The prime minister has demanded tougher action against antisemitism in the arts and in universities, as he called on all of society to join in efforts to tackle antisemitism.
Speaking in Downing Street on Tuesday morning, Sir Keir Starmer said: “Last October, at Heaton Park, a deadly terrorist attack shocked the nation. Similarly, last week’s terrorist attack in Golders Green was utterly appalling. But they were not isolated incidents.
“It is part of a pattern of rising antisemitism that has left our Jewish communities feeling frightened, angry, and asking whether this country, their home, is safe for them”, Starmer added.
The prime minister went on to say that words of solidarity with the Jewish community were insufficient, and actions were required across the whole of society.
"And that responsibility lies with each and every one of us”, he told the audience, which included Jewish communal leaders, cabinet ministers, senior police officers, trade union officials and church representatives.
Starmer went on to announce additional measures to tackle antisemitism in public life.
He told the room: “We already expect universities to set out clear disciplinary consequences for antisemitism, and to enforce them. And so we will hold them to account on that.
“But today, I can announce that we will lift the bar higher: when abuses take place, we are calling on universities to demonstrate action. We will now expect them to publish the scale of the problem on their campuses, as well as the specific steps they have taken to clamp down on it. There will be zero tolerance for inaction.”
He also said he “expected more” to be done to tackle antisemitism in the arts and culture.
“Where public funding is being used to promote or platform antisemitism, the Arts Council must act, using its powers to suspend, withdraw and claw back funding”, he said, adding: “We are mandating an independent audit of how allegations are handled.
“This will be a hard-edged review of where systems are failing and where they need to be strengthened.
”We will not and cannot accept complacency, delays, or weak enforcement. And where complacency is found, it will be challenged and addressed swiftly.”
Starmer similarly addressed what he called a “quieter but no less serious harm” of security costs effectively “forcing Jewish artists and organisations out of public life”. “That is exclusion – and it is unacceptable,” he added.
“We will ensure that the Arts Council and Home Office funding can be used to cover protective security costs, so that participation is not determined by fear.”
The prime minister said that the government wouldn’t “stop playing our part” to tackle antisemitism, but that it was not a goal that ministers could achieve alone.
Starmer told the room that had seen the “poison” of antisemitism up close while tackling it in the Labour Party.
He went on: “I have seen the damage it does when it takes hold. And I know what it demands to root it out – a coordinated approach, an unwavering resolve and zero tolerance for failure.
"That is the action I took in the Labour Party. That I had to take in the Labour Party. And that is what we must do today”.
The prime minister said he would be using “the full force of the state to that end”, noting the recent £25 million increase in security funding.
“That is the right thing to do. But what a sad thing to read out that list of acts to you – protecting synagogues, schools and community centres… we cannot accept a future where communities feel safer only behind higher walls.”
But he went on to say that although security was essential, it was “not enough” and promised to “deal with the forces that drive this hatred in the first place”.
Starmer then expressed a direct message to Iran, saying that any regime involvement in the spate of antisemitic attacks would “not be tolerated”.
As the prime minister revealed exclusively to the JC last month, the government was bringing in new legislation that would effectively proscribe Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which he said would be fast-tracked “to tackle these malign threats”.
However, he went on to say that “we are clear-eyed about the fact that antisemitism does not have one source alone. Islamist, far-left and far-right extremism all target Jewish communities.”
And he also said that the government was strengthening the government’s ability to disrupt extremism through measures including “stopping those who spread hatred from entering the country and giving the Charity Commission stronger powers to act against organisations that enable it”, holding tech companies to account and requiring them to remove illegal extremist content or face serious penalties, and “bolstering the response of our justice system - working to speed up sentencing for offences so that consequences are swift and the deterrent is clear”.
He then praised as “courageous” a speech by the Union of Jewish Students (UJS) president Louis Dankner, who had spoken before the prime minister and lamented both that “old fashioned prejudice was becoming entrenched in the next generation” – citing their study that one in five students wouldn’t want to live in a house with a Jew – and the lack of outrage from “anti-racists” in response to the spate of antisemitic attacks.
After the prime minister’s speech, those present attended a summit on antisemitism in Downing Street for further discussion of the issues raised.
The JC understands that the idea for a summit bringing together civil society leaders arose following his visit to Golders Green last week, which impressed upon him the need for a wider societal response to tackle rising antisemitism.
Attendees included Communities Secretary Steve Reed; Health Secretary Wes Streeting, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood; Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, Investment Minister Lord Stockwood and Faith Minister Miatta Fahnbulleh, each of whom met with prominent figures in their respective sectors.
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