A particularly challenging and upsetting incident of anti-Palestinian racism I witnessed recently was in the context of discussing with my family the possibility of a coronavirus crisis striking Gaza’s already depleted health infrastructure. It was in this discussion where a close family member said that they had no sympathy for Palestinians who suffered from the virus. I was beyond upset, as this kind of language and point of view would not be tolerated for any other minority across the world in the Jewish community. 

This entirely unsympathetic attitude towards Palestinian and devaluing of their lives, especially those residing in Gaza, is all to common in the UK Jewish community. It is therefore important that we break the stigma around discussing racism in our community, so that we will no longer be passive bystanders to severe human rights abuses and the dispossession of Palestinians from their indigenous lands.