ABSTRACT
Fifty years after the destruction of German fascism, the scale of antisemitism and the level of neo-Nazi activity in these islands remained a matter of concern to British Jews. Beadles, fearing vandalism and worse, patrolled their synagogues like security guards. Woburn House, headquarters of the United Synagogue, was barred and bolted and in a permanent state of siege. The Young pressed for the formation of self-defence groups, their elders for improved police protection. By the summer of 1990 fears of racial violence had become acute. Since the beginning of the year synagogues and cemeteries had been desecrated and Jews beaten and stoned. Senior police officers at Scotland Yard were said to be alarmed at the increase in anti-semitic attacks; the Home Secretary expressed concern (Daily Telegraph, 29 August 1990; JC, 31 August 1990).
