Leaders of British Jewry on Tuesday asked U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer to protect the community, prosecute antisemitic lawbreakers, and partner with communal bodies to counter “modern manifestations” of the hatred.
The request came during what the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council called a summit meeting on antisemitism with Starmer and senior staff following the stabbing of two Jews in London on April 29.
“Protect British Jews against those who wish us harm; Prosecute those inciting hatred through swift application of the law; Partner with the Jewish community by recognizing and challenging modern manifestations of antisemitism in Britain,” the two Jewish groups wrote in a statement outlining their requests during the meeting.
The reference to “modern manifestations” was in connection with how hatred of Israel is used as cover at rallies and beyond for antisemitism, disguising some acts and rhetoric against Jewish people, which British law prohibits, as permissible criticism of the State of Israel. For many months, British police officers allowed slogans like “global intifada” and “from the river to the sea Palestine will be free” to be chanted at anti-Israel rallies despite how they were perceived by many Jews and others as calls for violence against Jews and ethnic cleansing of them, respectively.
The Golders Green stabbing, they noted, came seven months after two Jews were killed at Heaton Park in Manchester following a jihadist attack, “and among a spate of arson attacks against the Jewish community.”
While “significant work has been done in government since then, it is clear that more urgent action is necessary,” the two Jewish groups wrote. They thanked Starmer “for calling this summit” with senior government ministers and civil society leaders. “This has been an important moment to demonstrate a change in approach, and we have used this opportunity to press government and civil society to take swift and meaningful action which addresses this hatred as the crisis it is.”
The Board and the Council also said they “welcome announcements made over recent days and today, including unprecedented levels of funding for communal security; an expansion of the ‘Common Ground’ programme to channel money to areas with antisemitism challenges; new measures to suspend public funding to those promoting antisemitic content; and funding for the Board of Deputies’ new Jewish Culture Month, which starts on 16 May.”
