After Paris Home Secretary’s message May admits UK Jews are ‘fearful’
Two cabinet ministers attend Board of Deputies meeting in wake of attacks
THERESA MAY has acknowledged that tensions following the terrorist attack on a kosher supermarket in Paris has left some Jews “fearful” of staying in Britain.
Speaking at a special Board of Deputies meeting on Sunday, the Home Secretary said: “I know many Jews in this country are feeling anxious. I never thought I’d see the day that members of the Jewish community would say they are fearful of remaining here in the UK, which means we must redouble our efforts to wipe out antisemitism in the UK.”
She promised the government would “bring forward new proposals to combat all forms of extremism, and the spike of antisemitism which we have seen following the war in Gaza.
“As anyone who has visited Yad Vashem, as I did, knows we must do everything we can to stop antisemitism. Those attitudes have absolutely no place in Britain, and we must do everything we can to eradicate them.”
Theresa May and Eric Pickles join the Board of Deputies in expressing solidarity with the Hyper Cacher victims
Mrs May said the police were working with organisations such as the Community Security Trust (CST) and security group Shomrim to ensure Jews across the country feel safe.
She also highlighted worrying new trends in the way antisemitism is being conveyed, such as over social media and, increasingly, at demonstrations.
“Where people have obscene plac- ards and slogans, related even to the Holocaust, it is shocking. When people break the law in this way, they should be prosecuted. The police gather evidence to do so afterwards, but more must be done to publicise this reaction. Arrests and charges should be clearly shown, as an example to others.”
Eric Pickles also spoke at the meeting, titled #NousSommesJuif, in honour of the Hyper Cacher victims.
The Communities Secretary told deputies he stood with the Jewish community against extremism, saying: “I can’t think of anywhere else I’d want to be, shoulder to shoulder with the Jewish community of the UK, shoulder to shoulder with fellow British citizens.”
He also hailed the impact of Jews on Britain: “The Jewish community is a vital part of what makes Britain tick.”
Laura Marks, senior vice-president at the Board, thanked the ministers for addressing the board in the wake of the Paris attacks. “We so desperately appreciate you both coming along. The support makes so much difference to us,” she said.
Board president Vivian Wineman, said: “This has been a clear demonstration of the government’s and the country’s solidarity with the community at this critical time.”
Representatives from the French embassy and the umbrella group for French Jews, the Conseil Représentatif des Institutions Juives de France, also attended.