Monty Goldstein spoke days after turning 102.
A 102-year-old Jewish Second World War veteran has spoken of his sadness at seeing antisemitism in modern Britain, asking: “What have I done to deserve it?”
Monty Goldstein, who served in the Royal Artillery during the conflict, said England is “not the same” as it was when he was a boy, as he urged his fellow countryman to be “proud” of the nation.
Mr Goldstein, who was in east London during the “dicey” time when Sir Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists were active, recalled there being “a lot of antisemitism” in the years around the war.
More than eight decades after serving Britain during the conflict, Mr Goldstein said today Jewish people face the “same situation” through “no fault of our own”.
It comes amid an increase in antisemitic hate crimes, including the stabbing of two Jewish men in Golders Green, north London, in April and an arson attack at a former synagogue in Whitechapel, central London, in May.
Mr Goldstein said: “What have I done to deserve it?
“What happens abroad is not my fault, and I can’t help.
“But there’s loads of antisemitism, especially in the Golders Green area, some people are afraid to walk in the streets.
“Which is why I say England is not the same.”
He added: “I hope I’m a nice, peaceful chap, I keep out of mischief and fortunately I’ve never been in any trouble.
“Britain is my country, and I know it, and I look up to it. I don’t know anything else, I’m an Englishman. I’m an Englishman first.
“So why are we attacked and all that? I try to be a good citizen, pay my way.”
Mr Goldstein believes schools should do more to educate children about antisemitism.
He added: “Some sections are hostile and are taught to hate the Jews without any reason, just because they’re Jews.
“We’ve tried to be good citizens and do the best we can, and yet we’re still considered hostile, and there’s nothing much we can do about that.”
Born on Commercial Road in east London in July 1924, Mr Goldstein was conscripted into the Army in 1943 aged 18 and served in an anti-aircraft and searchlight regiment defending the capital against German bombing raids.
He expected to be sent to France after D-Day, but his regiment remained in Britain because it was considered more valuable protecting the country from aerial attacks.
After the war, he joined Ajex, the Association of Jewish Ex-Servicemen and Women, and has attended remembrance events since 1945.
But Mr Goldstein said the country is no longer looked up to in the way it once was.
He added: “Sometimes you’re afraid to say you’re an Englishman.
“Instead of being proud holding the flag, sometimes you’re afraid, which is wrong.
“In some sections, we’re second-class citizens, which shouldn’t be.”
He added: “We fought for five years, tyranny and all that, and instead of going ahead we’re going backwards, which is not a good sign.
“Some people want to leave the country, if that’s right or wrong I won’t comment, but that’s the situation to some people.”
Mr Goldstein, who now lives in Chadwell Heath, east London, said his advice to Britons is to keep on the “right track” and stay “out of mischief”.
He added: “I try and be helpful and socially join in with everything, and try to help my fellow man and help my fellow beings and try to help in every respect I can, help the country, pay my taxes.”
On Sunday, he will join his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren for a tea party days after turning 102.
Speaking about reaching that age, he added: “You get up in the morning, and every morning you get up, you say, ‘Thank God’, and it’s a bonus.
“If you were in the Army during the war, you’ve got to be well in your 90s now, and unfortunately, there’s not too many left.”
