British Jews are feeling conflicted and caught in the crossfire of public opinion ahead of Holocaust Memorial Day as the conflict in the Middle East rages on, a rabbi has said.

Rabbi Jonathan Romain described a “really strange situation” where Jews are normally seen as victims when the world marks the annual commemoration of the Holocaust which took place in the Second World War.

He said this year, with the Israel-Hamas war, parts of British society now see Jewish Israelis as “perpetrators of violence”.

Rabbi Romain described what is happening in the Middle East as “dire”, and “a very difficult situation morally”, with a “horrific” death toll.

Israel launched an offensive after an unprecedented cross-border attack by Hamas on October 7, in which 1,200 people were killed and some 240 others taken hostage.

Roughly 130 hostages are believed by Israel to remain in Hamas captivity four months on.

Nearly 25,000 Palestinians including thousands of children have been killed in Israel’s assault – one of the deadliest and most destructive military campaigns in recent history, according to health authorities in Hamas-controlled Gaza.

Rabbi Romain said the “brutality” of the Hamas attack had given a sense that the “nightmare of the past was being re-lived”.

A subsequent and “very worrying” rise in antisemitism and Islamophobia in the UK in the period afterwards “raised all sorts of fears among British Jews that had really gone since 1945”, he added.

Now there are parts of British society which see Jewish Israelis as perpetrators of violence and so we feel a little bit caught in the crossfire of opinion

In an interview with the PA news agency, he said: “There was a feeling that the nightmare scenario that we thought had been relegated to the past actually might re-occur in some possible way and that was very unsettling.”

He added: “On a totally separate level, Jews feel very conflicted at the moment because we’ve got this really strange situation where we think of Jews at Holocaust Memorial Day in the Second World War as victims, whereas now there are parts of British society which see Jewish Israelis as perpetrators of violence and so we feel a little bit caught in the crossfire of opinion.”

He said this will be “probably the most agonising Holocaust Memorial Day since it was first instituted”.

Asked about the ongoing situation in Gaza, he said: “We feel very conflicted because obviously the rising death toll is a great concern and nobody wants people to die whether they’re Israelis or Jews or Muslims or Palestinians and the death rate is horrific.”

In the face of rising antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred, it is crucial, now more than ever, that we unite to mark Holocaust Memorial Day

On calls for a ceasefire, he said: “In theory a ceasefire sounds wonderful. In practice it doesn’t solve the problem of Hamas, who want to re-enact October 7 again and again, by their own declarations.”

He repeated a statement he made in the days after the October 7 attack that political tensions in the Middle East should not be imported to the UK.

“We shouldn’t let a political conflict be seen as a religious battle and there’s no reason why British Jews and Muslims should not carry on the good relations that they had beforehand,” he said.

“It’s obviously harder but it’s still possible. I’m very adamant that, dreadful as what’s going on over in Israel and Gaza is, normal relations should continue here. And even if we have to have difficult conversations, okay, but at least let’s keep talking.”

Olivia Marks-Woldman, chief executive of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, said: “In the face of rising antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred, it is crucial, now more than ever, that we unite to mark Holocaust Memorial Day.”

She said the day, which takes place each year on January 27, “brings people together and strengthens communities, reminding us all of the need to respect the humanity in others”.

She added: “This year’s theme, the Fragility of Freedom, provides an opportunity for collective reflection on the delicate nature of freedom. It also challenges us to safeguard our freedoms at every opportunity.

“Aside from the UK national commemoration, there are thousands of local events taking place across the country: in schools, places of worship, museums and even prisons. The resilience shown by the survivors of the Holocaust, and those of more recent genocides, is not only courageous but deeply inspiring. We owe it to them to learn from the past for a better future.”