I am a Jew. I first encountered anti-Semitism as a child in the back alleys of north London in the late 1940s. “What is a dirty Jew?” I asked my mother after my first brush with the local tough guys. She cried and hugged me. Thereafter my days were bent towards avoiding being beaten up after school, and to protecting my precious bicycle and even more treasured violin. Years later I heard my brothers’ stories, and also learnt that my father had changed his name from Goldberg to Gould to save his business and to protect his family.

No respite came until I started classes at the Royal Academy of Music, where one’s birthright was of no significance and the music all important. I went on to become a professional musician. I was principal viola for the London Symphony Orchestra, I was a founder member of the Carl Pini String Quartet, and have enjoyed an international playing career and large teaching practice wherever I have lived.

Throughout my life music making has afforded me a universal, non-discriminatory family. I found this complete lack of discrimination and universality in no other field until I visited Sukyo Mahikari.

I have now been a member of Sukyo Mahikari for 22 years. During that time I have attended the primary, intermediate and advanced courses many times, and have never heard or read anything to suggest that Sukyo Mahikari is even remotely anti-Semitic. For instance, the allegation that the Mahikari organisation draws part of its teachings from the Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion is completely untrue. Whether this matter was ever mentioned many years ago as a reference in some context I cannot say, but referring to publications from other fields does not make them teachings of Sukyo Mahikari.

It therefore astounds and alarms me to come across the completely untrue view on the internet that Sukyo Mahikari is anti-Semitic. Sukyo Mahikari is NOT anti-Semitic or anti- any other religion, ideology or ethnic group. Anti-Semitism has been such a sensitive issue in my life that it would be impossible for me to be a part of any spiritual path that was anti-Semitic.

On the contrary, one of the primary tenets of Sukyo Mahikari is “the origin of all humans is one, the origin of all religions is one”. This was one of the things that attracted me to this path.

I am not a researcher, but I have years of rich observation and experience with Sukyo Mahikari. I have found that Sukyo Mahikari has furthered my progress as a musician and teacher and deepened my understanding of Judaism.

I have four times, by invitation, played violin at major ceremonies in Sukyo Mahikari’s World Shrine in Takayama, Japan. I am aware that there are many Jewish members of Sukyo Mahikari, and I have attended special Sukyo Mahikari events that were also attended by Jewish rabbis, academics and diplomats.

In January 2005, the “Japan Culture Center in Israel” was launched in the Hebrew University. As a Jew, I am concerned that some scholars have used this event to bring up the allegation that Sukyo Mahikari is anti-Semitic, without researching the matter. I believe they are largely basing their stance on some internet reports made by a handful of people who, it seems to me, are trying to discredit Sukyo Mahikari due to personal grievances, not facts. To me, the fact that Sukyo Mahikari is supporting the Japan Culture Center in Israel in itself shows cooperation, not antagonism.

Surely, before drawing conclusions about such a sensitive matter as anti-Semitism it is important to verify the credibility of the source of the material cited. Researcher Dr Andris Tebecis, Regional Director of Sukyo Mahikari Australia-Oceania, a person with decades of experience with the Mahikari organisation - as a practitioner, teacher and administrator - has already refuted the allegations that Sukyo Mahikari is anti-Semitic (The Australia/Israel Review, 27 June-24 July,1997, p.2).

In his latest book, Is the future in our hands? My experiences with Sukyo Mahikari (2004), Sunrise Press: Canberra (available on Amazon.com) the author not only dispels the false view that Sukyo Mahikari is anti-Semitic, but he deals with other allegations made on the internet and presents possible reasons why misunderstandings have occurred (chapter 2, p. 46, How the Mahikari organisation is evolving). He also reviews the academic studies of the Mahikari organisation (chapter 5, p. 142) and the pitfalls of drawing firm conclusions from little data. This book is an authoritative work on the organisation, and would be a credible source of information for both academics and people in general. Even better would be for people to actually visit a Sukyo Mahikari Centre and experience this path first-hand.

I say all this sincerely with the hope of promoting understanding and cooperation, not because I wish to add fuel to any dispute. In this time of turbulence when conflict over ideological differences has even led to terrorism, I appeal to people to seek harmony in a broad-hearted and truthful way.