As Keir Starmer visited Golders Green in the wake of the second terrorist attack against British Jews in the last eight months, he was met with boos and heckles.
As someone who regularly engages with the government to advocate for our community, this was uncomfortable to hear. Not because I think Keir Starmer is beyond criticism, but because I do believe that, at the very least, he cares about our community.
That does not mean he got everything right. Far from it.
But the anger directed at Starmer in Golders Green reflects something deeper than disagreement over foreign policy. Because ultimately, this isn’t about the Middle East, it is about Britain. It is about a community that is sick and tired of living like this. Sick and tired of having to pray behind high fences and barbed wire; sick and tired of sending our children to school in buildings which look more like prisons than places of learning; sick and tired of having to decide whether it is safe to reveal our identity in public for fear of being attacked. This is not a situation caused by events elsewhere, it is because of a sickness within British society itself.
To his credit, I think Starmer understood that fear and recognised that British Jews face genuine threats to our safety and security. His government increased security funding for Jewish communities to record levels, strengthened powers to tackle intimidatory and disruptive protests near synagogues, and introduced legislation to tackle state threats such as the IRGC. The Downing Street summit, called after the Golders Green attack, demonstrated an understanding that civil society has failed to grasp the antisemitism crisis facing Britain.
The problem is that, despite these measures, after two years of Starmer’s premiership, British Jews feel less safe than we did when he entered office. This trend didn’t start in 2024, but the trajectory has continued.
As the Labour Party, and the country, enters a period of new leadership, most likely under Andy Burnham, the Jewish community will judge him not by his intentions, but by his actions.
I met Burnham last year in Manchester the day after the murder of two Jewish men on Yom Kippur in Heaton Park. This was the week after the Labour Party Conference in which he had made headlines as he began to make clear his intentions to challenge Starmer. It was the Heaton Park attack which brought them together as they showed a united front against antisemitism.
At the vigil which followed, David Lammy, the Deputy Prime Minister, was met with a strong reaction from the crowd including jeers and heckles. Burnham, as Mayor of Greater Manchester, received a far warmer reception. Ultimately, he must now stand up and show what he will do.
Burnham inherits a country in which antisemitism has become more normalised, more extreme and more violent. He now needs to move faster and act firmer than his predecessor in his efforts to protect British Jews.
That begins with being open with the British public about the ideologies which are spreading antisemitism. This must include the role of Islamist extremism which motivated the Yom Kippur attack and another foiled mass-casualty plot in his city.
In both cases, the perpetrators used language which made clear that their motivation to murder Jews in Manchester was linked to hatred of Israel. Burnham therefore should understand the need to end the impunity for antisemitic hate speech that has become all too common at pro-Palestinian protests. As the Macdonald review into public order and hate crime legislation is due to report imminently, it will be his responsibility to ensure its recommendations are swiftly implemented.
Indeed, this will be a theme. Starmer initiated several reviews into antisemitism, and it will be for his successor to ensure they lead to action. The Mann review has recommended changes in healthcare settings. The Bell review into antisemitism in schools is ongoing,
But beyond security and enforcement, there must be urgency in tackling antisemitic extremism, including Islamist extremism, at its roots. His government should set out a clear timetable for the counter-extremism and community cohesion measures in the Protecting What Matters action plan, which includes vital new measures to tackle extremism within charities, schools, universities and online.
British politics cannot become a competition to appease the loudest activist voices. Burnham must instead show leadership to foster a strong consensus that antisemitism, extremism and political violence have no place in Britain.
The Jewish community in Britain is strong, proud and resilient. The test will not be whether Burnham speaks warmly about our community. It will be whether he is prepared to truly confront the hatred and extremism that threaten it.
Russell Langer is director of public affairs at the JLC
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