Jaya Pathak

Omg.... Once we accommodate Muslim traditions like this into our cultural infrastructure, there will never be any going back. It's as though the decision-makers WANT to cause national division. Weak leadership creates uncertainty and fear. Fear creates anger. Anger creates violence. Where are the bloody adults?

Some will consider this a positive example of tolerance and inclusion. But the question is: should our national sport make significant changes to its longstanding laws - in this case introducing irregular match breaks - to accommodate the rituals of a minority religion? Thoughts?

Ash Sarkar tries to ‘correct’ Dr Myriam Francois as she says that Jews are privileged and wealthy. “Individuals” prompts Ms Sarkar? “Group” doubles down Dr Francois. It is part of her argument that Government funds are being unduly spent defending a minority against a secondary racism, using a classic antisemitic trope about Jewish wealth. It might be ironic were it not so darkly dangerous too. She is effectively arguing that because there are some Jewish billionaires in Britain, all Jews are therefore wealthy and privileged and they cannot possibly be as vulnerable or maligned as is being claimed. It is hard to know where the ignorance ends and the prejudice begins. Were Dr Francois to spend any time in Britain’s Jewish community, she would see families struggling with poverty, families that are comfortable, and families that are wealthy – just like any other community. In any event, nobody deserves to be maligned for their ethnic or religious background, regardless of their wealth. According to our analysis of Home Office figures, Jews are more than nine times more likely to be the targets of hate crime than any other religious group – and these figures are not even complete, such that the true scale is likely to be even worse. It is insulting that Dr Francois dismisses the reality that British Jews are living through – to the point that a majority of them no longer see a future in this country – because she found some Jewish names on the rich list. The fact that she was even looking is telling. This is the face of ‘educated’ discourse about Jews in Britain, from an Oxford-educated doctor of philosophy and broadcaster for the BBC, Channel 4, Al Jazeera and the Islam Channel.

Ash Sarkar tries to ‘correct’ Dr Myriam Francois as she says that Jews are privileged and wealthy. “Individuals” prompts Ms Sarkar? “Group” doubles down Dr Francois. It is part of her argument that Government funds are being unduly spent defending a minority against a secondary racism, using a classic antisemitic trope about Jewish wealth. It might be ironic were it not so darkly dangerous too. She is effectively arguing that because there are some Jewish billionaires in Britain, all Jews are therefore wealthy and privileged and they cannot possibly be as vulnerable or maligned as is being claimed. It is hard to know where the ignorance ends and the prejudice begins. Were Dr Francois to spend any time in Britain’s Jewish community, she would see families struggling with poverty, families that are comfortable, and families that are wealthy – just like any other community. In any event, nobody deserves to be maligned for their ethnic or religious background, regardless of their wealth. According to our analysis of Home Office figures, Jews are more than nine times more likely to be the targets of hate crime than any other religious group – and these figures are not even complete, such that the true scale is likely to be even worse. It is insulting that Dr Francois dismisses the reality that British Jews are living through – to the point that a majority of them no longer see a future in this country – because she found some Jewish names on the rich list. The fact that she was even looking is telling. This is the face of ‘educated’ discourse about Jews in Britain, from an Oxford-educated doctor of philosophy and broadcaster for the BBC, Channel 4, Al Jazeera and the Islam Channel.