🔗 Share this article UK's Top Rabbi Calls for ‘National Soul-Searching’ After Terrorist Act The United Kingdom's chief rabbi has declared that numerous people within Jewish circles and outside it are asking the cause for rallies such as those against the prohibition on Palestine Action are permitted to continue. Chief Rabbi Sir Mirvis remarked: “Certain ones include overt anti-Jewish sentiment, blatant support for Hamas. Not all participant, but we see an abundance of these actions, that is obviously risky for numerous across the nation.” Addressing ahead of coming in Manchester on Friday to join grieving families the deaths of two men in a violent assault at a synagogue, he stressed an “urgent need for national soul-searching.” The incident had occurred in the wake of what he described as a constant surge of animosity targeting Jewish people” across the nation's roads, campuses, digital networks as well as in various segments of news outlets, Mirvis informed BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. Pointing out the slogan “globalise the intifada” – which many view as an incitement for violent acts targeting Jewish individuals – he remarked Britain had witnessed “with devastating obviousness” this past Thursday the meaning of those words. Returning to his earlier description as being aired in public spaces and on the internet, he said: “So much of this content is deeply offensive and furthermore, when there is the baseless vilification of Israel that leads right into hostility toward Jews within the tone of Britain and that then fosters extremist behavior. National leaders must be aware of such risks.” When asked concerning protests organized by pro-Palestinian groups demanding an end to hostilities within Gaza and protests advocating for the lifting of the ban on the banned group the activist network Palestine Action, he answered that “a large part” of such activities are harmful to many within the nation. “Ever since 7 October 2023 there are countless citizens who have questioned the reason those protests are permitted to happen across our cities.” “It is impossible to disconnect the speech across the nation, the deeds of individuals in such manner and the results inevitably results … The two are directly linked and so we urge national authorities yet again to take control over these protests since they prove hazardous.” Religious figures also possess a particular duty to play, Sir Ephraim Mirvis added, saying: “We need to talk about controlling our words, the opinions we share, the manner we convey such opinions and also a spiritual figure ought to foster harmony and peace across public spaces and in domestic settings.” His statements coincided with the president of Israel, Isaac Herzog, stated that the day proved to be “awful day” for Jews within the United Kingdom, the wider UK, and Jewish populations around the globe. “It’s a jarring recall about what we have been cautioning for a long while, that this wave of antisemitism and anti-Jewish feelings across the globe at the end reaches bloodshed,” he told a radio station. Within the group calling for further government action on antisemitism were ex-controller Danny Cohen, the former controller at the BBC channel, who stated on a radio program it is necessary to have a countrywide review regarding anti-Jewish sentiment launched without delay” since “an issue has become badly wrong in our society, and it requires immediate attention.”