While in Israel, I sat down with British expat Chaim Frankenhuis to discuss the dangerous indifference spreading across the UK ... one that he believes is allowing antisemitism to escalate unchecked.

Frankenhuis, originally from Manchester and now living in Israel, had a blunt message for Brits who say they do not hate Jews but simply do not see antisemitism as their problem. “Open up your brain,” he said. “These extreme Islamists are coming for Jews. They’re going to come next for you, for Christians. They’ve said it time and time again.”

He warned that slogans like “globalise the intifada” are not abstract political statements, but explicit calls to violence. “That means kill Jews everywhere, wherever you find them,” he said. “And that’s democracy? That’s the so-called way you want to live? I don’t think so.”

During our interview, Frankenhuis recounted a disturbing incident that occurred when he returned to Manchester last September for a holiday. Like many Brits, he went to his local pub for a quiet drink. Wearing only a kippah, with no political slogans or symbols, he was quickly singled out.

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A middle-aged woman approached him and demanded to know his views on “free Palestine” and accused him of supporting “genocide”. Frankenhuis said he tried to defuse the situation, explaining that a pub was not the place for political debate. The confrontation escalated regardless.

“She takes my own pint and throws it into my face,” he said. The woman then fled the venue. According to Frankenhuis, pub staff were reluctant to intervene or provide CCTV footage.

He reported the incident to police and contacted several organisations that monitor antisemitism in England. His concern, he stressed, was not the beer thrown at him but what it represented. “If you don’t deal with something like this, it will become something way bigger,” he said.

Four days later, while Frankenhuis was back in Israel observing Yom Kippur, two Jews were murdered just a mile from where his pub assault took place, in the same Manchester council area. He described the killings as ideologically driven, not politically motivated. “They wanted to kill Jews for being Jewish,” he said.

His warning to the apathetic Briton remains clear: ignoring antisemitism today does not mean you will be spared tomorrow.