IT’S been a week since the BBC broadcast its explosive Panorama documentary on anti-Semitism in the Labour Party. For British Jews who have been tirelessly raising the alarm about the growing frequency and flagrance of hatred, the broadcast was a moment freighted with expectation and nervousness.

Many would recognise their own experience in the stories told, but would this programme make a difference?

A week on, it feels as if the fears of many in the community have been confirmed: it hasn’t made a jot of difference. In fact, it may have made things much worse.

Despite doing my best to avoid discussion of the programme online, it wasn’t possible to log on to Twitter without being pulled by the squall by a sea of outrage. Some expressed their shock and dismay, but what struck me most of all was the outcry against it.

The revelations in the programme prompted a doubling-down by those willing to defend anti-Jewish sentiment in the name of “balance”, “fairness” and any other moral justification from a litany of excuses. It has been dismaying to see that many of those who claim to have left-wing values have a blind spot when it comes to anti-Semitism.

What’s clear is that this “debate” – which shouldn’t be a debate if you genuinely believe that structural inequality and prejudice are a blight on sincere efforts for a fairer society – has become utterly toxic.

Some on the left have become so blinkered by their disdain for Israel that they can no longer tell the difference between criticism and indulging in tropes. Many have become so intransigent that they cannot hear the voices of those whose lives are impacted every day by anti-Semitism.

A mindset that sees all attempts to verbalise experiences by those in the community as a plot to unseat Jeremy Corbyn, which further inoculates his defenders against the genuine pain Jews are trying to communicate.

Efforts by Jewish people to render their oppression visible are greeted not with the recognition and empathy they deserve, but with denial, dismissal and naked distortions in the mouths of their supposed comrades that furthers their marginalisation.

Right now, trying to be heard feels like an exhausting and ultimately futile fight. The present political conditions have rendered communicating the impact of this prejudice impossible. Time and again, I’ve seen the same futile exchange play out:

a Jewish person talks about anti-Semitism. They are then subjected to an inquisition by non-Jews and asked to prove their position. They are asked for documents, witnesses, concrete evidence that they are telling the truth.

But no matter what proof or what explanation is given, the non-Jews will decide this position is unjustified – in their opinion. This leaves Jews mute, unable to express their sincere feelings and lived experience to those who claim to be on their side. Any attempt to speak up and out renders them in service of the enemy. Any attempt to bring focus to anti-Semitism is seen as an attempt to destroy the left or prevent a socialist government, even if the Jewish person in question shares the same political leaning.

In this scenario, the non-Jewish persons position themselves as arbiters, deciding what satisfies their definition of “real” racism. Substitute “Jewish” for any other characteristic, and the problem should be apparent.

As I write this, there is a person in my Twitter mentions talking about “Israeli fanatics” and a “false-flag attack” and accusing Jews complaining about anti-Semitism of “crying wolf”. The same person also claims to be deeply concerned about anti-Semitism and considers themselves to be an ally to a minority. The cognitive dissonance is frightening.

For some on the left, the price of admission for minorities is silence when it comes to issues that directly affect them. If their contribution doesn’t harmonise with the choir, they need to shut up, learn how to sing in tune, or get out. This is the death knell of progress. Instead of acknowledging diversity within your movement, and drawing from it, homogeneity is demanded, which is then pointed to as a sign of being the “right” kind of minority voice.

It happens on the right when Jews are appropriated as an anti-Muslim ally, and on the left when the only Jewish voices tolerated are the ones that support the dominant position. Neither is a position the community would wish to be in.

So this is where we are, stuck in a mire where Jews/Zionism/Israel/elites have become interchangeable and synonymous, as well as acceptable within some parts of the left. The Jewish community is held in a pincer grasp between those on the hard right who are openly racist and opposed to their existence, and those on the left who do not recognise the enormous blind spot within a broadly anti-racist movement.

If we are wrong (we’re not), and this is a case of a few bad apples (it’s not), how much consistently rotten fruit is needed before we abandon the orchard?