The Illusion of Jewish Free-Speech Rights

Less than a week after the pogrom in Amsterdam, UN celebrity Jew-baiter Francesca Albanese was scheduled to speak in London. Albanese has embraced authoritarian anti-Semitism and become a hero to the worst people in politics. The Campaign Against Anti-Semitism, a British organization, worked up plans to protest Albanese’s arrival.

But the protest never happened. The Telegraph explained why: Security officials picked up chatter on social media apps in which locals were very plainly making plans to attack the Jewish demonstrators. “Can’t wait to give the welcome they deserve,” said one resident, to which another—who had been using anti-Semitic lingo in the chat—responded: “Amsterdam-style.”

Thus the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism was put in a position familiar to Jewish groups: take the risk or call it off.

There are two broad lessons here. The first is that while Jews nominally have the same rights as anyone, in practice that’s a joke. A popular defense of the pogromists has been that the Jews got what they deserved because some of the Maccabi fans sang provocative chants in response to taunting from the crowd as they walked to the subway.

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November 19, 2024 | Comments »

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