Jewish people continue to face “ugly brutality and racism” 90 years on from the Battle of Cable Street, a government minister told the House of Commons.
The comments were made at a debate commemorating the 90th anniversary of the day the local Jewish community and allies resisted British fascist leader Oswald Mosley and his supporters’ attempt to march through what was then a heavily Jewish area in London’s East End.
The discussion was brought by Apsana Begum MP, left-wing Labour MP for Poplar and Limehouse, which contains Cable Street, ahead of events commemorating the clashes on October 4, 1936.
Parliament will be in recess on that day this year.
She told MPs: “The victory [over Mosley] is held up today as a high water mark for so many causes, including anti-fascism, grassroots Jewish activism and cross-community solidarity. It echoes from 1936 to the present in so many ways.”
She continued: “Antisemitism and hate crimes are again on the rise in Britain. Of course, we must never forget the victims of the recent antisemitic attacks in north London—including the stabbings in Golders Green earlier this year—and the abhorrent Heaton Park terrorist attack a year ago, which took the lives of Melvin Cravitz and Adrian Daulby.”
Begum went on to warn that Britain was “seeing the return of far-right and racist agitators who seek, much like Mosely, to exploit the struggles of working-class people in this country and sow hatred, intolerance and division.”
The debate also saw a contribution from Jeremy Corbyn. The former Labour leader told told the Commons: “We should remember that in 1936 all of officialdom said to the people of the East End, ‘Shut up, do nothing about it and let them march.’
“The people refused to let them march—it was the biggest defeat that Mosley and the fascists ever had in Britain—and we should thank them for their bravery.”
Begum went on to praise the MP for Islington North’s parents, saying that “over the years, I have spoken to him about his parents’ stories.”
Corbyn has spoken before about how his mother stood against the fascists at the Battle of Cable Street.
Speaking for the government, Eshalomi told MPs: “The Battle of Cable Street was a defining moment in the history of the city that I and my honourable friend the Member for Poplar and Limehouse proudly represent.
“When Londoners blocked Mosley’s antisemites from marching, they showed the world that hatred and intolerance have no place on these streets. London, both then and now, is built on solidarity across our differences. I am proud that we are a hugely diverse city—it is a key component of our success. We are bonded by being Londoners. We look out for each other in London. This is the point that the fascists back then could not comprehend, and it is exactly what far-right extremists today fail to understand.”
The minister then praised the Jewish community in leading the resistance to Mosley: “The 4 October 1936 was not just a significant moment in London’s history; it was pivotal in the history of British Jews. It was Jewish communities that Mosley was targeting, and it was Jewish communities who led the response and built the barricades against the fascists, made with anything they could find from nearby streets and builders’ yards. In the many years since, the Jewish community has been at the heart of London’s culture, identity and great achievements.”
However, she lamented that “90 years on, Jewish people continue to face the same ugly brutality and racism here in our city.”
The MP for Vauxhall and Camberwell Green continued: “I can testify to that first hand. As an MP working directly with many different communities, I was deeply disturbed to be confronted by the casual, day-to-day antisemitism on our streets. We remember with deep sadness the victims of Heaton Park—I attended a memorial with the Secretary of State on the bank holiday on August 31, meeting the families of the two people who were tragically killed—and the stabbing of two Jewish men in Golders Green. But we must do much more than remember; we must confront this hate where it persists in educational settings, workplaces, public services and beyond.”
“Today, our Jewish friends and neighbours, in the face of antisemitism, need us all to stand with them again”, she said, adding that the government had “taken a firm stance against antisemitism and are tackling it across businesses, civil society, health, education, culture and policing.”
Their commitment was “backed up by action including £32.4 million for Jewish community protective security, alongside a wider £251.1 million policing package over the next three years, a £1 million expansion of the Common Ground programme for communities facing antisemitism, and up to £7 million to tackle antisemitism in schools, colleges and universities.”
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