Ministers condemn attacks on Jews

MINISTERS have condemned an increase in anti-semitic abuse and pledged to protect the British Jewish community amid safety fears.

UK Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick said he was “appalled” by anti-semitic abuse in recent days, which included a rabbi being attacked outside his synagogue in Essex and abuse heard being shouted by car passengers in areas with large Jewish populations in north London.

Mr Jenrick told MPS the Community Security Trust, a charity providing security and advice to Jewish people, has reported a 320 per cent increase in anti-semitic incidents in the last week.

He insisted that as a father of three young Jewish girls, he is “absolutely committed” to ensuring the British Jewish communities “feel protected, feel safe and feel they can continue to thrive in this country”.

Mr Jenrick also vowed to “name and shame” councils and universities which refuse to sign up to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of anti-semitism.

Conservative former minister Robert Halfon told the Commons: “As a proud British-jewish MP, I never imagined that I would live at a time when myself and the Jewish community would question whether Britain is a safe place for Jews any more.”

It comes after thousands of people marched through London on Saturday to the gates of the Israeli embassy, while protests took place in other cities across the UK and Ireland in solidarity with the people of Palestine.

Thousands of Palestinians have been forced to flee their homes after a week of sustained conflict. Since Monday night, Palestinian militant group Hamas has fired hundreds of rockets into Israel, whose military responded by barraging the Gaza Strip with tank fire and airstrikes.