Why rising tide of Jew hate on the streets of London terrifies me, writes Stephen Pollard

Two friends have been in touch with me in the past few days, both with the same message: “If you ever need somewhere to stay, you are always welcome.”

I’m Jewish; they’re not. Their offers were made because they have both been horrified by the rising tide of open Jew hate on the streets of London – and they both have a sense of history.

If you had told me a month ago that anyone would feel the need to make such an offer I would have thought you quite mad. What does it say about things now that it is even conceivable I might one day have to take them up on it?

We are not 1930s Germany. For one thing, our government says it wants to protect us, not kill us. But that is no reason for complacency.

History tells us – always, without exception – that when Jew hate emerges into the open, it grows, it expands and it leads inexorably to violence against Jews.

Throughout my people’s history, even when we have considered ourselves safe and assimilated – as in, yes, Germany before the 1930s – the same pattern has repeated.

On Tuesday night, Liverpool Street Station was taken over by a mob chanting “From the river to the sea” – a call for the elimination of Israel and Jews. And when we see crowds of over 100,000 marching against us, central London has become a no-go area for Jews.

Yesterday saw the fourth of what Home Secretary Suella Braverman has called “hate marches”.

She is right. Let’s be honest, these marches are not about peace, or purely concern for Gaza.

You will not see a single banner calling for Palestinians to live alongside Jews. You will not see a single banner demanding that Hamas stops using Palestinians as human shields in Gaza, or even condemning its brutal murder of 1,400 people – the worst single atrocity against Jews since the Holocaust. Of course you won’t.

Don’t forget these marches started within a week of the murders, well before Israel started any military action in response.

The marches have seen open calls for jihad and intifada, more chants of “From the river to the sea” and an atmosphere of unambiguous hostility towards Jews.

Tzipi Hotovely, Israel’s UK ambassador, has said she has been asked by Israelis if London is less safe for Jews than Israel. I have too – as has every Jew I know. What am I supposed to say to them?