With characteristic pithiness and perspicacity, the comedian and filmmaker Mel Brooks encapsulated the whole panoply of Jewish culture, and an entire history of overcoming tragedy, in one line. “If you can laugh at it, you can survive it,” he said.

So, it is that much of Jewish humour is generally characterised by a knowing, almost self-deprecating, quality, a witty observation in the face of adversity. Brooks has impeccable credentials in this area: it was in his seminal film, The Producers, that Hitler’s persecution of the Jews was turned into a musical, Springtime for Hitler. “Don’t be stupid, be a smarty/Come and join the Nazi party”, sang the chorus line.

That’s not to say that Jews will laugh at anything, but it does go some way to explain why the reaction of British Jews to the antisemitic horror that exploded in the Golders Green area of north London last week was not to get militant, not to take to the streets in furious protest, or to march on Westminster demanding the Government take action, but more a mixture of self-possession and steely resolve.

We are all appalled and dismayed, and some of us may even feel scared to go about our daily business. And yet the natural response of the overwhelming majority of Jews in the face of this latest expression of antisemitism is not to make a fuss. That disposition........

© iNews