemitism, Now the Conservatives Must on Islamophobia

Enquiry into the Direction of the Campaign Needs to be Undertaken by the Conservatives

It took Jeremy Corbyn some time to ensure that he set out an Inquiry into Antisemitism which will be headed up by Shami Chakraborty. The Inquiry is needed given the charges of antisemitism that should be looked into and given the fact that the Labour Party has a proud history of tackling racism. (For those who believe that antisemitism is not racism, let us put this bizarre argument to bed, it is racism and legally seen as such).

But there are questions to be asked of the campaign of Zac Goldsmith and let us not forget that towards the end of the campaign, the theme consistently put out was the link between extremism and Sadiq Khan. Some within the Conservative Party must have known that this would be read negatively within Muslim communities at a time when many Muslims are tired of their communities being framed solely through the lens of extremism. This was also expressly stated by Baroness Warsi in tweets that she put out.

These impacts would therefore have been known, but someone in the campaign made the decision to run on the extremism narrative and to push it through repetitively. Who was that individual or individuals is the question to be asked? How could this have been the main theme of Zac Goldsmith’s campaign is another question to be asked? Who authorised the campaign and who agreed to it? These are legitimate questions to be asked.

If we are to have a London united, then the public also need answers to these questions. In fact, over 1 million Londoners voted for Sadiq Khan. At the very least 1 million people would surely like an answer to these questions. We hope that the Conservative Party does show transparency and order an Inquiry into what went so disastrously wrong with the campaign that they had to resort to the lowest common denominator – innuendos about how the Labour candidate met someone over 10 years ago who was extreme and by default must have tendencies towards extremists. This is the narrative that was weaved and it was a toxic narrative. It is a narrative that has been soundly rejected by Londoners. However, now the questions must be asked about the Conservative campaign.

Labour Did the Right Thing on AntiSemitism, Now the Conservatives Must on Islamophobia

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Categories: Antisemitism, Baroness Warsi, campaign, Conservatives, Inquiry, mayor of London, Opinions

Never Again Should Such a Torrid Campaign Be Run for the Mayor of London

May 6, 2016 Article

Never Again Should Such a Torrid Campaign Be Run for the Mayor of London

Never Again Should Such a Torrid Campaign Be Run for the Mayor of London

The Conservative Mayoral campaign that has been run fixating on extremists and past associations with extremists may well have put off voters from listening to the public policies of Zac Goldsmith. Zac Goldsmith himself is a man who cares about issues affecting communities and is someone with a genuine desire to make a positive change for communities. Yet the campaign placed around him may well have also damaged his public reputation in the way that it constantly sniped at past events in the life of Sadiq Khan. It gave the impression of Goldsmith as being aggressive and playing to the lowest common denominator, of placing extremism with a Labour Muslim Mayoral candidate with no real tangible evidence.

Stories even went back to 2004, as a way of placing a question mark in the minds of voters, as though he was somehow secretly ‘one of them’. What ‘one of them’ meant was left to the reader, though it was a subtle attempt to suggest that people could not trust Sadiq Khan.

It looks like the people of London have rejected the attacks and the negative campaigning against Khan’s character. Also, let us be honest and say that whilst associations which politicians had should be questioned since they are in the public eye, the constant focus on who Khan met sometimes over a decade ago showed that the Tory campaign was solely based on pressing the button on extremism and Khan. They were playing to this core campaigning theme with little regard of the damage that it was doing to its image in Muslim communities. We believe that this will have short and medium term implications for the Conservatives as many Muslims remember and associate this campaign with them. This in itself is sad since this Conservative Government has ben strong on tackling anti-Muslim prejudice and ensuring that this is pushed through at a national and local level. This should also not be forgotten.

We hope that such a campaign is assigned to the past. It is clear that Londoners have rejected the negative campaign and in significant numbers. We also welcome the new Mayor of London and hope that he unites Londoners rather than dividing them.

Never Again Should Such a Torrid Campaign Be Run for the Mayor of London

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Categories: campaign, mayor of London, Muslim, Opinions, Sadiq Khan, Zack Goldsmith