Chai Brady
The interior of Belfast synagogue. Photo: Michael Black A synagogue in Belfast received “intimidating” phone calls telling them to condemn Israel or face a picket, following increased violence in the Middle East between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
Speaking in a personal capacity, Michael Black who is the Chairman of the Belfast Jewish community said some members of the community felt afraid to go to their place of worship to celebrate the Jewish festival of Savuot, which ran from May 16-18.
“A group of people first of all threatened to picket the synagogue to try and prevent the service if we didn’t issue a statement condemning Israel,” Mr Black said, “They put out on social media a call for people to turn up. We have a very elderly community and they didn’t want to run the gauntlet of being abused.
“The idea – which is part of the IHRA [International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance] definition of antisemitism – is that Jews are seen as a collective so anything that happens in Israel, we are held responsible for it,” he said.
“I think, with all people, they have to stand up and speak out against bigotry, prejudice and intimidation, for some people it has been frightening. I personally don’t feel that but everyone responds to threats differently, for one or two people in our community it’s been very upsetting.”
He added: “Obviously I would like to see peace in the Middle East and I would like to see the Palestinians and the Israelis living side by side.”
Despite the threats, Jewish services went ahead as planned and there was no picket, but the PSNI were informed of what happened.
In a debate entitled ‘Breaches of International Law in Palestine by Israel’ in Stormont on Monday, SDLP MLA Matthew O’Toole warned that Jewish people should not be targeted due to issues in the Middle East.
He said: “We need the international community and those with power in the international community to de-escalate the situation and to finally deliver justice and a peaceful settlement. In closing, I say this to those who are protesting, legitimately, here: continue to protest legitimately and make your voices clear, but it is absolutely unacceptable that any violence or graffiti should be targeted at members of our Jewish community. That is absolutely wrong.”