Action to protect Britain's Jewish community
Whatever you think about who is responsible for the tragic events in the Middle East - I have made no secret about my own views - none of the communities who live in this country are responsible and it is totally unacceptable that anyone should stir up hatred against innocent members of any community here.
This week the UK government announced £3 million of extra funding to protect schools, synagogues, and other Jewish community buildings in the UK– as we do all we can to protect the Jewish community here in the UK.
- Israel’s defensive action against Hamas must not be used as an excuse to stir up hatred against the Jewish population. The Jewish people are under attack in their homeland – we must do everything in our power to protect Jewish people everywhere in our country.
- That is why the government is increasing protection for the British Jewish community, providing £3 million of extra funding to the Community Security Trust – an organisation established to protect British Jews from antisemitism and related threats. This will bring total funding for Jewish Community Protection Security to £18 million this year, ensuring schools, synagogues and other Jewish community buildings have additional security guards and protections.
- The UK government is also working round the clock to ensure British nationals are able to leave Israel if they wish to do so. Yesterday we commenced evacuation flights for vulnerable British nationals stranded in Israel and will continue directly contact those eligible for evacuation flights.The government will do everything possible to protect Jewish people in the United Kingdom and in Israel. If anything is standing in the way of keeping the Jewish community safe, it will be fixed. The Jewish community will have our steadfast support.
Comments
I refer you to the very first sentence which includes
"none of the communities who live in this country are responsible and it is totally unacceptable that anyone should stir up hatred against innocent members of any community here."
and to the last sentence, which reads
"In the past week there have been over a hundred anti-Semitic incidents reported in Britain, each of which is unacceptable - and there have also been instances of Anti-Muslim attacks and these are unacceptable too."
The government has made very clear that violence or stirring up hatred against any community in the UK will be met with the full force of the law. That specifically includes violence or stirring up hatred against Palestinians or Muslims.
The PM has also announced an increase of £10 million in humanitarian aid to Palestinians. This is a 37% uplift. Obviously that is in the Middle East rather than in the UK.