WHY I CAN'T STAY SILENCED

Over the past few days, anti-Semitism has been highlighted in the media due to grime rapper Wiley’s shocking Tweets and Instagram posts comparing Jews to the Klu Klux Klan and telling them to “hold corn” (to be shot). Many people are calling out these platforms for taking so long to remove these posts, which is correct, but the close-down clamour is also in danger of deflecting from the true issue. Racism.

Over the past few months, influencers and celebrities have rightly been using their platforms to speak out against racism and support the Black Lives Matter movement following the murder of George Floyd by police in Minnesota. People from across the world came together to speak about racism and educate themselves, myself included.

But the silence from influencers and celebrities following Wiley’s racist ranting has been deafening. Media began reporting the situation only as ‘accusations’ of anti-Semitism. But for me, a 22-year-old Jewish woman, sadly this was not a shock.

Over the years I have been told to keep my Jewish identity to myself; to not put my religion on my CV; to not wear my Star of David necklace outside the house and to not share that I spend my summer holidays in Israel. This is not because I am ashamed of my religion but rather because I am scared.

I have always been worried that people will see me differently if they were to know that I am a proud Jew. I am constantly in fear that the common misconceptions about being Jewish, such as ‘your parents must be rich’ or ‘you don’t look like a Jew’ will be brought up. Anti-Semitism is real and occurs every single day. I have been told my ‘nose is the correct size for a Jew’ and spat on for wearing my Jewish school uniform when walking home.

This is not how I should feel. I should be excited to teach my non-Jewish friends about festivals and customs and speak freely about my religion. Being part of such a small minority is intimidating and the hate is relentless. To put the size of the Jewish community in context, Wiley has a twitter following of just under 500,000 but there are under 300,00 Jews in Britain. We need allies. It is so important to stop misconceptions.

Scapegoating and generalisations need to stop. Being actively anti-racist includes fighting against anti-Semitism and learning about the Jewish religion. Now is not the time to remain silent, now is the time to support all minority groups that are being oppressed. Learn from your Jewish friends and support them.

I am so proud to work at a company that does not tolerate any racism, including anti-Semitism. I am proud that I can walk into work and explain that I have to be home on a Friday to bring in the Sabbath with my family. I am proud that I can explain festivals when people ask me why I won’t be at work. The conversation needs to be louder and the time is now.

Tin Man founder Mandy Sharp was also quoted in PR Week’s article calling for ‘zero tolerance’ and education to combat anti-Semitism on social media, to read more, click here.