“His Majesty’s response to the rise in antisemitism has been magnificent. He visited Heaton Park, and he visited us at CST, and now it is my privilege to be able to share news of which we are deeply proud.
"This morning, King Charles III graciously accepted our invitation to become patron of CST.”
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood MP and Sir Gerald Ronson at the annual CST dinner on March 23, 2026 (Blake Ezra Photography)(C) Blake Ezra Photography 2026 @BlakeEzraPhoto @mitzvahs.uk info@blakeezraphotography.com
Another ally present, Finkelstein continued, was Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, who spoke at the dinner.
Mahmood focused her speech on the arson attack against four Hatzola ambulances in Golders Green, which had happened less than 24 hours earlier and which police are investigating as an “antisemitic hate crime”.
She said: “The truth is, we meet at a profoundly difficult time for our Jewish community. I know that sense of distress and anxiety will only have been heightened by the appalling scenes from Golders Green - [the targeting of Hatzola] - an institution devoted to saving lives and serving the public in North London.
“It is so warped it defies words. This was more than an attack on four ambulances; it was more than an attack on one organisation or on one community. It was an attack on this country and on us all."
It is incidents like this, Mahmood said, which show how necessary CST is.
She told guests: “There is no question that people across this country are safer because of the work of the people in this room and many outside of it, too.
"I hope that, in the years ahead, the work of the CST will grow less necessary, less urgent. But that is the world as I want it to be, not the world as it is.
“And in this moment, your work has never been more important. I am proud of the work we do together, and I am forever in awe of your dedication and duty. So may I end by thanking you once more, for the vital service you provide.”
Sir Gerald Ronson, chairman of CST, said at the event: “This is one of the most important charity dinners in the history of the Jewish community.
“Because if you do not have security, you do not have a community. That is why I have fought against antisemitism for the last 63 years of my life. CST gives our community strength.
"The next few years will be absolutely critical in deciding the future of British Jews and our wider society.”
(L-R) Lady Valerie Mirvis, Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis, Sir Gerald Ronson, and Dame Gail Ronson (Blake Ezra Photography)(C) Blake Ezra Photography 2026 @BlakeEzraPhoto @mitzvahs.uk info@blakeezraphotography.com
And CST CEO Mark Gardner MBE said of the challenges faced in the community: “CST has never been stronger or more determined than we are right now”.
CST secures over 400 Jewish sites across the country with the help of over 2,500 trained volunteers, CCTV cameras, and protective infrastructure, such as metal gates.
Its volunteers were present during the attack on the Heaton Park synagogue in Manchester last Yom Kippur, which claimed the lives of Adrian Daulby and Melvin Cravitz.
Homage was paid to the two men, and the synagogue’s Rabbi Daniel Walker said that, had it not been for CST, the tragedy would have been “even worse”.
However, the security that CST provides does not come cheaply. Each and every volunteer requires equipment worth over £1,000 – that equates to £2.5 million on equipment alone. And the CCTV cameras - of which there are thousands - cost £30 a month each to run.
This year £28 million has been allocated to CST in government funding - the highest it has ever received in one go. Last year, £18 million was allocated, with an additional £10 million being allocated later in the year.
