Prince Harry Warns UK Antisemitism Is Rising
Prince Harry has condemned what he called a “deeply troubling” rise in antisemitism across the UK in a newly published opinion piece, arguing that public anger must not be turned toward communities. The Duke of Sussex said he felt compelled to speak out because, in his words, staying silent allows “hate and extremism to flourish unchecked”.
Birmingham Live reported that, writing in The New Statesman, the Duke referenced recent “lethal violence” targeting Jewish communities in Manchester and London and wrote: “hatred directed at people for who they are, or what they believe, is not protest. It is prejudice”.
In the piece, the Duke acknowledged what he described as “deep and justified alarm” at the scale of loss in Gaza and Lebanon, while urging clarity about where criticism should be directed. He wrote that “legitimate protest against state actions in the Middle East does exist alongside hostility toward Jewish communities at home”, adding that “nothing … can ever justify hostility toward an entire people or faith”.
Prince Harry also referred to learning from his own “past mistakes”, noting that he was photographed wearing a Nazi uniform to a party in 2005. The opinion article criticised the lack of nuance in parts of the public debate and warned that polarisation can fuel division, while he did not name Israel directly despite repeated references to “the state”.
The Duke concluded with a call for unity and for people to challenge both antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred, writing that when anger is turned towards communities “it ceases to be a call for justice and becomes something far more corrosive”.
