Not for the first time do we see attacks on Jewish communities. Over 85 years ago the world saw the brutal massacre of thousands of Jewish people because of the madness of the Nazi regime.

The more recent Hamas attack on innocent young people in southern Israel saw people murdered and others taken hostage. It was yet another atrocity against this nation. It is difficult to think of any other group throughout history that has suffered so many attacks. The violent response continues in Palestine. Whilst a possible peaceful resolution looks to be close it is by no means certain. The ongoing bombing of Gaza, killing over 60,000 people, has not been helpful in solving the problem.

Violence has now taken place here in the UK with the recent attack on a synagogue. Nobody is surprised at this event. Throughout the land Jewish communities walk in fear on a daily basis.

In my lifetime I have had close contact with many Jewish people. In my secondary school there were several Jewish boys in my class and in the same football teams as me. It is only now, reflecting on my school experience, that I realise that there was never an issue about mixing as friends and teammates with my Jewish classmates and team members. The wider world still had a problem of discrimination but as a boy I was not exposed to the issue.

When first married we lived in a semi basement flat in Stoke Newington as I got my first teaching job in a comprehensive school in Hackney. Our neighbours were Orthodox Jews. They were easily distinguished by their distinctive dress code. Young men wore ringlets of hair. Clothes were uniformly black. Most seemed to wear glasses and they all looked very pale. They tended to keep themselves isolated from the rest of the community. They were peaceful families just wanting to live their lives in their own cultural tradition. In many ways it was a shame that they chose to be so insular. Given the trauma of the events of the war it was hardly surprising that they chose to look inwards. A lovely family friend of my mother in law spoke of losing her parents in the gas chambers. It is little wonder that Jewish people remain fearful of the rest of society.

The ongoing persecution of Jews is abhorrent. Like all other groups they just want to get on with their lives in peace. Transferring the conflict in the Middle East to our streets can only cause more pain and suffering. People engaging in a protest march knowing it would take police staff away from protecting Jewish communities under direct threat was at best insensitive, at worst callous. It achieved nothing but loads of arrests.

Jewish people have made significant contributions to our country. We should all be free to follow our cultural traditions as long as they do not harm others. Discrimination fractures society. We must stand in solidarity with each other.

Tseyt in Shlem (Go in peace)