2 min read
When Theresa May attended a Board of Deputies meeting and held a sign declaring “Je Suis Juif” a week after the atrocity at the Hyper Cacher kosher supermarket in Paris, some thought it was merely an opportunistic photo opportunity.
But 18 months later, it looks like a heartfelt gesture from a Home Secretary who could easily have been elsewhere on a Sunday morning after the turmoil and terror in France.
And it is that image which will reassure many in the Jewish community about the prospects of a May premiership.
As Home Secretary for six years, Mrs May is better placed than most of her Westminster colleagues to assess the threats facing British Jews.
She has worked closely with the Community Security Trust and other Jewish groups, often personally chairing meetings that others might have delegated to a junior minister.
It is only four months – although it seems a lifetime in tumultuous post-referendum Britain – since Mrs May was awarded a standing ovation from diners at the CST’s annual dinner.
She had committed another £13.4 million of government money to communal security measures and had made her intentions towards the community clear.
CST chairman Gerald Ronson thanked her for giving both “moral support” and backing it up with the necessary “financial commitment”.
Naturally, once Mrs May moves into Downing Street – most likely in the coming days – there will be significantly greater demands on her time than issues of direct relevance to Jews.
But of all the contenders to follow David Cameron – both from the Conservatives and other parties – it is the 59-year-old Maidenhead MP who boasts the soundest track-record on Jewish concerns.
Much like her touring of Tory associations nationwide, Mrs May’s appearances at communal dinners and meetings with Jewish groups have been carried out both frequently and quietly.
Launching her party leadership bid last month, she said she did not do “showy politics”, instead favouring an approach in which “I just get on with the job in front of me and you can judge me by my record”.
On that score, her history of supporting Jewish initiatives is strong. Last July there was a speech at Hasmonean High School’s annual dinner; two months later she met Board of Deputies president Jonathan Arkush; and then there was the aforementioned CST dinner.
While critics argue that Mrs May does not have significant foreign policy achievements, on Israel she has occasionally made vocal interjections.
A keynote speech at Bnei Akiva’s Yom Ha’aztmaut event last year saw her praise Israel’s technological successes, and again she was rewarded with a significant ovation.
It will be noted that when she sought to advance efforts to tackle modern slavery and human trafficking, it was Israel that Mrs May travelled to and used as an example of best practice.
There have been pledges while in the Home Office to defend shechita, and one of her most notable interventions and legal challenges came with the attempt to ban from Britain the blood libel cleric, Raed Salah.
That lengthy court effort will not be forgotten by a community which has in the past seen politicians pledge to stop hate speakers but fail to follow-through on their promises.
It was Mrs May who, last December, stood in for David Cameron at the Downing Street Chanucah party, lighting the menorah alongside Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis. Little could she have dreamt that this year she would be repeating the feat as Prime Minister herself.
Mr Cameron has been lauded as the most philosemitic premier since Margaret Thatcher. British Jews will now hope that the second woman to hold the keys to Number 10 will follow in the footsteps of those two predecessors.
On the evidence of Mrs May’s years in government, there is every reason to believe that she will provide the reassurance our community so often desires.
To get more from opinion, click here to sign up for our free Editor's Picks newsletter.