Prayer isn’t enough to stop antisemitism. We have to practically stand up for the Jewish community

Having been in close proximity to the recent anti-semitic attacks in Finchley and Golders Green, Mavis Crispin and her North London church community took to the Bible to decide how to best respond. Here, she provides practical steps you can take to advocate against antisemitism

My childhood experience was shared with Jewish children, some refugees, who were withdrawn from Christian assemblies, just as I was, coming from an atheistic family. I learnt a lot and continued to learn as I later qualified as a teacher and joined the staff in a school with many Jewish children and teachers. Now, as a priest, I’m often engaged with Judaism in my parish, for example during the Holocaust Education Week.

Last night, I was with a church group in North London who gathered to discuss the current, alarming situation through a biblical lens and deliberate what our response should be. The group consisted primarily of older people who were able to recall their acquaintance with Jewish people having lived alongside Jewish communities for some years. Our experience was positive hence why we were surprised by the claim that a third of the population step into antisemitic ways of thinking drawing on a pre-existent reservoir (Birkbeck Institute for the Study of Antisemitism).

What does scripture say?

As a group we wanted to learn, understand and consider actions. One question was why is it worse now than in our younger days? We focused on world events such as the 7 October attacks, the growth in the importance and influence of social media, the decline in public trust in institutions, the rise in home schooling and the decline of the influence of the church. Some of our church history has been complicit over many centuries so repentance is part of our response.