World News and Trends: Jews in Britain under attack

Apr 10, 2007
2 minutes read time

Just over a year ago, in mid-February of 2006, British Chief Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks called for calm "in the face of recent, highly disturbing events" indirectly affecting the Jewish community in Britain. To most British Jews an act against the state of Israel is an act against themselves.

Print

Just over a year ago, in mid-February of 2006, British Chief Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks called for calm "in the face of recent, highly disturbing events" indirectly affecting the Jewish community in Britain. To most British Jews an act against the state of Israel is an act against themselves.

Rabbi Sacks wrote in The Jewish Chronicle: "The strength of a people is tested in troubled times. Events have succeeded one another at a breakneck pace. The Iranian threat to wipe Israel off the map; the election by the Palestinians of Hamas, a group committed to the destruction of Israel . . . [and] locally there was the vote of the synod of the Church of England to heed a call to divest from companies associated with Israel" (Feb. 17, 2006, emphasis added throughout).

These negative events against the state of Israel have not ceased to affect the British Jewish community. The latest evidence is the publication of the "Anti-Semitic Incident Reports 2006." It shows that the number of such incidents has nearly quadrupled since 1984, totaling 594 last year, up sharply from 455 in 2005.

According to the Daily Mail, "There were 112 violent assaults, 37 per cent more than in 2005; 70 cases of damage to Jewish communal property; 27 threats, including death threats against individuals and organisations; 365 cases of abusive behaviour; and 20 incidents in which mass-produced anti-Semitic literature was distributed" (Feb. 1, 2007).

The Community Security Trust produces the Incident Report annually. Trust spokesman Mark Gardner stated: "Today's anti-Semitism is a wave of hatred, intimidation and abuse against British Jews, who are stupidly blamed and randomly attacked over international tensions for which they bear no responsibility" (ibid.)

Beyond being irrational, animosity toward Israeli Jews or the Jewish community at large violates the spirit of the Ten Commandments and other biblical commands such as "you shall not hate your brother in your heart" (Leviticus 19:17).

However, considering what the Bible reveals about end-time events, neither growing anti-Semitism nor hatred of Israel is surprising. (Sources: The Jewish Chronicle, Daily Mail.)

News and Prophecy

Course Content

Jerold Aust

Jerold Aust has served in the ministry for 52 years, as a public speaker for 58 years, a published writer for 38 years, and is employed by UCG’s Media and Communications Services. He is a Senior Writer, interviewer, and editor for Beyond Today Magazine and has taught Speech Communication for UCG’s ministerial online program and the Book of Revelation for ABC.  

Jerold holds a BA in theology from Ambassador College, Pasadena (1968), an MA in Communication from California State University, Fullerton (1995), a distance-learning Ph.D (2006), and a Famous Writers School diploma in non-fiction writing (1973). Additionally, he studied post-grad communication at University of Southern California (1995), radio, TV, voice-overs, and Public Relations at Fullerton College (1995-1996), and graduate communication at Wichita State University (1978).  Jerold has taught communication at the University of South Alabama (7 years) and ABC (17 years). His published works include, Ronald Reagan’s Rhetoric: Metaphor as Persuasion and EZSpeakers: Public Speaking Made Easy in 7 Steps.  Jerold's overarching goal is to share with humankind its incredible destiny!

John Ross Schroeder

John died on March 8, 2014, in Oxford, England, four days after suffering cardiac arrest while returning home from a press event in London. John was 77 and still going strong.

Some of John's work for The Good News appeared under his byline, but much didn't. He wrote more than a thousand articles over the years, but also wrote the Questions and Answers section of the magazine, compiled our Letters From Our Readers, and wrote many of the items in the Current Events and Trends section. He also contributed greatly to a number of our study guides and Bible Study Course lessons. His writing has touched the lives of literally millions of people over the years.

John traveled widely over the years as an accredited journalist, especially in Europe. His knowledge of European and Middle East history added a great deal to his articles on history and Bible prophecy.

In his later years he also pastored congregations in Northern Ireland and East Sussex, and that experience added another dimension to his writing. He and his wife Jan were an effective team in our British Isles office near their home.

John was a humble servant who dedicated his life to sharing the gospel—the good news—of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God to all the world, and his work was known to readers in nearly every country of the world.