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Board of Deputies praises 'firm friends' in Boris Johnson's new Cabinet

Dominic Raab, whose father came to Britain fleeing the Nazis, and Grant Shapps are among those promoted

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The Board of Deputies has welcomed Boris Johnson's new Cabinet, saying there are "many firm friends" of the Jewish community among them.

After officially becoming prime minister on Wednesday afternoon, Mr Johnson embarked upon a total reorganisation of Theresa May's Cabinet.

His appointments include former Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab as foreign secretary - the son of a Jewish refugee who fled the Nazis from Cezchoslovakia.

During his bid for the Tory leadership, he produced a video telling his father's story, in which he said of Labour's antisemitism crisis: "Every one of us in politics must always stand against antisemitism in all its forms.

"It's not just political. For some of us, it's personal."

Grant Shapps replaces Chris Grayling as Transport Secretary.

In an interview with the JC in 2010, Mr Shapps said: "I feel totally Jewish; I am totally Jewish. I don't eat pork, we only buy kosher meat and we don't mix meat and milk.

"I like being Jewish and I married a Jewish girl. It's like a way of life and it's good to be able to instil some of that sense of being in your kids.

"All of that makes me seem as though I am quite observant but actually the flipside of this is I don't know if there is a God or not.

"But one thing I am absolutely certain of is that God wouldn't care if you were Jewish or Christian or Muslim."

Board President Marie van der Zyl said: "We are very pleased to see many firm friends of the community taking their places on the front bench.

"We had a good relationship with Theresa May’s team, and look forward to continuing to advance the interests of the community with our many longstanding friends in Boris Johnson’s new government."

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