It’s time to end grievance and victimhood culture in the UK and I can say this based on my experience in Singapore, and in the wake of yesterday’s tragic events. The Manchester terror attack is a scar on Britain. For those of us in the Jewish community it was made all the more painful coming on the day of Yom Kippur. The Jewish day of atonement – the holiest day to Jews – has infamously been the date of another attack, the 1973 war to which it gave its name, when Arab countries attacked Israel while the latter’s defences were down.
Contrary to popular opinion, many millions of Jews – including in the UK – want to see an end to the war in Gaza. While they want to see Israeli hostages brought home, they take no pleasure in seeing Palestinians suffer. To equate the Jews collectively with Israel however is on the same level as equating all Muslims with the evil-doer who attacked a synagogue yesterday.
Judaism and Zionism are not the same. In fact, many of the most strident critics of Israel come from the Ultra-Orthodox community, the most religious of Jews.
As I write this in Singapore, there are lessons to be drawn from how the Southeast Asian city state handles its multiracial population, and relations between its substantial Muslim (mostly Malay) minority, and non-Muslim (mostly Chinese) majority.
To give one example, in Singapore, publicly displaying any foreign flag or national emblem is an offence, minus a special permit.
To Western eyes this may look draconian, but you would be hard pressed in Singapore to find the kind of divisiveness you find in Britain and the wider West.
Chinese, Malays and Tamil Indians are encouraged to learn their mother tongue alongside English. But everyone knows Singaporean multiracialism is about Singapore First, not a first loyalty to an overseas land.
From the banning of foreign flags to national service – along with severe penalties for racism and bigotry – Singapore has built a far more successful model than the chillaxed anything-goes approach in Britain.
It helps that Singapore has virtually no illegal immigration (despite also being an island) and has very strict controls on who comes in and out. Crucially, however, there is little to no victimhood or grievance culture.
A combination of trustworthy border control, a Singapore First mentality, and respect for all cultures but without any sense of victimhood, has protected Singapore from the type of tragedy we saw on Thursday.
Again, this isn’t about Islam. As a percentage there are more Muslims here than in Britain. But there is no culture of preference, grievance or wokery. That is the difference.
You are Singaporean first and that is final. Unlike next door Malaysia – a far less developed country with a Malay majority, and Chinese and Indian minorities – there is no preference given to any group here.
No grievance, victimhood, and tribalism. The result? Singapore is a merit-based superstar economy with virtually no street crime.
The UK should learn that multiracialism only works WITHOUT political correctness, grievance culture and tribalism. Crucially no community should be looking back overseas for its first loyalty. First loyalty belongs to Britain!
In the coming days I expect to hear the usual jive about lessons learned and doubling-down. But until the UK stops pandering to victimhood and encouraging tribalism events like that on Yom Kippur will happen again.
