New Communities Secretary drops by
BORIS JOHNSON’S new Housing and Communities Secretary has visited Golders Green just days after his appointment and has told the JC that ensuring Britain’s Jews feel “protected and respected” will be “one of my priorities”.
Robert Jenrick also dismissed claims that Mr Johnson’s premiership would lead to a more divisive society, adding: “I know that Boris feels very strongly that the government must use everything at its disposal to tackle the scourge of antisemitism.”
The MP for Newark was joined by Golders Green Rabbi Harvey Belovski for a bagel at the Carmelli bakery, before sitting down with Jewish students at the nearby Headroom Café to hear accounts of life on campus.
“I am very concerned to hear the stories we have just heard — young Jewish students whose experiences on campus are not the same as everyone else’s. That is a situation we need to tackle.”
Mr Jenrick later said: “I wanted to come and meet members of the Jewish community within my first few days because I want to be tackling antisemitism and ensuring the Jewish community feels protected and respected as one of my priorities as Secretary of State.
“I feel ashamed by the current climate of antisemitism in this country and I think all politicians need to do far more to tackle it.”
Mr Jenrick, the youngest member of the new Tory cabinet having been born in the 1980s and entered the Commons in 2014, praised two previous Conservative leaders — David Cameron and Theresa May — for their work combatting anti-Jewish racism.
He pointed to the continued funding of the CST and the implementation of the IHRA definition of antisemitism as evidence.
The Communities Secretary has an Israeli-born wife, which, he said, has brought him a strong awareness of Jewish issues.
He said a visit to Auschwitz “had a huge impact on me personally”, particularly as his wife is the child of Holocaust survivors.
Mr Jendrick also rejected concerns over the new PM’s record of making problematic comments about minority communities.
“The Boris Johnson I know is someone who supports an open, liberal society,” he said.
“He was a successful Mayor of London — which is one of, if not the most, diverse cities in the world. He organised some of the great unifying events like the Olympics. He brought on a very diverse team of people around him, in terms of gender and faith. His vision for the country is for a more united country.
“Once we get Brexit done on October 31 we can concentrate on bringing the country back together, making it a more integrated, cohesive society. That’s the central mission of the administration — levelling up the country.”
During Mr Jenrick’s visit on Friday he also met the Jewish Leadership Council’s Claudia Mendoza, whose member organisation Jami opened the Headroom Café, and Karen Pollock of the Holocaust Education Trust.
Mr Jenrick stressed that as a Treasury Minister he was responsible for last year’s extra £1.7 million government spending on Holocaust education in schools. He was also a firm supporter of the decision to proscribe Hezbollah in its entirety and is now just as committed to ensuring that the Holocaust Memorial next to Parliament is completed.
He says he will be sitting down with Ed Balls and Eric Pickles “in the coming weeks” to ensure the “project is delivered”.
Mr Jenrick has for some time represented the National Holocaust Centre and Memorial in Nottingham.
But he stresses that the “educational aspect” of the Westminster memorial and learning centre is something he sees as being particularly vital and important to deliver properly.
I want to ensure the community feels protected’