The ideology of terror cannot be allowed to thrive

A startling increase in anti-Semitic hate crimes since October 7 should send a chill down the spine of every Briton

Last week, as Yom Kippur approached, the Jewish community in Hendon woke to disturbing news.
At the local golf club, a large swastika had appeared in a bunker. The words “F— the Jews” and “Heil Hitler” were also inscribed in the sand.
Hendon in north-west London has a large Jewish community. This racist attack was clearly intended to disturb, threaten and intimidate Jewish people. There have been so many distressing anti-Semitic incidents since the October 7 attacks, but for some reason this one disturbed me particularly deeply. I have tried to interrogate why that is.
Certainly, the use of swastikas carries with it the most disturbing of historical echoes. To see them reappear in a Jewish area sends a chill down the spine.
Yet this incident hit a particular nerve because it highlighted that harassing and intimidating Jewish people requires organisation and effort.
This attack targeted a golf club in an area with a large Jewish community. The perpetrators organised a night-time break-in. The lines of the swastika were straight and well-defined.
Whoever did this took care to ensure that their racist intent was as clear and bold as possible for all to see.
It is the degree of effort anti-Semites take that should make us all wake up and take notice. It takes us a step beyond the toxic keyboard warriors who spread anti-Semitic propaganda online.
It is real-world, out, and proud Jew-hate here in Britain. We should not be complacent about what that means for social cohesion in our country.
The uninhibited efforts of anti-Semites were also evident as Jewish people came together on the first anniversary of 7 October to mourn the victims of terrorism and pray for the lives of the hostages. Those attending faced racist abuse and painful hostility.
In Glasgow, a memorial event took place against a backdrop of disruptive pro-Palestinian “protesters” screaming blood libels and calling Jews “reptiles”.
In Brighton, a man destroyed a Jewish memorial, tearing down tributes and throwing away flowers and teddy bears.
In London, those leaving a major community event had to pass by a group of pro-Palestinian protestors shouting vile anti-Semitic abuse.
Whatever your view on the Israel-Hamas war it is deeply disturbing that British Jews have not been able to mourn their losses in peace and with sympathy.
This parlous state of affairs has been caused in part by a failure in public life over the last year to clearly distinguish democratic governments from terrorist groups, people who seek to live in peace from those who wish to wipe their neighbours from the map.
When a man feels sufficiently emboldened to attend a pro-Palestinian rally in central London with a sign saying “I love Hezbollah” we can be sure that extremism is edging in from the boundaries.
Open support for terrorist organisations and barbaric terrorist acts has, shockingly, begun to grow in Britain. A recent poll revealed that as many as one in ten young people in the UK are sympathetic to Hamas.
Politicians and the police must urgently ask themselves what more can be done to arrest this growth of extremism in Britain.
A zero-tolerance approach to terrorist support and Jew-hate at pro-Palestinian marches must be strictly enforced by the police.
Blocking the flow of funds to UK charities operating as fronts for terrorist organisations must also be prioritised.
There is no time to waste if the ideology of terrorism is to be stopped from putting down roots in British society.