Prince Harry has warned that a “deeply troubling” rise in antisemitism in the UK has resulted in “lethal violence” against Jewish communities.
While acknowledging the importance of “legitimate protest” against the actions of a state, the Duke of Sussex said people must be clearer about where their anger is directed.
“Nothing, whether criticism of a government or the reality of violence and destruction, can ever justify hostility toward an entire people or faith,” he wrote in the New Statesman.
His comments come after a series of attacks targeting synagogues and other Jewish sites in recent months, including the stabbing of two Jewish men in Golders Green, north London, on April 29.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrations have also faced fresh scrutiny, after the government said antisemitic behaviour had appeared during some protests, driven by individuals seeking to create division.
In an opinion piece titled “My Fears for a Divided Kingdom,” the duke wrote: “We have seen how legitimate protest against state actions in the Middle East does exist alongside hostility toward Jewish communities at home – just as we have also seen how criticism of those actions can be too easily dismissed or mischaracterised.”
He added that “hatred directed at people for who they are, or what they believe, is not protest. It is prejudice”.
Prince Harry said he felt compelled to speak out because silence allows “hate and extremism to flourish unchecked”.
Throughout the article, the prince referred to the actions of a “state,” though he did not specifically name Israel.
“We cannot ignore a difficult truth: when states act without accountability, and in ways that raise serious questions under international humanitarian law – criticism is both legitimate, necessary and essential in any democracy,” the prince wrote.
However, he stressed that those speaking out or protesting must make clear that the “onus falls squarely on the state – not an entire people”.
The duke also suggested that increasingly polarised public debate had worsened the confusion that “fuels division”.
He said he had learned from his own “past mistakes,” in an apparent reference to an incident from when he was 20 years old.
In 2005, Harry faced widespread criticism after wearing a Nazi uniform to a fancy-dress party with a “Native and Colonial” theme.
He apologised publicly at the time, describing it as “a poor choice of costume”.
Calling for “unity,” the duke ended his article by urging people to confront both antisemitism and anti-Muslim hate.
“When anger is turned towards communities – whether Jewish, Muslim, or any other – it ceases to be a call for justice and becomes something far more corrosive,” he wrote.
