Voice of the Jewish News: Let’s reward bravery

Jewish News is always proud to sponsor the No2H8Crime Awards, but never more so than now, because in the past 12 months we have heard some of the most incredible examples of how brave people can stand up to hate, and how brave people must sometimes be to do so.

Consider the case of Robbie Mullen, a former far-right sympathiser who last year risked his life to pull ranks and stop a white nationalist – 22-year-old Jack Renshaw – from killing a policewoman and an MP.  Just a year after the murder of
MP Jo Cox, Mullen told anti-fascist group HOPE Not Hate how Renshaw planned to knife MP Rosie Cooper, and how the group to which he belonged discussed killing Jews in a synagogue. Renshaw had told far-right rallies Jews were
“parasites” and should be “eradicated”.

Renshaw, a former National Action member, would likely have killed – either Cooper, the PC or Jews – had Mullen not turned whistle-blower, moved to
a safe house, then sat in court to make sure Renshaw and others were found guilty.  “I had to walk out of my job, I was forced to move home and I have to live with
a target on my back, but I know I had no other choice,” he later said. His bravery cannot adequately be described in words.

Terrorism remains an ever-present threat, at home and abroad, from jihadis and the far right, against Jews, Muslims, and indeed everyone.  The awards come at a time of grave concern among British Jews over antisemitism, but they shine a spotlight on all forms of hate crime.  Being an upstander is now more important than ever. If you know someone who has stood up to hate, nominate them for the awards. These are the very people who will stop the scourge spreading. It’s already gone too far.