Brendan McGeever

Tuesday briefing: Why efforts to tackle Britain’s long history of antisemitism have fallen short In today’s newsletter: A scholar of antisemitism on how we define it, how it has operated in Britain, and what can be done

“Racism arises in different ways for different groups, but it’s abhorrent in all cases for the same reasons. Once we see this, we can see that our efforts to combat antisemitism should be allied to 360-degree anti-racism”

This is such a great interview with @dmf101.bsky.social in the Guardian.

Birkbeck Institute for the Study of Antisemitism receives further funding boost

BISA has received a major grant of USD$650,000 from Open Society Foundations @open-society.bsky.social to support its work. Director David Feldman @dmf101.bsky.social is joined by Brendanmcgeever.bsky.social as Co-Director. Full story www.bbk.ac.uk/news/birkbec...

On a personal note, I’m happy to say that I have joined my colleague David Feldman as Co-Director of the Institute.

If colleagues would like to collaborate with us in the coming period, get in touch!

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Leanord Bernardo, Vice President of the OSF, writes:

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- the actuality of antisemitism
- the charge of antisemitism in political life
- the contested relationship between antisemitism and anti-Zionism
- connections between antisemitism and other forms of racism

These are unresolved debates and I’m pleased to be part of an Institute that does this work.

This funding will enable the Institute to address a number of urgent issues in the field with the criticality and seriousness they demand, including:

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Birkbeck Institute for the Study of Antisemitism receives further funding boost

Some news: the Birkbeck Institute for the Study of Antisemitism has received a major grant from the Open Society Foundations (OSF).

www.bbk.ac.uk/news/birkbec...

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After the Bondi massacre, we don't have the luxury to grieve silently Before the blood had dried, the deadliest attack on Australian Jews was being used to justify repressing Palestine solidarity and retribution against Muslims.

"We will not let this horror be weaponized to justify crackdowns on Palestine solidarity movements or violent retribution against Muslim communities".
This is such a great piece by @emhilton.bsky.social. Worth your time. www.972mag.com/bondi-massac...

Tomorrow at the Birkbeck Institute for the Study of Antisemitism (@bisa-bkk.bsky.social): “The moral panic in America about antisemitism on college campuses” with Prof Dov Waxman (UCLA) (@dovwaxman.bsky.social). Details in the link below. Come!
bisa.bbk.ac.uk/event/antise...

BISA's @brendanmcgeever.bsky.social, co-author with David Feldman @dmf101.bsky.social and @bengidley.bsky.social, sets out the reasoning behind their recent letter to The Guardian

The Green party’s policies on Israel are appealing to young British Jews | Letter Letter: Prof David Feldman, Dr Ben Gidley and Dr Brendan McGeever from the Birkbeck Institute for the Study of Antisemitism say it is wrong to characterise Jewish support for the Greens as ‘paradoxica...

The growing political divisions among British Jews - letter in The Guardian from BISA's David Feldman @dmf101.bsky.social, @bengidley.bsky.social and @brendanmcgeever.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

To substantiate this: a recent survey by the JPR itself shows the number of British Jews identifying as anti-Zionist is rising. Within the 20-29 age cohort, a full 44% now identify as anti or non-Zionist. The Green Party is speaking to this constituency and its message appears to be landing. 5/5

But there is nothing “paradoxical” about this when we place centre stage the growing number of British Jews who are moving away from Zionism. As we write in our letter, for those Jews, it is likely because of Green politics on Israel and not despite them that the party is appealing. 4/5

The JPR called this “paradoxical” given the Green Party’s stance on Israel (its leader @zackpolanski.bsky.social - who is Jewish - openly calls Israel an apartheid state and accuses it of committing genocide in Gaza). 3/5

British Jews turn to Greens and Reform UK as support for main parties drops Study finds new party divide as backing for Labour and Conservatives plunges from 84% in 2020 to 58% in 2025

Last week a report by the Institute of Jewish Policy Research found that support for the Green Party among British Jews is 900% the size of the turn to the Greens among the wider electorate. 2/5

The Green party’s policies on Israel are appealing to young British Jews | Letter Letter: Prof David Feldman, Dr Ben Gidley and Dr Brendan McGeever from the Birkbeck Institute for the Study of Antisemitism say it is wrong to characterise Jewish support for the Greens as ‘paradoxica...

Why is support for the @greenparty.org.uk growing among British Jews and how do we understand this? A letter by @dmf101.bsky.social, @bengidley.bsky.social and me for the Guardian. 1/5

Our letter to the Gaurdian on UK Jews voting for Greens and Reform has now been published. By @dmf101.bsky.social @brendanmcgeever.bsky.social and me, @bisa-bkk.bsky.social

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Looking forward to welcoming colleagues to Ottawa next week for our international workshop on conspiracy theories as a threat to democracy. Part of Media Literacy Week @mediasmarts.bsky.social

www.carleton.ca/populistpublics/events

Responses to Manchester have been predicated on a misrepresentation of what antisemitism in the UK looks like, and a caricature of the Jewish population as a whole. We can and must do better.

British Jews are more divided now, over this very issue, than they have been for a century, since the debates triggered by the 1917 Balfour Declaration.

This rests on the mistaken idea that British Jews are united in the view that pro-Palestine marches make them less safe. The reality could not be more different.

In drawing a straight line between the attack in Manchester and the Palestine solidarity movement, the British government has taken the dangerous decision to restrict the right to protest in the name of Jewish safety.

We question the alarmist narrative about a rising antisemitism that dominates the headlines. This narrative is predicated on a narrow and disputable approach to measuring antisemitism.

The difficult truth about antisemitism Why don’t we acknowledge that there are different ways of measuring the prevalence of anti-Jewish prejudice?

New article for @prospectmagazine.co.uk with my colleagues David Feldman (@dmf101.bsky.social) and Ben Gidley (@bengidley.bsky.social) in which we critically examine mainstream political responses to the attack on the Heaton Park synagogue in Manchester earlier this month.

This rests on the mistaken idea that British Jews are united in the view that pro-Palestine marches make them less safe. The reality could not be more different.

In drawing a straight line between the attack in Manchester and the Palestine solidarity movement, the British government has taken the dangerous decision to restrict the right to protest in the name of Jewish safety.

We question the alarmist narrative about a rising antisemitism that dominates the headlines. This narrative is predicated on a narrow and disputable approach to measuring antisemitism.

New article with @bisa-bkk.bsky.social colleagues @dmf101.bsky.social and @brendanmcgeever.bsky.social:

The difficult truth about antisemitism Why don’t we acknowledge that there are different ways of measuring the prevalence of anti-Jewish prejudice?

More Jewish people in Britain are concerned by general racism than the number who are worried by antisemitism. This is a building block for anti-racist politics, write three Birkbeck experts. @bisa-bkk.bsky.social

The difficult truth about antisemitism Why don’t we acknowledge that there are different ways of measuring the prevalence of anti-Jewish prejudice?

Antisemitism: how to measure it, how to confront it. Read BISA’s David Feldman @dmf101.bsky.social, @bengidley.bsky.social and @brendanmcgeever.bsky.social in www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/religi...