Understanding perceptions of contemporary antisemitism among Orthodox Jews in London

ABSTRACT

Communal statistics and media reports reflect that there has been a resurgence of antisemitism. This paper explores whether this evidenced rise of antisemitism is effecting the Jewish community, in particular the Orthodox Jewish community. It elucidates the perceptions of Orthodox Jews in North London about the scale and significance of antisemitism. The study, which was informed by sociological framework, employed a qualitative approach using 28 semi-structured interviews and 5 focus groups. This article is important because it explores whether the perceptions of antisemitism were accentuated among this prime target group. This paper will first consider the shift in the manifestation of antisemitism which has been noted by Orthodox Jews. Second, this paper will consider the various contributory factors which influenced the framing of those varied perceptions.

KEYWORDS:

• Religion
• holocaust
• culture
• Labour Party
• University campus
• media

Acknowledgements

This paper has benefited from the helpful comments of Karim Murji. I would also like to thank the reviewers and editors of this journal for their feedback. This paper is derived from the author’s doctoral thesis, referenced below.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.