Our thoughts are with all in the Jewish community following the brutal attacks in Golders Green on Wednesday morning. We also think of the wider public, who will be shocked and angered by yet another act of violence on our streets.
There is a concerning tone in some media coverage of hate crimes that frames them as part of distant conflicts, as though they are somehow separate from our own society. While perpetrators may justify their actions in those terms, we should be clear: these are violent crimes committed against people in our communities, targeted simply for who they are.
Allowing that framing to take hold risks blurring responsibility and creating division between communities. To pit minority groups against each other and refuse to take a stand against hate crime in all its forms is not only to do a disservice to the victims but to all implicitly associated with the perpetrators. We must all stand in solidarity against acts of intimidation and violence.
This is not a distant or abstract issue. It is violence affecting people here, in our streets, and it must be recognised and called out as such.
