“What is this? Racism. Where is this? Britain and Ireland. When is this? Now. Who am i? I am a Jew.”
BuzzFeed spoke to Ryde about the letter, who told us that he has a long history of writing to MPs, leaders and newspapers when he is concerned about a problem. "When I feel like something is wrong, I would usually write to that organisation or person to complain," he told BuzzFeed, adding "I write because I think it's important. I'm not a prolific writer, but I write when I feel moved to."
Ryde stressed that he did not set out to write the letter to further aggravate tensions in the country, but rather to help people understand "how isolated and threatened they feel right now." He told BuzzFeed that ever since the far-right English Defense League set fire to mosques in his local area two years ago, his synagogue has been hosting Ramadan in support of Muslims in their community.
