Worry in UK as Israel-Gaza anxiety spreads
- Published
People gathered in Manchester's St Peter's Square on Wednesday after Hamas attacks in Israel
The Israel-Gaza war is reverberating around the world. In Manchester - a diverse city with large Jewish and Muslim populations - people are anxious about what it could mean for their communities.
On Wednesday, in the centre of Manchester, around 1,500 people packed into St Peter's Square for a vigil. Israel flags were waved throughout the crowd. Placards with pictures of the Israeli dead were held. Some people shed tears, but mainly there was a strong feeling of solidarity.
"We believe that every single Jew shares a bit of the same soul," says Eli Dresner, 25. "We're all family, we all come from the same place. Even if I don't know them, if I see another Jew, they are family."
As well as the profound sense of connection that comes with shared history and trauma, a relatively small global community of 16 million Jews means that many in the UK know people in Israel.
"I've got family in Israel who have all been called up to serve, and almost everyone here will know someone who is stuck," says Mr Dresner.
Scores of police officers were on duty at the vigil, and there were tangible concerns about a potential rise in hate crimes against Jews among those who attended.
Someone was just telling me they were threatened on the tram yesterday
"All this just for some Jewish people to gather together," says 18-year-old Eli Hassell, "there wouldn't ever be that many police officers if there wasn't a real threat."
The Community Security Trust, a charity that provides security and advice for British Jews, says it has recorded a sixfold increase in antisemitic incidents compared to the same week last year.
"Someone was just telling me they were threatened on the tram yesterday," Eli says. "Seven or eight young lads came up to him saying Jewish blood will be all over the UK."
He believes most people in diverse cities like Manchester want to get along, but he thinks some parts of the media "push people towards one side or another".
Twenty-five-year-old Eli Dresner says the people he interacts with are not interested in an increase in tension in the city.
"I have friends who are pro-Palestinian and we've managed to have constructive conversations - because we know each other from outside this kind of situation," he says.
There was a large police presence around Manchester's St Peter's Square during the vigil
Not far from St Peter's Square is Cheetham Hill Road, in north Manchester, a neighbourhood dotted with halal butchers and mosques.
A short walk away there are numerous synagogues and kosher shops - this is where Manchester's Jewish and Muslim communities meet.
"As Muslims we have built fantastic bridges with the Jewish community here," says Talat Ali, 54, an IT worker who used to work with aid organisations in Gaza.
When he heard the news about the Hamas attack last Saturday, Mr Ali says he messaged his Jewish friends in Manchester to ask if they were OK.
Since then, he has also tried to contact Palestinians he knows in Gaza, to check if they are safe. He says he has had no replies.
Like many other prominent Muslims in Manchester, Mr Ali is anxious about speaking to the media, worried that comments expressing concern for Palestinians could be misconstrued as somehow being anti-Jewish.
"There's a fear factor of repercussions," he says, feeling that his community is suddenly in the spotlight. "Even today as the only Muslim walking into a meeting, I felt I was getting certain stares."
Zara Mohammed, the secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), says in recent days Muslims in the UK have faced a rise in prejudice being expressed.
"Just this morning I received calls from some mosques who have had some hate crime incidents and who are now talking to the police," Ms Mohammed says, "and what we're seeing online is a lot of Islamophobic tropes."
There are undeniably strong feelings over the humanitarian situation in Gaza, she says, but, like Talat Ali, she speaks to the nervousness among British Muslims.
"I think people are feeling really troubled, but I think there's a real concern that advocating for Palestine is conflated with being antisemitic," she says.
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When asked about the MCB's stance on Hamas, something that has been the subject of recent newspaper reports, the body's secretary general looks exasperated.
"I don't speak for Hamas, we're a British organisation and we do not endorse or advocate for any terrorist organisation of any kind, and the MCB views it [Hamas] as such, completely in line with the government," Ms Mohammed says.
Even being asked the question about Hamas is part of the problem, she says - and one that many British Muslims are facing.
"If you're a Muslim and you're speaking on the issue, it's 'do you support terrorists?'" she says.
Many Jews at this week's vigil as well as Muslims in north Manchester talked of mistrust of the media and the language that is being used. People of both communities talked of their fears of acts of hate.
Most people we spoke to in Manchester did not view this as a situation that pitted Jews against Muslims. But there was a shared concern that relationships - which have been built up between communities in cities like this - will feel the strain in the weeks to come.
Additional reporting by Harry Farley.