A century ago, the British response to Arab violence against Jews was to reward it: the Hebron massacre of 1929 resulted in the authorities of the British Mandate agreeing to limit the presence of Jews in the Jewish homeland.
Apparently, nothing has changed.
Officials in Birmingham have banned fans of Maccabi Tel Aviv’s soccer team from attending the team’s November 6 match against Aston Villa—because, the local police have said, anti-Semites have threatened violence against Jewish attendees. One option, of course, would be to protect the Jews from that violence, but the police have apparently dismissed that possibility.
Three events contributed to the implementation of this “no Jews at this soccer match” rule. One is what took place last year in Amsterdam, where the fans of an Israeli team were hunted throughout the night by anti-Semites with the help of the city’s taxi network and a police force willing to stand down. It was, in other words, a good old-fashioned European pogrom.
The second was the murderous attack on Jews at a synagogue in Manchester on Yom Kippur. This was a test of the UK government’s commitment to providing peace and security to its citizens. Were there weak spots? Were those weaknesses addressed after the fact? Yes to the first, no to the second.
And third, those seeking to do violence to Jewish soccer fans announced their intention to attack on the night of the match. “When the Tel Aviv fans come to Birmingham in a few weeks, we will not show them mercy,” proclaimed a Muslim preacher in Birmingham.
After the Manchester attack, Prime Minister Keir Starmer insisted Britain would do what was necessary to keep Jews safe. Now Starmer is left to grumble that banning Jewish fans “is the wrong decision.”
The decision to ban Jews from the Birmingham match wasn’t Starmer’s. But what’s the prime minister supposed to do, overrule Birmingham’s Safety Advisory Group? He’s not the king, you know. (Can the king overrule a municipal Safety Advisory Group? Can God?)
And anyway, a member of parliament from Birmingham, Ayoub Khan, has weighed in and he loves the idea of a Jewless soccer match: “I welcome the news that Maccabi Tel Aviv fans will not be permitted to watch the match at Aston Villa! Well done to all those that signed our petition!”
Two sentences, two exclamation points from the government representative after his petition to ban fans of the Jewish team was successful. Of course, the Gentleman from Birmingham didn’t do this all on his own: he owes a debt of gratitude to the Jew-hunters of Amsterdam and the Yom Kippur killer and the Islamic “scholars” who call for mob violence with impunity…while some comedian gets arrested at Heathrow for making fun of a trans person on Twitter.
To review: a member of Parliament called for Maccabi fans to be banned from a soccer match because violent anti-Semites didn’t want them there. He then celebrated when his demand was honored by the local police. What kind of country does this sound like?
Not all of Britain’s leaders have lost their minds or their souls just yet. “This is a national disgrace,” posted the Conservative opposition leader Kemi Badenach. She added that if it stands, the decision “sends a horrendous and shameful message: there are parts of Britain where Jews simply cannot go.”
A fan of the home team pronounced himself “appalled” as well, and then made a very good point to the Telegraph: “Birmingham is one of the venues for the European Championship in 2028, but the police’s decision must surely put that at risk if they are saying they can’t guarantee public safety.”
The fan’s logic is sound, but there’s a hitch: The police aren’t really saying they can’t guarantee public safety. They are really saying that they won’t guarantee public safety. You just have to listen carefully to hear it.
