Archbishop says of anti-semitism: ‘If one group is targeted, it’s a threat to all’

The Archbishop of Canterbury has warned people must be vigilant against anti-semitism and stressed that British Jews are as Brit- ish as anyone else. The Most Rev Justin Welby was speaking at an event at Lambeth Palace yesterday commemorating the 80th anniversary of Kristallnacht and the Kindertransport.

Mr Welby warned that anti- Semitism can lead to prejudice and discrimination against other religions.

He said: “We come today to remember and give thanks for the Kindertransport and we come to mourn the events of Kristallnacht, but we also come to say, ‘Let us be vigilant’. We know from that terrible period that if even one religious or ethnic group is targeted, it’s a threat to them all.”

Kristallnacht – “the night of broken glass” – saw thousands of Jews subjected to terror and violence, with buildings and synagogues destroyed and vandalised. Later that month the British government agreed to allow unaccompanied Jewish children to enter the UK.

During the Kindertransport, nearly 10,000 Jewish children fleeing central Europe were accepted into the UK.

Mr Welby added: “What I want to say is that you are as British as anyone else. It shouldn’t need to be said, but people have denied it in recent times.”