Addressing a Downing St Chanukah celebration, the Prime Minister quoted Rabbi Lord Sacks when he told those gathered: “Wherever antisemitism flourishes, society is in danger… we are living in such a moment now”.
Last year, Community Security Trust (CST) recorded a 4 per cent rise in reported antisemitic incidents from an already record high. Today we continue to mourn the tragic consequences of hate, including the Heaton Park Synagogue attack and the deaths of Melvin Cravitz and Adrian Daulby, of blessed memory. Safeguarding Jewish life is not just an issue for the Jewish community; it is a test of British values.
The tradition of standing up for the oppressed and protecting pluralism is part of who we are; one needs only think of the Kindertransport. Today, cheap populism at both ends of the political spectrum threatens this commitment, driving the politics of division, of which rising antisemitism is an inevitable consequence.
Yet even in darkness, we draw hope and strength from our traditions. During recent Purim celebrations, we remembered the power of collective action in painful times. Through the tireless work of CST, members of our community risk their safety to protect others. Government support, including record security funding, has helped, but the flourishing of our communities is about more than security spending. It requires collective courage and a strong commitment to tackling hate speech and upholding the British values of tolerance and mutual respect across all faiths.
That is why I am proud to have worked on the Government’s new Crime & Policing Bill, which introduces powers allowing the police to consider the cumulative impact of repeated protests and better protect access to places of worship. Just this Monday, we ensured that the Holocaust Memorial Gardens in Hyde Park were added to a new list of protected national memorials. On the same day, the Government published a new Social Cohesion Action Plan, strengthening our commitment to building resilient communities. It gives communities new powers to prevent extremist activity, improves coordination with local councils and reinforces our efforts to tackle antisemitism and religious hate across society.
As CST noted in its response, the announcements in the Action Plan “root Jews within British society and rightly treat antisemitism as a matter of national importance”. It highlights the need to address antisemitism in the NHS and in schools as is currently being evaluated in the upcoming Sir David Bell and Lord Mann reviews. The Government pledges to act on the findings when they are published to further tackle antisemitism. Our wider approach to policing public order and protests will be reconsidered in light of the review being undertaken by Lord MacDonald KC and local authorities will be encouraged to adopt the International Holocaust Memorial Alliance’s Working definition of Antisemitism, as many have already done.
Importantly, as the CST also noted, the threat from Islamism and the far-right are “predominant threats” not only to Jews, but to national cohesion. It rightly identifies conspiracy theories as “gateways to radicalised thinking and sometimes violence. They often make unevidenced claims about the causes of social and political events, attempting to explain them by blaming groups or powerful actors” – which, thinking of long-standing antisemitic tropes, sounds awfully familiar.
We are facing immense challenges, but the government is committed to protecting faith communities. These policies are necessary steps towards a safer, more cohesive Britain for everyone - including Jewish communities. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood MP’s decision to ban the notorious Al Quds march this weekend demonstrates the Government’s willingness to take tough calls to prevent disorder and protect our community.
However, the same cannot be said across the entire political spectrum. We are seeing growing polarisation and, from some voices, an intolerance of the right of different faiths and beliefs to coexist; attitudes that undermine the very British values of respect and tolerance.
We must ignore populist voices, whether Reform or Green; they seek to pit us with some minorities against others. We can not win a numbers game; nor should we seek to; lest we ignore the constant lesson of our Jewish history: those who hate will always turn on the Jews
Time and again, international conflicts reverberate onto our streets, into our schools, and within our local communities. When global events echo locally and division is stoked, we must respond locally: within our communities and by reaching out to members of other faith groups. Together we must reaffirm the right of every person to live and worship freely, honour Britain’s history, and uphold our responsibility to one another. And that also means vigorously defending Zionism, as our people’s right to national self-determination – nothing more, but certainly nothing less. The idea that a national party could vote to discriminate against one of its oldest minorities, in exercising their freedom in this way expressing this right is abhorrent.
As Rabbi Lord Sacks warned, when antisemitism is allowed to take root, society itself is in danger. Antisemitism, the oldest hate, is a canary in the coal mine, presaging wider division and violence in society. The task we face is clear: from our neighbourhoods to our nation, we must all act to prevent it, ensuring Britain is defined by unity, resilience, and hope.
Lord Katz is writing in his capacity as a Labour Party Faith and Belief Champion, all views are his own.
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