As part of the Arutz Sheva Conference at the Israeli Real Estate Fair in London, Catherine Perez-Shakdam, chief policy adviser at Stop the Hate UK, moderated a discussion on antisemitism, anti-Zionism, and the response of British society with Our Fight Executive Director Mark Birbeck, Stop the Hate UK co-founder and director Itai Galmudy, and StandWithUs UK Executive Director Isaac Zarfati.

Opening the discussion, Perez-Shakdam argued that antisemitism should not be measured solely through hate crime statistics, but also by examining Jewish participation in public life.

Zarfati responded that one of the greatest challenges is defining the current form of antisemitism. "I think maybe this is one of the most important points, because we have a major problem with defining the problem," he said.

According to Zarfati, today's antisemitism differs from previous forms. "We are now facing a political antisemitism that basically [opposes] the self-determination of Jews," he said. "We need to understand that anti-Zionism and anti-Israel are not a political issue... anti-Zionism and anti-Israel, that's the new antisemitism, and we need to treat it as such."

Perez-Shakdam later asked Birbeck whether he had observed changes in anti-Israel demonstrations across Britain.

Birbeck said he believed the demonstrations themselves had become less significant than the wider climate. "I think they're probably getting smaller," he said of the protests. "But I think there's a bigger problem for us."

He argued that antisemitism has spread throughout society. "I think it's a false kind of formula to try and imagine that the marches themselves are driving the climate of antisemitism. It's more the other way around, that there is a climate of antisemitism, and this is the sharp end of it."

Birbeck added that the controversy surrounding the real estate event itself demonstrated the broader issue. "It's been a national debate this week that it shouldn't be happening. It's bizarre," he said.

Turning to government policy, Perez-Shakdam asked Galmudy about efforts to proscribe the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Muslim Brotherhood.

Galmudy said Britain lacked the political determination to confront extremism. "I think that there is a real issue. We have a government that is lacking the political will and the hunger to confront extremism," he said.

He argued that action against the IRGC should be viewed primarily as a matter of British national security. "Our national security... is on the line," he said. "Our Prime Minister stood on a podium and confessed to us that MI5... stopped more than 20 attempts for terrorist operations in the United Kingdom, orchestrated and funded by the IRGC. And I ask myself, as a government, what are you waiting for?"

Asked whether October 7 marked a turning point, Zarfati said the attack should be viewed as part of a longer pattern rather than an isolated event. "It's an evolving process, and we need to look at it from a historical perspective," he said, pointing to incidents in previous years that, in his view, demonstrated an escalation.

"October 7... is another massive incident, but it's on the sequence."

He added that anti-Israel activists have continued to test boundaries over time. "We won't treat every incident by itself, but we will look at the timeline of escalation throughout the past few years, and we see how they're trying to push the boundaries again and again."

Perez-Shakdam concluded by asking Birbeck and Galmudy whether broader coalitions should play a greater role in confronting antisemitism.

Birbeck said cooperation with others was important, but maintained that antisemitism itself remained the central issue. "The reason I set the campaign up after October 7th was specifically about antisemitism," he said. "Antisemitism is the worst idea, the most dangerous idea that humanity has created."

He added that examples of antisemitism often reflected wider societal concerns. "I agree with you, we need both, but for me, antisemitism is this fundamental historic problem."

Galmudy offered a different perspective, saying his own experience after October 7 had changed his approach. "Until the 7th of October... I really wholeheartedly believed that if we Jews will just understand a bit more suffering of others, they will understand our suffering as well," he said.

"But then the 7th of October came... I discovered that the left has abandoned us."

He concluded by calling for a more direct response from the Jewish community. "I'm done putting Jewish rights on the back burner because somebody else is suffering," Galmudy said. "We are suffering. We are bleeding. We are being under constant attack."