{"id":35399,"date":"2019-12-08T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-12-08T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thevoiceoflondon.co.uk\/?p=35399"},"modified":"2019-12-08T10:00:00","modified_gmt":"2019-12-08T10:00:00","slug":"from-virginia-to-london-confronting-antisemitism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/from-virginia-to-london-confronting-antisemitism\/","title":{"rendered":"From Virginia to London: confronting antisemitism"},"content":{"rendered":"

A young Jewish Londoner’s experience of facing antisemitism\u00a0and her message of inclusivity to all.<\/b><\/p>\n

For the last four years, Matty Shafran has been living between Virginia and London. While her two homes may be oceans apart- her experiences with antisemitism are not.<\/p>\n

Shafran explained: \u201cComing to Britain was like a breath of fresh air. There seemed to be fewer people who just straight up didn\u2019t like Jewish people.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut now, my husband and I have encountered antisemitism on our commutes and online- we\u2019ve encountered what I would call tolerance with trepidation in our own neighbourhood.\u201d<\/p>\n

To Shafran, the topic of antisemitism arising so quickly is not shocking: \u201cIt\u2019s hard for this topic not to come up early in conversation about being Jewish, unfortunately.\u201d As the conversational mood darkened, as did the tales of her experiences.<\/p>\n

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Shafran said: \u201cMy husband was on the train once and he dropped some change. When he went to pick it up, someone chided that picking change off the ground was \u2018typical of you lot\u2019<\/em>. Often, antisemitism is informed by harmful stereotypes.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur shared household rental is also a little challenging and times. There have been a couple instances of what I would call \u2018passive antisemitism\u2019; where the Labour platform is used to validate the repeated belief that Corbyn never said anything antisemitic. But, that we have the definition wrong.\u201d The Labour party chose not to comment on this assertion.<\/p>\n

Shafran continued: \u201cIt feels like some in our neighbourhood show tolerance, rather than acceptance. We\u2019ve been careful to limit our outward \u2018Jewishness\u2019 because of this. I don\u2019t wear my Star of David necklace anymore- but we can\u2019t help the way we look.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yet, despite her experiences with antisemitism, Shafran, remains upbeat on the situation in London. Shafran explained: \u201cThere\u2019s always people who won\u2019t accept me and my faith, and that is disheartening, but it\u2019s the truth. But I really don\u2019t think those people represent London.<\/p>\n