Sarah Sackman: ‘Ambient antisemitism’ has taken over parts of British cultural life

“It’s that climate of fear that I know that so many people feel that we have to address,” 41-year-old Sackman said, adding: “I’ll be damned if any antisemite, whether they come from the hard left, the hard right, or Islamist extremism, makes people like me and people in my community feel any less safe.”

Despite opinion polling showing that British Jews are steadily moving away from Labour politically, Sackman insisted that she will continue to “engage regularly with all sections of the Jewish community” and champion communal concerns.

“Not everybody voted for me at the last election, but people have put their trust in me to be an advocate for the local area, to be an advocate for the community’s concerns, and I’ll make sure I keep advocating for them, whether or not they decide to vote for me or not,” the justice minister said.

One way she is doing so is by surveying her constituents about antisemitism.

Sackman, a barrister by profession, also claimed that, far from being a survey sent around by politicians for self-promotional reasons, the responses from it are fed to the prime minister directly.

“When I meet the prime minister, as I did last week, I’m relaying the concerns from the coal face of the community to express the very raw fears, the very real pain that the community feels, and to demand more, and I’m pleased that we’ve seen action.”

And she championed some of the recent measures introduced by the government in the aftermath of the Heaton Park terror attack: “£10 million investment in the CST … strengthening regulation of medical practitioners to root out antisemites … of investing in education, in our university and training for antisemitism”, but she still recognised that there was “a huge way to go”.

One key result of her survey so far is that constituents are considering moving to Israel in part because of their frustration that no one takes their concerns about antisemitism seriously enough.

But Sackman has a clear message to anyone thinking of making aliyah out of fear: “As a proud British Jew, I’ll be damned if antisemites cause us to feel less safe and less welcome in our home.

“This is our home. We have every right to fight for our place here. And I want to reassure the community that in this government, you have a government that stands by your side in that fight.”

Asked about the recent controversy involving Louis Theroux’s interview with the front man of Bob Vylan, which led to British Airways pulling out as sponsors of Theroux’s podcast, Sackman said she felt “what all Jews felt … appalled”, when she heard the punk band’s singer shout “death to the IDF” from the stage at Glastonbury.

And she admitted that while the government’s first priority was to make people feel safe, there was a broader societal problem to be dealt with. “People in the community consistently tell me we don’t just want to build higher walls around our synagogues and schools, we want to live in a culture where we feel safe,” she told the JC.

According to Sackman, an “ambient antisemitism” has “taken hold in parts of our cultural life”, and more longstanding action is necessary. “It’s vital that Jews in this country cannot just survive but thrive. Whether it’s in universities, when they access public services, doctors and schools, or when they’re just simply walking home.

“And that long-term work to root out the oldest hate is something that government, together, hand in hand, in partnership with the community, needs to be engaged in.”

It is why one of the measures introduced by the government which she most welcomes is the commitment by Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, “to work with UJS (Union of Jewish Students) to deliver training sessions in antisemitism, to provide training for staff, to introduce antisemitism education, Holocaust education in the curriculum so that we can begin to tackle these attitudes at their root”.

But with the sight of Israeli professor Michael Ben-Gad being harassed by keffiyeh-clad pro-Palestine students while trying to teach his course at London’s City St George’s University, will education and training really cut the mustard? While Sackman said the protesters should feel “the full force of the law”, she added that the fact that “1,500 academics signed a letter in support” of Ben-Gad and against the mob tells an important, if understated, truth.

“The vast majority of British people are tolerant, are decent, and stand with British Jews because antisemitism isn’t a fight just for Jews to have. It’s a fight for the entirety of British society and the vast majority of British people, I believe, stand with us in this fight.”

In the aftermath of the terrorist atrocity in Heaton Park, Sackman was struck by the sheer number of people of different non-Jewish backgrounds – Christian, Muslim, atheist, and others – who were keen to offer their solidarity, support and express their outrage at what had taken place in Manchester.

Sackman, who was first elected last year, is one of few MPs to be appointed to ministerial office (first as solicitor general, then moved to justice minister) directly after entering Parliament. Although it has been “tremendously challenging”, she says “every day in government is worth 100 in opposition, because it’s about exercising power for a purpose.”

Challenged that many of her Jewish voters feel betrayed by Labour’s actions in government, including restoring funding to UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA – whose employees Israel accuses of participating in the October 7 atrocities – and unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state, Sackman retorted: “As you know from your readers, the views with the Jewish community are diverse. People have different opinions on foreign policy, on the way the government should approach matters in Israel and Gaza.

“I think we all welcome the breakthrough through [of] the Trump peace plan, and, of course, the return of the hostages.”

Where she is unequivocal is in her desire to see a robust response to antisemitism on pro-Palestine marches.“Where people on those marches cross the line into antisemitic rhetoric, sharing antisemitic messaging, calling for a globalised intifada, they should feel the full force of the law,” the justice minister said.

“We have to balance the right to free and legitimate protests, which is a cornerstone of our democracy, with the right of people to live their lives free from intimidation. And by the way, the importance of the police being given the freedom to do their job and protect all of us from crime, not simply policing the marches.”

Welcoming the measures by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood to amend the Public Order Act to allow police forces to take account of the “cumulative impact” of repeat protests, she added: “Jewish people in this country have every right to feel safe and secure, and that’s what we’ve got to guarantee.”