The Persistent Prejudice PDF Download

Examines the largely ambivalent attitudes towards Jews evinced by the general populace and the government in Britain. Analyzes the hostility that did occur in the context of a society undergoing profound social, economic, and political change. States that the clearest features of modern British antisemitism are that Jews are perceived firstly as a foreign group and secondly as a malevolent power in society. Discusses British fascist organizations, the strongest of which was the British Union of Fascists led by Oswald Mosley; the evacuation experiences of London's Jews; the extent of the debate on the "Jewish question" in all levels of society; widespread economic and social prejudices; the negative images of the Jew; the attitudes of the government, which refused to admit the existence of antisemitism and denied that the Jews were a separate entity; and the response of pro-Jewish or anti-antisemitic forces.