%0 Journal Article
%T Echoes of Prejudice: Historical Parallels in British Discourse on Jewish and Muslim Refugees
%A Tilles, Daniel
%J Migration Studies – Review of Polish Diaspora
%V 2018 (XLIV)
%R 10.4467/25444972SMPP.18.012.8995
%N Vol. 167, issue 1
%P 261-275
%K refugees, Jews, Muslims, antisemitism, Islamophobia, Britain, history, discourse
%@ 2081-4488
%D 2018
%U https://ejournals.eu/en/journal/smpp/article/echa-uprzedzen-historyczne-zbieznosci-w-brytyjskiej-postawie-wobec-zydowskich-i-muzulmanskich-uchodzcow
%X 
	A prominent part of Britain’s national mythology is the idea that the country has, throughout its modern history, provided refuge to those fleeing war and persecution around the globe. Yet this perception of hospitality as an historical British trait sits dissonantly alongside a widespread reluctance to accept today’s refugees. This is because, as so often, collective memory contradicts historical fact: each wave of refugees has actually faced strong opposition to their arrival, and hostility once they reach Britain.
	This pattern is well illustrated by the parallels between British reactions to two groups of refugees that arrived a century apart from one another: Jews, who migrated in large numbers in the period 1880–1940, fleeing first Russian pogroms and later Nazi persecution; and Muslims, who have come in the last two decades. Both have aroused many of the same concerns: that their alien culture and religion represents a threat to Britain’s way of life; that they are responsible for spreading radical, violent ideologies which threaten British security; and that they would be an economic burden on the state and compete with the native population for resources.
	This paper will explore the similarities – and diff erences – between British discourses regarding Jewish and Muslim refugees, and use these to reflect upon Britain’s self-perceived national trait of hospitality.