The Duke of Sussex has warned of a “deeply troubling” rise in antisemitism in the UK which has led to “lethal violence” against the Jewish community.
Acknowledging the importance of “legitimate protest” against the actions of a state, Prince Harry said people must be more “clear” about where they are aiming their anger.
“Nothing, whether criticism of a government or the reality of violence and destruction, can ever justify hostility toward an entire people or faith,” he wrote in the New Statesman.
There have been a string of attacks at synagogues and other Jewish sites in recent months, including the stabbing of two Jewish men in Golders Green, north London, on 29 April.
Pro-Palestinian marches have faced renewed scrutiny, with the government saying antisemitic activity has taken place during the protests as a result of people seeking to sow division.
In an opinion piece titled “my fears for a divided kingdom”, the duke wrote: “We have seen how legitimate protest against state actions in the Middle East does exist alongside hostility toward Jewish communities at home – just as we have also seen how criticism of those actions can be too easily dismissed or mischaracterised.”
He said “hatred directed at people for who they are, or what they believe, is not protest. It is prejudice”.
The prince said he had felt the need to speak out because saying nothing allows “hate and extremism to flourish unchecked”.
Prince Harry mentioned the actions of a “state” throughout his piece, but he did not name Israel.
“We cannot ignore a difficult truth: when states act without accountability, and in ways that raise serious questions under international humanitarian law – criticism is both legitimate, necessary and essential in any democracy,” the prince wrote.
But he said people who spoke out and protested against such actions must be clear that the “onus falls squarely on the state – not an entire people”.
Part of the problem, the duke wrote, lay with the polarised public debate, which had deepened the confusion that “fuels division”.
The duke said he had learned from his own “past mistakes”, an apparent reference to an incident when he was 20 years old.
In 2005 Harry was heavily criticised because he had worn a Nazi uniform to a fancy dress party with a “Native and Colonial” theme.
Harry publicly apologised for what he did at the time saying it was “a poor choice of costume”.
Appealing for “unity” this week, the duke concluded his article by calling for people to confront both antisemitism and anti-Muslim hate.
“When anger is turned towards communities – whether Jewish, Muslim, or any other – it ceases to be a call for justice and becomes something far more corrosive,” he wrote.
Source: BBC
