Quite naturally, the unveiling of the Baddiel campaign received significant coverage in the foremost Jewish newspaper in the United Kingdom, the Jewish Chronicle (www.theJC.com). Equally naturally points of view have been espoused in the Letters to the Editor section. Recently, the view espoused by the Baddiels was taken up by a supporter from Arsenal, although his awkward attempt at humour based on the age-old Spurs-Arsenal rivalry treated the subject with less gravitas than it deserved. It does not happen frequently, but on this occasion I was moved to respond, and sent my own perspective on the debate to the Jewish Chronicle, which they duly printed in Friday's edition. Unfortunately, the online edition does not include letters, so for those interested yet unable to obtain the Jewish Chronicle, I reproduce my letter below:
The rambling hyperbole of Stephen Ryde (JC, April 29), lack of intellectual rigour and its reactionary conclusion do little to treat the subject of antisemitism with the seriousness it deserves. His argument is all too similar to that which argues that women who wear short skirts are asking to be raped: wrong on every possible level. As for the outlawing of the use of particular words, this has no place in a modern, democratic society where freedom of speech is valued.
I would like to refer Mr Ryde to the learned article "When is a Yid not a Jew?", by John Efron, Koret Professor of Social History at Berkeley University (http://bit.ly/luikAu). The use of the term "Yids" and, more frequently, "Yiddos" began in the late 1970s as a reaction against the antisemitic chanting of other teams, most notably Chelsea, Arsenal and West Ham. It can be seen in exactly the same vein as the use of the term "nigger" by sections of the African-American community. It is a classic case of turning a term of derogation into s badge of honour. This has taken place for so many years, that the term "Yid" has now become commensurate with "Spurs supporter" in football grounds around the country, with many younger supporters having little or no idea of the original defamatory use of the word.
Any campaign to reduce antisemitism is laudable, although as with anything the battles need to be chosen with care. In selecting Spurs supporters and their chanting of "Yids", the Baddiels are on shaky ground. They need to begin their campaign by cleaning up the mess in their own back-yards first: Chelsea continue to sing "Spurs are on their way to Auschwitz" and make gas chamber noises. When Jewish support at Stamford Bridge deals with this issue (instead of joining in, as sometimes happens) then the campaign will be able to claim a degree of progress.
Stephen Ryde is wrong. As a Jewish supporter of Spurs for nigh on a half-century, I shall continue to join in with my fellow supporters chating of "Yids" and "Yiddos" in the full knowledge that this is a reaction against antisemitism, not an encouragement of it.
As a postscript, I support any attempt to diminish hatred of any description, be it racism, antisemitism, gender bias or ageism, but believe that football supporters are not necessarily the right focus, as they mirror the views of society in general. Ultimately, antisemitism is the oldest hatred in the world, a hatred which has been fostered by 2,000 years of propaganda by the Church and, more recently by elements of the Muslim world, often under the thinly-veiled guise of anti-Zionism or anti-Israel. But hatred is hatred, and we can only hope that those who perpetrate it will end up hoist by their own petards. The Baddiels may have the very best of intentions, but those are the paving stones on the road to hell.
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