Campaign Against Antisemitism UK
The Campaign Against Antisemitism UK (CAA) was established in early August 2014. Its stated mission is to '[empower] individuals to counter antisemitism in all its forms, including both classical antisemitism as well as antisemitism which masquerades as political opposition to Israel'.[1]
Contents
Establishment
The CAA was established 'by half-a-dozen activists and funded by private donations', presenting itself as a response to the alleged increase in the presence of anti-Israel and antisemitic behaviour and sentiment in the UK.[2] It was set up in early August 2014, during Israel's 'Operation Protective Edge' operation in Gaza.
Activities
The CAA presents itself as a grassroots direct-action alternative or supplement to the quieter, and for some British Jews complacent, approach supposedly taken by the Board of Deputies. Says the CAA:
Alongside the traditional channels (reporting antisemitism to the police and community security trust). We believe the community must also take direct action to combat the increasing hostility Anglo-Jewry is experiencing. We counter antisemitic protests, seek out antisemites online and apply direct pressure to organisations and institutions that enable antisemitism in the UK.[1]
Demonstrations
The group is primarily active online, but has also organised several demonstrations:
- 7 August, 2014: the group staged a protest outside the Tricycle Theatre against its dropping of the UK Jewish Film Festival, which is funded by the Israeli state.[3] It claimed an attendance of 350 people.[4] Other sources reported 'more than 100'[5] and 'around 250'.[6]
- 31 August, 2014: the CAA organised a rally against antisemitism, billed as a 'Rally to Demand Zero Tolerance of Antisemitism',[7]. The organisers reported an attendance of 4,500[8] in Central London, and was backed by the United Synagogue and the Office of the Chief Rabbi. CAA spokesperson Sacerdoti urged a 'zero tolerance' approach to 'turn the tide' of antisemitism, and claimed British Jews 'feel overlooked and not protected enough'.[9] Speakers at the rally included Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, Maajid Nawaz (founder, Quilliam Foundation), Rabbi Laura Janner Klausner (senior Rabbi, Reform Judaism), Rabbi Josef Dwek (senior Rabbi, Spanish and Portuguese Jews' Congregation), Bernie Yaffe (of Manchester Friends of Israel, Gerry Gable (former editor of the anti-fascist Searchlight magazine), Stephen Pack (president, United Synagogue, the Board of Deputies' Vivian Wineman (president) and Laura Marks (vice-president) and neoconservative commentator Douglas Murray. Its "media partner" was Jewish News.[10] The day after the rally, Prime Minister David Cameron expressed concern over 'growing reports of antisemitism on our own streets here in Britain'.[11]
- 4 September, 2014: CAA members staged a counter-protest against a demo by the 'increasingly hostile BDS movement' outside Marks & Spencer's in Marble Arch. They report being 'subjected to a range of antisemitic abuse', including 'Nazi salutes', and that 'a number of arrests followed'.[12]
Facebook campaigns
As of mid-September 2014, the most recent post on the CAA website was dated 25 August.
Its Facebook group, which as of 16 September 2014 has 5,742 likes, is more active. It was set up on 1 August, 2014. As well as sharing links about antisemitism and protests against Israel, it organises online 'Action Campaign[s]' and 'Call[s] to Action'. Issues have included:
- Antisemitic tweets: the FB group posts images of tweet deemed antisemitic and urges followers to contact report their authors to the police and to their employers.[13]
- Tricycle Theatre: Tricycle Theatre refused to host the Israeli state-funded UK Jewish film festival; the CAA called for a 7 August 2014 protest against this echo of 'the Nazi boycott of Jewish enterprise after Hitler's election'.[14]
- Counter-boycott: the CAA urged support for the Kedem cosmetics shop in Manchester, targeted by some Palestinian activists for boycott. The CAA tried to show that much of the activism was motivated by antisemitism.[15] (On 22 August, 2014, Greater Manchester Police imposed restrictions on Gaza protestors in Manchester.[16]
- Sainsbury's kosher drop: CAA was one of a number of groups organising protest, primarily online protest, against the decision by a Sainsbury's store in Holborn to remove kosher food items from its shelves in advance of a pro-Palestinian protest.[17]
Anglo-Jewish politics
As noted, the CAA's 31 August, 2014 rally against antisemitism in London was supported by the United Synagogue and Board of Deputies. Said CAA spokesperson Jonathan Sacerdoti of this backing: 'The establishment was very supportive; some might say they didn’t want to get left behind'.[2] On the day of the protest, he told a reporter,
It is great that the communal organisations who have been criticised for not doing enough have come on board and have supported us in organising an important day.[18]
As Sacerdoti's comment suggests, and as Ha'aretz reports, the Campaign Against Antisemitism is an intervention in Anglo-Jewish politics.[2] Its context appears to be one of increasing grassroots discontent among Jewish and pro-Israel activists with the performance of communal bodies on Israel and antisemitism. As one newspaper reported:
At the rally, there was audible booing when the representatives of the Board of Deputies – President Vivian Wineman and Senior Vice President Laura Marks – ascended the podium to speak. The Jewish Chronicle’s Marcus Dysch tweeted that people were shouting things like 'you need to do more', 'resign', and 'shame'.[19]
The Community Security Trust (CST), the most important UK Jewish organisation concerned with (inter alia) monitoring antisemitism, reacted coolly to the CAA. CST deputy director of communication Dave Rich observed that, while the frequency of antisemitic incidents spiked during Israel's 'Operation Protective Edge', 'a lot of anti-Israel language and activism isn’t anti-Semitic or illegal'.[2] Of the two grievances that CAA has concentrated on[20] - the Tricycle Theatre's dropping of the Israeli state-funded UK Jewish Film Festival and a decision by a Sainsbury's supermarket in Holborn to remove kosher food from display lest it provoke pro-Palestinian protestors - Rich stressed that these were 'very much isolated incidents... bad decisions quickly overturned'.[2] Rich also played down suggestions that antisemitism was a significant motor of popular protest against Israel's attack on Gaza: 'Examples of anti-Semitism at the demos did exist, on the fringes, with home-made banners – it didn’t characterize the demos as a whole'. He added that protests against 'Protective Edge' were much better than those against 'Operation Cast Lead' in 2008-9.[2]
People
The CAA's website lists nine organisers.[21]
Campaign Committee
- Mandy Blumenthal
- Darren Borg
- Justin Chorn
- Joseph Cohen
- Gideon Falter
- Nussi Hopstein
- Jordan Jay
- Rupert Nathan
Spokesman
Contact
- Website: http://www.campaignagainstantisemitism.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/campaignagainstantisemitism
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 'About Us', CampaignAgainstAntisemitism.com; accessed: 16 September, 2014 at 7.49am.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Daniella Peled, 'Shaken by post-Gaza war hostility, U.K. Jews push back', Ha'aretz (15 September, 2014).
- ↑ Sandy Rashty, 'UK Jewish Film Festival banned from the Tricycle Theatre: But some won’t attack boycott, Jewish Chronicle (7 August, 2014).
- ↑ CAA, Facebook post (7 August, 2014); accessed: 16 September, 2014, at 9.05am.
- ↑ Anna Dubuis, Louise Jury and Alexandra Rucki, 'Huge protest calling on boycott of Tricycle Theatre over Jewish Film Festival ban, Evening Standard (7 August, 2014).
- ↑ Sandy Rashty, 'Demonstrators at Tricycle protest against UK Jewish Film Festival boycott', Jewish Chronicle (7 August, 2014).
- ↑ CAA, 'Rally to Demand Zero Tolerance of Antisemitism', Facebook event page (22 August, 2014); accessed: 16 September, 2014, at 9.25am.
- ↑ CAA, Facebook post (31 August, 2014); accessed: 16 September, 9.36am.
- ↑ Anil Dawar, 'Police must do more to tackle the rise of anti-Semitism, campaigners say', Daily Express (28 August, 2014).
- ↑ 'IN PICTURES: Thousands rally for zero tolerance to anti-Semitism, Jewish News (2 September, 2014); CAA, Facebook post (31 August, 2014); accessed: 16 September, 2014, at 9.40am.
- ↑ 'Following Campaign Against Antisemitism's rally, David Cameron speaks out against antisemitism', YouTube video (uploaded 1 September, 2014, by Jonathan Sacerdoti); accessed: 16 September 2014, at 9.43am.
- ↑ CAA, Facebook post, (5 September, 13:05).
- ↑ See, for instance, CAA, Facebook post (4 August, 2014); accessed: 16 September, 2014, at 8:51am. In a 6 August, 2014 update (accessed: 16 September, 2014, at 8.58am), the CAA reported that one outed tweeter's employer had reminded him of 'their Social Media policy and Code of Conduct', and that he had been reported to the police. 'Hopefully' he 'will learn his lesson'. Cf. Facebook post (7 August, 2014); accessed: 16 September, 2014, at 9.04am); Facebook post (7 August, 2014); accessed: 16 September, 2014, 9.10am.
- ↑ CAA, Facebook post (5 August, 2014); accessed: 16 September, 2014, at 8.56am.
- ↑ See, e.g., CAA Facebook posts on 17 August, 2014; 14 August, 2014; 13 August, 2014; 6 August, 2014; accessed: 16 September, 2014, 9.21am.
- ↑ Todd Fitzgerald, 'Gaza protesters banned from King Street after weeks of demonstrations', Manchester Evening News (22 August, 2014).
- ↑ See, e.g., CAA Facebook posts on 17 August, 2014; 18 August, 2014 accessed 16 September, 2014, at 9.23 am.
- ↑ Rosa Doherty, 'Thousands turn out for London rally against antisemitism', Jewish Chronicle (31 August, 2014).
- ↑ Liam Hoare, 'Thousands rally in London against rising anti-Semitism', Times of Israel (1 September, 2014).
- ↑ As of 16 September, 2014, they were the only specific issues to be granted their own Categories on the CAA website: Sainsbury's Holborn and Tricycle Theatre.
- ↑ 'Who we are', CampaignAgainstAntisemitism.com; accessed: 16 September, 2014.
