The War on Britain's Jews? facts for kids

The War on Britain's Jews? is a 2007 documentary film by British journalist, broadcaster, writer and Daily Mail columnist Richard Littlejohn. It was first broadcast on Channel 4 television on 9 July 2007.

Overview

The film was made in the wake of the September 2006 Report of the All-Party Parliamentary Inquiry into Antisemitism. The findings raised concerns about the spread of antisemitism in Britain, and highlighted increase of violence, desecration of property and intimidation directed against British Jews.

Littlejohn's view

Richard Littlejohn investigated trends of antisemitism as he travelled across the country. On 6 July 2007 he wrote in the Daily Mail:

When some people heard I was making the programme, their first reaction was: "I didn't know you were Jewish."

I'm not, but what's that got to do with the price of gefilte fish? They simply couldn't comprehend why a non-Jew would be in the slightest bit interested in investigating anti-Semitism.

If I had been making a film about Islamophobia, no one would have asked me if I was Muslim.

The Labour MP John Mann told me that he experienced exactly the same reaction when he instigated a parliamentary inquiry into anti-Semitism.

'As soon as I set it up, the first MP who commented to me said: "Oh, I didn't know you were Jewish, John."' He isn't, either.

But the implication was plainly that the very idea of anti-Semitism is the invention of some vast Jewish conspiracy.

Mann's inquiry reported: "It is clear that violence, desecration and intimidation directed towards Jews is on the rise. Jews have become more anxious and more vulnerable to attack than at any time for a generation or longer."

That certainly bears out my own findings. After three months filming across Britain, I reached the conclusion: It's open season on the Jews.

Part of the film shows security measures at a Jewish school in Manchester. In an interview Littlejohn says:

I was horrified with what I saw going on there. Chief Constable Mike Todd took me to the school and it's got razor wire around it and bomb-proof windows. I said to him "This has got to be over the top, hasn't it?" And he said "No, there is a very real threat."

According to Littlejohn, the BBC had originally approached him in 2005 to make an "authored documentary" on any subject he felt passionately about. They did not pursue the idea after learning Littlejohn's intention, which included the thesis that "the motive force behind the recent increase in anti-Jewish activity comes from the Fascist Left and the Islamonazis."

See also

• Antisemitism
• New antisemitism
• History of the Jews in England