Monty Goldstein, a 102-year-old Jewish veteran who served in the British Army during World War II, says he is struggling to come to terms with the wave of antisemitism sweeping Britain more than 80 years after he fought for the country.
In an interview with Britain’s PA news agency, Goldstein said Jews in the country now face a reality reminiscent of difficult periods in his past. “What have I done to deserve it?” he asked.
Goldstein, who served in an anti-aircraft unit during the war, said modern-day England is “not the same” country in which he grew up. Although he encountered antisemitism in his youth, particularly when Sir Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists was active, he said he was disappointed to see that the phenomenon still exists and is intensifying.
“What happens abroad is not my fault, and I can’t help,” he said. “But there’s loads of antisemitism, especially in the Golders Green area. Some people are afraid to walk in the streets. Which is why I say England is not the same.”
In the interview, Goldstein stressed that he had always regarded himself as a loyal British citizen.
“I hope I’m a nice, peaceful chap. I keep out of mischief and fortunately I’ve never been in any trouble,” he said. “Britain is my country, and I know it, and I look up to it. I don’t know anything else. I’m an Englishman. I’m an Englishman first.
“So why are we attacked and all that? I try to be a good citizen, pay my way.”
Monty Goldstein
(Photo: The Jewish Military Association)
His comments come amid an increase in antisemitic incidents in Britain in recent months, including the stabbing and serious wounding of two Jewish men in Golders Green, north London, in April and an arson attack at a former synagogue in Whitechapel, central London, in May.
Goldstein said schools should do more to combat hatred of Jews.
“Some sections are hostile and are taught to hate the Jews without any reason, just because they’re Jews,” he said. “We’ve tried to be good citizens and do the best we can, and yet we’re still considered hostile, and there’s nothing much we can do about that.”
Goldstein was born on Commercial Road in east London in July 1924. He was conscripted into the Army in early 1943 at age 18 and served in an anti-aircraft and searchlight regiment that defended London against German bombing raids.
After the war, he joined Ajex, the Association of Jewish Ex-Servicemen and Women, and has attended remembrance events regularly since 1945.
Monty Goldstein in uniform
(Photo: The Jewish Military Association)
Goldstein said Britain had lost some of the sense of national pride that once characterized it.
“Sometimes you’re afraid to say you’re an Englishman,” he said. “Instead of being proud holding the flag, sometimes you’re afraid, which is wrong. In some sections, we’re second-class citizens, which shouldn’t be.”
Despite his difficult feelings, Goldstein remains optimistic. He celebrated his 102nd birthday with his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren and said he gives thanks every morning simply for waking up.
“You get up in the morning, and every morning you get up, you say, ‘Thank God,’ and it’s a bonus,” he said. “If you were in the Army during the war, you’ve got to be well in your 90s now, and unfortunately, there’s not too many left.”