Spat at, threatened and kidnapped: British Jews tell of rising antisemitism

Spat at, threatened and kidnapped: British Jews tell of rising antisemitismJust nowShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleJudith MoritzandDaniel Wittenberg,BBC PanoramaBBCAmanda, Laura and Itay are among more than a dozen Jewish people who have spoken to PanoramaAmanda has been at the centre of her local community for years, as a volunteer and a governor at her two children's school in a quiet London suburb. But over the past two years, she says simply going about her daily life has brought her abuse. She has been spat at in the street, branded a "baby killer", and received a death threat, she says, all because she is Jewish.Until recently, Amanda, 47, always openly wore a Star of David pendant around her neck. The Jewish symbol is a proud part of her identity and she had never thought twice about displaying it. Now, she tells BBC Panorama, she is afraid it marks her out as a target."It's hard to be openly Jewish sometimes in everyday life," she says. "Living in the UK now for Jewish people is very uncomfortable."In a WhatsApp group of about 20 of her Jewish friends - many of them children or grandchildren of refugees from the Nazis, who once saw the UK as a haven from antisemitism - she says conversations have shifted from neighbourhood chat to more existential questions."There aren't any Jewish people I know that haven't got plans to leave," says Amanda. "The first thing we all talk about is: What is the exit plan? Where are you going? What will you do? When will you be going? Or they're already moved or moving."A venue cancelled Amanda's booking for a Hanukkah party citing security concerns, she saysAmanda describes herself as Modern Orthodox - a section of Judaism that seeks to uphold Jewish traditions and laws, but with active engagement in the modern world.While her WhatsApp group is not a representative sample of all Jews in the UK, Amanda says people in it are considering emigrating...