PARLIAMENTARY DEBATE
Safety of the Jewish Community - 8 September 2026 (Commons/Westminster Hall)

I beg to move,

That this House has considered the safety of the Jewish community.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Christopher. I thank the Backbench Business Committee for letting me hold this debate.

I am honoured to represent one of the most diverse, inclusive and welcoming communities in the world. One hundred and eighty languages are spoken in our schools, and both Haringey and Barnet councils, together with community partners, have been instrumental in ensuring that our community is a place where discrimination and hatred are rejected and diversity is celebrated. I am proud of the excellent Haringey and Barnet multi-faith forums. The Metropolitan police independent advisory group in Barnet and Haringey also does great work. Members of those different groups have joined us today in the Public Gallery.

My job is to work with the community to promote Hornsey and Friern Barnet as a beacon of diversity and integration that shines a light on what can be achieved when the whole community comes together. We have a long and rich history of challenging hate. In 1977, the battle of Wood Green at Ducketts Common saw a rainbow coalition led by Jewish, Irish and black communities unite to drive out the far-right National Front. Former councillor Sheila Peacock, who is now in her 90s, remembers those days well.

In recent years, Hornsey and Friern Barnet has become a safe haven for those fleeing persecution in Afghanistan, Syria, Ukraine and other conflict zones around the world. Later today, I will host a roundtable with HIAS+JCORE, which has its roots in the Kindertransport movement, to discuss support for newly arrived communities. We have a long and rich history of challenging hatred, and that means we stand against antisemitism.

It has been a frightening and dark six months. On 2 October last year, two Jewish people were killed and three left in a serious condition after a car-ramming and stabbing attack outside the Heaton synagogue in Manchester. In March this year, four ambulances belonging to the Hatzola ambulance service were set on fire in the car park of a synagogue in Golders Green. Hatzola provides a service for all Londoners, responding to thousands of emergencies every year, from minor injuries to life-threatening conditions. It works collaboratively with emergency services such as the London ambulance service, the London fire brigade, the helicopter emergency medical service and the Metropolitan police to co-ordinate and provide professional care.

On 15 April, we saw an attack on the Finchley Reform synagogue. Three days later, the Kenton United synagogue was targeted. On 27 April, an arson attack was carried out at a memorial wall in Golders Green. Later that month, two Jewish men were stabbed in Golders Green. We know how quickly my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Finchley and Golders Green (Sarah Sackman) acted; the then Prime Minister, the former Member for Holborn and St Pancras, also rushed to the scene to reassure the community.

The Community Safety Trust recorded 3,700 antisemitic incidents in the UK in 2025, the second highest total ever reported to the CST in a single year. This year, we had the second highest total ever reported to the CST in the first six months of any year. I applied for this debate because the House needs to have a full and frank debate. We need to reassure not only our constituents but ourselves that we are doing all that we possibly can to stamp out the scourge of antisemitism.

I will cover three issues briefly; I am aware that other Members wish to contribute to the debate, and I want to hear from those in all parts of the UK about what their communities are doing to tackle antisemitism. On policing and community cohesion, I welcome the recent Government announcement on investment to protect Jewish communities: more than £250 million across the next three years, including a further £86 million to the Metropolitan police, which will fund about 300 additional officers in London to increase police presence. That is particularly important: as London MPs we understand that any event in central London that needs to be policed means that we lose our local police force.

My local police force in Elmbridge works very closely with my two synagogues, the North West Surrey synagogue and the Kingston Liberal synagogue, to make them feel supported. They, in turn, cite the work of the Community Security Trust. I have been to its impressive headquarters, where I could see the necessity of what it does. Does the hon. Member agree that we need a commitment to fund the trust at its current level, or with more if necessary?

From the number of people who have written to me since this debate was granted, I am very aware that resourcing is crucial. There are more than 500 additional officers across England and Wales, boosting security around schools, synagogues and community centres. It is deeply upsetting, as their MP, to hear mothers ask, “Why does my daughter say, ‘Mummy, why there are so many police outside my school?’?”

I agree with the comment from my hon. Friend the Member for Esher and Walton (Monica Harding), although members of the Jewish community say to me that they do not want to build ever-higher walls. My hon. Friend the Member for Richmond Park (Sarah Olney) and I had a harrowing meeting with children and young people who attend Richmond synagogue in my borough. They told us about their terrible experiences of bullying, both physical and verbal, at school and university. They are all having to hide their faith. Does the hon. Member agree that nobody should have to hide their faith? Sir David Bell, who is doing a review for the Government on antisemitism in schools, says that headteachers tell him that, for Jewish faith schools, security comes ahead of education. That cannot be right, can it?

The hon. Lady makes an excellent point. Although we have not yet heard back from the Bell inquiry, I will touch on it in my third and final point and will pick up the hon. Lady’s points then.

I appreciate my hon. Friend’s speech, particularly her reference to what happened at Kenton synagogue, which partly serves the people of Harrow. She referred to many of the physical manifestations of antisemitism. May I draw her attention to online antisemitism? We increasingly expect Ofcom to police the very worst of social media. Is it not time that we had some clear measures of success by which we can hold the Online Safety Act 2023 and Ofcom to account, so that if we still see no reduction in antisemitism online we can consider what further steps are necessary to crack down on that source of antisemitism?

My hon. Friend makes an excellent point. In my second point I will talk about the online world, which is indeed a frightening place for many of us.

Policing and community cohesion are at the heart of ensuring that everyone in the country feels safe. The late John Hume, a Nobel peace prize laureate and former Member of this House, said that our differences make us special and

“should never be the source of hatred or conflict. The answer to difference is to respect it. Therein lies the most fundamental principle of peace—respect for diversity.”

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and local councils up and down the country do excellent work with programmes on tackling division and building bridges between communities, but I think that in some communities we are better at that than in others. There are some places where that day-to-day confidence-building in the communities we serve is absent.

Earlier this year, I met the Suffolk Liberal Jewish Community. Who thought that there would be such an organisation thriving in the genteel countryside of Suffolk? On the point about antisemitism across the country, will the hon. Lady join me in paying tribute to the small organisations that go out of their way to combat antisemitism and support Jewish communities across the UK?

I will indeed, and I wish there were more of them, because that is at the heart of education. It is all very well having teachers teaching, but what we need is a response that it is embedded in communities. I thank the hon. Member for taking an interest in the Suffolk organisation.

Support with resources for local government includes more than £2 million for more than 200 grassroots organisations, through the Common Ground award, bringing people from different backgrounds together to build trust and find common ground. We hear a lot in this House about Pride in Place, the £5.8 billion funding promoting community leadership, making local politics count. That does not just mean local politicians; it means us in this House going to events, promoting community cohesion, standing up when something is wrong and promoting the right way of doing things.

The Mayor of London has also been proactive, investing £17 million in initiatives to tackle hate crime. Since the shared endeavour fund started in 2020, it has supported 138 projects across the capital and has worked with more than 220,000 participants, including projects focused specifically on countering antisemitism. Here I will mention the work of schools in Barnet. They are mainstream schools, but they come together to listen to the stories of headteachers in Jewish schools in order that we can share experiences and cross-pollinate ideas so that all children, across any local authority area, hear about best practice in tackling antisemitism and hatred.

Research from the Centre for Countering Digital Hate shows a repeated pattern whereby real-world attacks on Jewish communities are followed by targeted abuse, calls for further violence and antisemitic conspiracy theories online. I welcome the inclusion in the Online Safety Act of measures to ensure that technology companies remove illegal content such as antisemitic material, but we need to ensure that it is effective. CCDH research into 10 leading AI chatbots found that eight in 10 chatbots would assist users to plan violent attacks, including on places of worship such as synagogues, and nine in 10 failed to reliably discourage them. That is shocking.

Following the Manchester synagogue attack, the CCDH identified 171 hateful or violent online replies targeting 13 prominent British Jewish accounts. All remained live when checked. The 100 most viewed posts falsely alleging that Israel or Jewish people orchestrated the attack received 568,708 views; none displayed a dissenting community note. Following the stabbing of two Jewish men in Golders Green, the CCDH identified 130 hateful online replies directed at 10 prominent British Jewish individuals and organisations; all remained live when checked. The 100 most viewed false flag conspiracy posts received 252,954 views, again without a single dissenting community note.

How do people know what the truth is when they are reading online? CCDH research found that 11 Instagram accounts posting antisemitic and racist material accumulated 1.5 billion views while directing users to shops selling hateful merchandise. All 11 were also promoted through Instagram’s related accounts feature. Are we sure that the existing legal framework is enough to stamp out online antisemitism?

Education on the dangers of extremism is so important, but good education and the outcomes of good education are so difficult to achieve. I welcome the Government’s £7 million to tackle antisemitism in schools, colleges and universities. As the hon. Member for Twickenham (Munira Wilson) mentioned, Sir David Bell’s review will look into the support available to schools and colleges; how well they use their policies to make decisions and handle hate-filled incidents; how they are accountable if they fail to handle an incident well; what they can do to prevent antisemitism, including identifying and tackling issues early; and the role and influence of campaigning organisations external to schools and colleges and how they influence school and college decision making. I look forward to reading the review, but most importantly to implementation of the practical actions to combat antisemitism that stem from the review. Early intervention is key.

To sum up, my requests of the Minister are simple. Every Member of this House and communities and families up and down the country need to be reassured that the Government are leaving no stone unturned to ensure that Jewish communities are safe, that we are doing everything we can to stamp out online hate and that we are tackling antisemitism at its roots through work in schools.

I will leave the House with the positive image of the retired Jewish MP whose daughter from the local synagogue planted an olive tree with our esteemed stand-in deputy lieutenant, Bibi Khan, who leads at the Wightman Road mosque. That was a symbol of our communities together. We dig the garden, we plant the tree, the roots take shape and we watch it grow tall.

It is a real pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Christopher. I thank the hon. Member for Hornsey and Friern Barnet (Catherine West) for securing the debate and highlighting this issue.

I rise to speak on a matter that touches the very core of our shared humanity, freedom of religion and democratic values: the safety and security of our Jewish community. As the Member for Strangford, I have never hidden where I stand. I am an unapologetic friend of Israel. Although I may not agree with every move of the Israeli Government at all times, I will always stand up in this House against those who seek to bully or delegitimise the Jewish state. One does not need to share my geopolitical views to recognise that what is happening to Jewish people on our streets is an absolute disgrace. The hon. Member for Hornsey and Friern Barnet has underlined that, and I congratulate her on setting the scene incredibly well.

The stats paint an horrific picture. The Community Security Trust recorded nearly 2,000 antisemitic incidents across the United Kingdom in the first six months of 2026 alone, making it the second highest first half of a year for such incidents ever recorded. We are seeing record levels of online hate, alongside physical assaults, threats and the desecration of Jewish property. This is not a temporary surge; it is becoming a terrifying new normal, and that has to be stopped. I look forward very much to the Minister’s response and to hearing what the Government will do to address the issue.

We see the spillover of such poison in Northern Ireland, where global political tensions are being used to justify systematic exclusion. Just a few days ago, in Londonderry, four young Israeli triathletes were forced out of the Europe triathlon cup. The local hosting group, the North West Triathlon Club, openly declared that it could not support the participation of the Israeli athletes, arguing that their presence would “normalise” Israel on the international sporting stage.

That incident happened in my city at the weekend. Jewish athletes from Israel were forced to withdraw from the triathlon as a result of the hateful bile of these hard-left bigots. They complain about the far right, but we have to be consistent in any criticism and calling out of violent rhetoric, whether on the right or the left. Such antisemitic terrorism has to be called out and hopefully prevented in the future.

I saw my hon. Friend on the TV and heard him on the radio over the weekend, speaking out on this issue. There is something wrong with the North West Triathlon Club in declaring that it could not support the participation of the Israeli athletes. Because the local organisers refused to back the NWTC, and with protests looming, the Israeli Triathlon Association was backed into a corner and forced to ask World Triathlon to remove the athletes for their own physical safety. It is an absolute disgrace that an organisation should do that in Londonderry of all places, or anywhere in this United Kingdom.

The ITA is now actively considering legal action over what it rightly describes as discriminatory treatment. When a so-called sporting body allows local political pressure to dictate who can stand on the starting line, the very purpose and integrity of international sport is destroyed. It mirrors the hostility we saw in Belfast city centre, where an Israeli television news crew was physically assaulted. Why? Because they were Israelis—because they were Jewish. A cameraman was injured simply because of his nationality. The extreme terrorism, attacks and potential attacks on Israelis in Northern Ireland worries me greatly.

When the Labour party went through a terrible time with our own antisemitism crisis, the hon. Gentleman was a staunch friend of the Jewish members of my party, and I know that many of them remember him fondly for that. He is highlighting most starkly that this is not about Jewish people living less Jewish lives; it is about Jewish people living less public lives because of the constant fear of what questions they will be asked about geopolitical issues far outside their own sphere of influence or interest. We therefore have a less rich society, because those who can make contributions do not participate. I am sure the hon. Gentleman agrees that we need religious freedom and a diverse culture, and that if people retreat from public spaces, they are left vacant for those with nefarious intent.

The hon. Gentleman describes the issue very well. People of Jewish faith and those of Israeli nationality are unable to lead their normal lives, as he says.

I agree with my right hon. Friend the Member for Belfast East (Gavin Robinson), the DUP leader, who hit the nail on the head when he said that

“strong opinions on Middle Eastern conflicts can never justify hatred, intimidation, or violence against Israeli or Jewish people.”

Having witnessed where identity-based hatred leads in my country, we must reject it completely. My right hon. Friend was right to call out the offensive delays in the removal of hostile slogans such as the graffiti targeting staff at the Royal Victoria hospital.

We have heard those three examples of hatred against Israeli and Jewish people in their work, in their play and in their normal lives. The Belfast Jewish Community is a valued neighbour. As the deputy chair of the Belfast Jewish Community recently warned, these incidents risk branding our region with a reputation for unchecked hostility, so we must uphold the Jewish community’s freedom from persecution and guarantee their safety.

I urge the Minister to ensure robust support for the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the authorities to protect places of worship, clear our streets of intimidation, ensure that international sport remains open to all without political vetting and keep our communities safe. The Government must acknowledge the problem and seek a solution. Will the Minister liaise with the relevant Minister in Northern Ireland and the PSNI—the police force dedicated to the safety of all the people in Northern Ireland—about how Jewish people are under the cosh? It is time that the Government here, the Government back home and the PSNI stepped up and ensured that Israelis and Jewish people have the freedom to live a normal life—the very thing that we want them to have.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Christopher. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Hornsey and Friern Barnet (Catherine West) on securing this important debate.

I do not speak today as a member of the Jewish community, or as somebody who can fully understand the experience that many British Jews live with every day, but I have seen a small snapshot of it, from my time at the University of Leeds and throughout my continuing engagement with the Jewish community ever since. At university, I saw some of the challenges faced by Jewish students on campus. More recently, I spoke at the Leeds Leads Against Antisemitism demonstration, where I heard directly from members of the community about the challenges that they are now enduring. It has been a particular issue in recent years, but it is a long-standing problem, as many Members know. I will return to the experience of Jewish students later, because what is happening on our campuses tells us something important about the wider problems we face.

The Jewish community in Britain is facing a profound crisis of safety and security. It cannot be said often enough that the first duty of any Government should always be the safety and security of their citizens—we hear it often enough in the Chamber, but it needs to be said again—and that means that the responsibility for protecting the Jewish community cannot rest with the community itself. Nor should Jewish organisations be expected to shoulder the burden alone. The CST is amazing and should of course be well funded, but it cannot fall on the CST to look out for the community every single time. It is the responsibility of us all, and of the Government.

A few years ago, we had an appalling incident when a reporter of Jewish extraction, from Israel, was in licensed premises in Northern Ireland. He was coolly and calmly asking punters, some of whom were not under the excessive influence of alcohol, what problem they had with Jewish people, and one punter said, live on television: “The only problem with Hitler was that he didn’t kill enough Jews.” I raised with the Public Prosecution Service why that person was not subject to prosecution; I could not get a legitimate answer about a comment made live on television to a Jewish reporter.

Goodness me! I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention. It is a disgraceful turn of events when people feel confident enough to say something like that on camera, especially if they are not even intoxicated and inebriated, not that that would justify any comments of that nature. That is sickening and it goes to the heart of what we are trying to get to. Because of the way antisemitism has been allowed to flourish, a lot of people now confidently say such things even on camera. It is disgraceful.

We need to think about what it means to belong to a society in which we are repeatedly forced to ask whether it is safe to live openly as a Jewish person. The threat is the threat itself; that is the problem, as is the effect it is having on Jewish people who have to live in anticipation of it. Over the past year, Jewish communities have seen attacks on communal organisations and threats against places of worship and institutions, as my hon. Friend the Member for Hornsey and Friern Barnet set out, alongside appalling levels of antisemitic incidents.

The significance of that cannot be measured simply by counting the incidents, because it is changing the everyday, ordinary lives of Jewish people in this country. Familiar places and ordinary routines become questions of security. Precautions that might once have seemed extreme, maybe even paranoid, have instead become reasonable considerations that Jewish people have to make as part of their ordinary daily lives. That is why security outside synagogues, schools and community institutions sadly remains all too essential; why Jewish societies at universities do not always publicise where their events will take place; and why celebrating Jewish life in public can require precautions that few other communities in this country ever have to consider.

In my previous intervention, I mentioned that my hon. Friend the Member for Richmond Park (Sarah Olney) and I had met children, young people and their parents at Richmond synagogue to talk about their experience in schools, colleges and universities. On the hon. Gentleman’s point about people hiding their identity and partly withdrawing from public life, one of the students from —I will name the university, because I went there—the University of Cambridge said that antisemitism was rife in some colleges and was not dealt with. They hid where the Jewish society would meet. One student said she had done Hebrew teaching as part of her extracurricular activities, but is keeping that off her CV because she is worried she will be discriminated against. Folk in that room said to us, “We’re tired of advocating for ourselves; we need others to advocate for us.” It is incumbent on us all to come together and say that enough is enough.

I could not agree more. I will come on to universities in the final part of my speech. The experience of students at the University of Leeds reflects what the hon. Lady said.

Security is incredibly important, but our ambition cannot simply be to protect the Jewish people from immediate physical danger. It must also mean being able to live openly and confidently in British society, with a sense of belonging, while being Jewish. That challenge is made even more serious by the actions of hostile states. I welcome the Government’s action on designating the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps under the newly reformed National Security Act 2023. Designation must be backed up by vigilance and effective enforcement.

Ministers have acknowledged in previous statements that Jewish people, alongside dissidents and journalists, are among those most targeted by the Iranian state and the IRGC in particular. I would be grateful if the Minister could set out what further steps are being taken to ensure that hostile states and their proxies cannot intimidate or target British Jewish communal institutions or other organisations in Britain. This is not just some distant foreign policy concern; as we know, we have to live with it every day. Iran has demonstrated its willingness to project threats well beyond its own borders. It also views Jewish communities through the prism of the conflict with Israel, which inevitably creates further concerns for Jewish people here in Britain.

Before I come to my point about universities, we have to confront the antisemitism that presents itself as anti-Zionism. Criticism of the Israeli Government is, of course, not inherently antisemitic—of course it is not—but denying Jewish people alone the right to national self-determination, or treating British Jews as responsible for the actions of Israel, is obviously antisemitic. It is anti-Zionist antisemitism and it needs to be called out.

I congratulate my hon. Friend on making a wonderful speech. He will know, because he is from Leeds, that one of the people spending most of their time propagating that sort of virulent antisemitism is the deputy leader of the Green party in Leeds, who once posted a list of British people—some Jewish—saying “bought and sold by Israel”, purely because of their politics.

I could not agree more. That is exactly the sort of behaviour that we have to call out, and it is exactly the sort of behaviour that the Green party is going to have to confront at some point if the party does not want to become infested with the kinds of people we had to deal with in the Labour party between 2015 and 2020.

It is important to recognise that the threats facing Jewish people do not exist in neat and separate categories. As we know, online abuse is spilling into the real world. Extremist rhetoric can create an atmosphere in which intimidation becomes normalised, and hostile states will seek to exploit those divisions.

The Government’s Protecting What Matters strategy, which was announced back in March, contains important commitments on tackling antisemitism and extremism much more broadly, and obviously I welcome that direction of travel. We now have a new Government and new Ministers in place; it is a test of delivery. I would be grateful if the Minister could provide greater clarity on the timetable for implementing the Protecting What Matters strategy, as there are lots of measures within it, and say how success will be measured.

Finally, let me return to the issue I mentioned at the beginning of my speech: antisemitism on university campuses. That is where I first started to become interested in the issue of Israel and Palestine, and the Jewish community in this country.

I met a Jewish student from Queen’s University Belfast at a synagogue a year and a half ago. She informed me that Jewish students there are under particular pressure. When it comes to universities across this great United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, there is nowhere that the enemies of Jewish people are not present. Jewish students at Queen’s University Belfast have had to retreat into a small shell just to get away from the hatred and bile of those who hate them. That is an example of universities going the wrong way.

I could not agree more. Unfortunately, I am about to share some statistics that underline that problem even further.

I secured a debate on antisemitism on university campuses in this Chamber back in June, and I shared findings from the Union of Jewish Students’ “Time for Change” report, which underlines the seriousness of the issue. One in five students—20%—would be reluctant to, or would never, share a house with a Jewish student. One in four students—this is from all students—did not care very much, or at all, if Jewish people were forced to hide their identity. The figures shocked me then and still shock me now. What is happening on our campuses is sickening.

This is about so much more than individual incidents. It tells us something about the environment in which Jewish people are having to live their lives in all spheres, including university campuses. Jewish identity should not be something that any student has to explain or justify, and neither should Jewish students be treated as representatives of the Israeli Government simply because they are Jewish. The UJS has put forward practical recommendations in its report, which I urge the Government to consider seriously: they must be implemented. I would be grateful if the Minister set out how the Government might implement those measures, or how they are working across Departments and with universities, the police and Jewish community organisations to ensure a genuinely co-ordinated approach to ensuring that Jewish students are safe on campus.

Whether it is a Jewish student on a university campus, a family at a synagogue or a Jewish organisation facing threats from abroad, the principle is the same: British Jews should not have to organise their lives around antisemitism. The British Jewish community is an integral part of our society and national story. They belong here—they always have and always will—and we will always speak up for them.

It is an honour to serve under your chairship, Sir Christopher.

There can be no doubt in anyone’s mind that our Jewish communities are under threat from a persistent and toxic hatred that has the worst possible outcome. Innocent people have been murdered simply because of who they are and the faith they practise. That cannot continue. Everything possible must be done to ensure that our Jewish communities are no longer threatened. Prejudice and hatred must be tackled at their root, and the casual othering of minority groups such as the Jewish community must be called out and stopped.

When institutions fail to act against hatred, prejudice simply becomes policy. History shows us the dark path that follows if that is allowed to happen. Two weeks ago, I was honoured to join the congregation at Heaton Park synagogue for a memorial service commemorating the victims of the terror attack that occurred on Yom Kippur last year. It was heartbreaking to hear the stepdaughter of Melvin Cravitz talk about her experiences of that day and the days and nights that followed. She described with such warmth the man Melvin was and the profound impact that he had on her life and that of her mother. She told us how the community stood together after Melvin’s murder and supported her family through their darkest hours, but she also talked about how she became the target for malicious and vile trolls who would send her antisemitic abuse about the death of her stepdad. Those trolls would claim that Jewish people were to blame for the murders of Adrian Daulby and her stepfather. That is a vile and disturbing distortion. Its purpose is not only to dismiss the horrendous experiences of a grieving daughter, but to paint the Jewish community as somehow deserving of the fate they receive.

Sadly, that sentiment is not uncommon. The latest Home Office statistics show that a higher rate of religious hate crime is targeted towards Jewish people over any other faith group. Both online and in person, British Jews experience a very real threat while living their everyday lives.

The Yeshurun Hebrew congregation sits proudly in my constituency and does so much for the wider community, but I know from speaking to the leaders at the synagogue that keeping the congregation safe is becoming ever more difficult, despite their best efforts. They told me about the lengths to which they must go to protect their community, including increasing wall heights, as it was assessed that someone could get over the existing wall in just 10 seconds; looking at additional CCTV provision to ensure that every single corner is covered; and keeping children from playing outside in the car park in case an attack happens and they cannot get inside. I was told that people often question whether they should attend their synagogue because of the potential for harm. We must be clear: no one should have to consider those things to practise their faith, and it should make us angry that that is the case.

Things need to change. We need solutions, conscious action and resolve. The CST must be properly funded. I was lucky enough to visit its headquarters, so I could see the vital work it is doing to keep people safe and secure, and I thank it for everything it does. We must see an increase in police presence and patrols. Greater Manchester police do an incredible job in working with our Jewish community, but their resources are becoming ever more stretched. They need more capacity to ensure that they can deliver proper neighbourhood policing. The Government must act on their community cohesion strategy without delay. When people feel connected and invested in common values, they are better able to work together to address division and tackle hatred.

We cannot rest until our Jewish friends and neighbours no longer need to build high walls, install more cameras and stop their children playing outside. I urge the Minister to do everything in her power to ensure that the Jewish community is safe, and I urge all Members not to rely merely on the words spoken in this Chamber, but to turn those words into action. Through positive action, challenging antisemitism wherever it appears and standing with our Jewish communities when they need support, we will surely ensure that our country is a safe place for Jews.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Christopher. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Hornsey and Friern Barnet (Catherine West) for securing a very important debate.

The safety of the Jewish community is not a marginal issue. It goes absolutely to the heart of the kind of country that we want to be. British Jews should be able to go to synagogue, send their children to school, travel, work and live openly as Jews without fear, intimidation or abuse. I pay tribute to the Community Security Trust, the police, synagogue security volunteers and Jewish schools and community organisations for their vital work, but it should trouble every one of us that such work is so necessary.

The scale of the challenge is clear. CST recorded almost 2,000 antisemitic incidents across the UK in the first half of this year, the second highest total ever reported in the first six months of a year. That is not a short-term spike that has simply passed; it is a sustained change in the atmosphere faced by Jewish communities. This is not about asking for special treatment, but about the basic right to live without being held collectively responsible for events that happen around the world.

No child should ever grow up thinking that security guards outside their school are a fact of life, yet for many Jewish children that is exactly what normality looks like right now. The Community Security Trust recorded almost 200 antisemitic incidents affecting schools in the first half of this year, the highest January-to-June total that it has recorded. Jewish children should not have to pass security guards on their way to school as if it were normal. Young people should never have to choose between their safety and being openly Jewish, and Jewish students should not have to change their routes across campus or hide parts of who they are.

The Government must continue to support the security of Jewish communal life. However, as other Members have said, the answer cannot simply be higher fences and more guards. We must deal with the hatred that makes those fences necessary. That requires serious work on online radicalisation, proper enforcement against antisemitism in schools and universities, and a social cohesion strategy that is prepared to confront hard truths. I look forward to the Minister’s response on those issues.

Jewish citizens are asking for what every citizen in the UK should rightly expect: the right to live, worship, study and contribute openly and safely. That is the absolute minimum that a decent society must guarantee for us all.

I commend the hon. Member for Hornsey and Friern Barnet (Catherine West) for securing this important debate.

I want to make it absolutely clear that I stand with Jewish communities right across the United Kingdom. We cannot speak about the safety of Jewish people in Britain without remembering the appalling events of 7 October. The slaughter carried out by Hamas was an act of barbaric terrorism and violent antisemitism. Men, women and children were murdered simply because they were Jewish. I have said before that those who value democracy must stand shoulder to shoulder with Israel in the face of such terrorism, and I make no apology for repeating it today.

I am increasingly concerned not only by what we have seen, but by what we have failed to hear. There have been occasions when some in this House who are vocal on many international issues have struggled to offer the most basic condemnation of the murder of Jewish people or of the hatred that motivated it. That silence matters. It matters because Jewish people in this country should not have to wonder whether the institutions that are supposed to protect them will stand with them when antisemitism becomes uncomfortable or politically inconvenient.

We have seen antisemitism manifest in the streets, at demonstrations on university campuses and, tragically, in attacks on Jewish people and institutions. We saw it over the weekend in Northern Ireland, when athletes were prevented from taking part in a triathlon not because they had committed any offences, had been racist or had provoked hatred; no, it was simply because they were from Israel. People of all faiths and none represent Israel in international sport.

We have seen the consequences of the normalisation of hatred. Indeed, the slogan “From the river to the sea” is used by those in this House. Just consider its meaning: the obliteration of the state of Israel and all who live within it. We must be absolutely clear that antisemitism is not a legitimate political position or acceptable criticism. It is hatred directed at people because they are Jewish, and it must be confronted wherever it appears.

This debate is fundamentally about equality. There are no second-class citizens in the United Kingdom. Every citizen should be able to walk down their street, attend their place of worship, send their children to school and express their faith without fear of intimidation or attack. It is therefore deeply troubling that Jewish people feel that they have to conceal their identity or alter their behaviour simply to feel safe. If a Jewish person is advised not to walk down a particular street, or feels unsafe wearing a kippah openly, we should not simply accept that as the unfortunate reality in modern Britain. We should not settle for that standard. Generations before us fought and made sacrifices so that people in this country could live freely, practise their faith and express their identity without fear. The Jewish community must be entitled to the same freedoms.

We must remember that antisemitism did not begin with 7 October and will not disappear simply because the headlines move on. We have a responsibility to learn the lessons of history and ensure that Jewish people in Britain today do not remember the promise of “never again” as something that belongs only in the past. They must be able to live it, walk our streets freely, wear the symbols of their faith openly, attend synagogues without fear, send their children to school without worrying about whether they will face hatred because they are Jewish, and know that when antisemitism raises its ugly head, this Parliament, this Government and the wider British public will stand with them.

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Hornsey and Friern Barnet (Catherine West) on securing this vital debate. The conversations I have with my Jewish constituents and friends about safety and security are heartbreaking. We must reflect on the fact that in this country, in 2026, Jewish people are talking to their MPs about emigrating for their own safety, about changing their names to avoid discrimination, and about escorting their children to school because they fear what might happen if they do not.

When Jewish people are attacked on our streets and so many people feel unsafe in the place they call home, it is a national emergency and deserves to be treated as such. The prejudice they face is old, but it is never far from the surface. I know from my time as a whistleblower on antisemitism in the Labour party to the Equality and Human Rights Commission that, when our politics tolerates it, hatred and ignorance can rear their ugly heads. That is why I am proud that this Labour party and this Government—under different leadership—have taken important steps through record funding for the safety of the Jewish community, the social cohesion plan, and banning groups such as the IRGC.

Those are actions, not words, but we all know that so much more needs to be done. When I recently met the leaders of the four synagogues in my constituency of Altrincham and Sale West, they made that very clear. That message has been reinforced in my meetings with the Jewish Leadership Council. This is not just about the immediate safety of Jewish residents; it is about creating a society in which we do not need security services guarding synagogues and schools. Crucial to that is education.

That brings me to the issue on which I will press the Government today: antisemitism on campus. The Union of Jewish Students, which I was proud to work with as a student and a student union officer, and which I am proud to have hosted here as a Member of Parliament, has reported a 413% increase in antisemitic incidents since the 7 October massacre. The situation remains completely unacceptable. From being held responsible for the actions of the Israeli Government to hearing fellow students defend Hamas, Jewish students are routinely made to feel unwelcome and scared at a time that should be one of the most enjoyable experiences of their lives.

I welcome the Government’s existing work with universities across the country on adopting best practice guidance put forward by the Union of Jewish Students, but we must urgently go further faster. I therefore urge the Minister to work with colleagues on current regulatory gaps, which mean there is a lack of clarity and accountability on the oversight of students’ unions. These gaps must be filled to ensure that we do not have a postcode lottery on the tolerance of antisemitism on our campuses.

I also join colleagues in asking the Minister to set out a clear timeline for the implementation of the Protecting What Matters strategy, which was a welcome step forward in tackling extremism at universities, but which must be backed up by results. Similarly, following the Macdonald review, there must be an approach that balances respecting academic freedoms and the ability to protest with the absolute right for Jewish students to feel safe on campus. That is a balance that has been lost at times in recent years, but it must now be restored.

When we debate antisemitism and Jewish safety, we are right to point out all that is wrong and the action needed to put it right, but I would like to end by talking briefly about something that should give us all hope: The Rabbi & The Imam project. Through the project, my constituents, Rabbi Dovid Lewis from Bowdon shul and Dr Nasser Kurdy from Altrincham and Hale Muslim Association, go into schools to talk about their faiths and to promote a simple message of humanity and understanding. Programmes like that see off intolerance before it is able to take root. They are essential to the safety of all faiths in this country and to long-term protections for religious freedom and expression. The Rabbi & The Imam project offers a reminder that, although antisemitism and the violence it fosters remain a national emergency, there are amazing projects and amazing people doing incredible work to tackle it. We must match that spirit and commitment to unity in this place if we are to make this country a safer place for Jewish citizens.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Christopher. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Hornsey and Friern Barnet (Catherine West) for securing this really important debate. We have heard such powerful contributions about the scale of the issue and powerful proposals for how we can challenge it.

I represent some of the most diverse communities in the United Kingdom, including historic Jewish communities. I represent one of the oldest continuously serving synagogues in Europe, Bevis Marks, as well as the Liberal Jewish synagogue, New London synagogue in St John’s Wood, and St John’s Wood synagogue. They all welcome diverse Jewish communities every week.

We cannot underestimate the scale of the challenge we face. Every Jewish Londoner should be able to go to school, attend synagogue, travel to work and take part in public life without fear, yet they cannot; antisemitism remains far too common. The Community Security Trust reports that antisemitic incidents remain at very high levels, and increased during the first half of 2026. We need to be honest with ourselves and recognise that many of us have never experienced such a high level of antisemitism in our lifetime. These are not just statistics; they affect real people, communities, and our friends, neighbours and families.

Last week, at a meeting with my local rabbis and synagogue chairs, whom I meet regularly, I heard at first hand just how my constituents are feeling. Just this weekend, there was an incident in my constituency in which there was profound surveillance of a synagogue, and the response times were completely unacceptable. I will come shortly to our response to this problem.

I want to put on the record my support and thanks for the words of my hon. Friend the Member for Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket (Dr Prinsley). We have heard some reflections on the disgusting conflation of geopolitical events with individuals and communities in this country. Such conflation is profoundly antisemitic, and as my hon. Friend the Member for Altrincham and Sale West (Mr Rand) said, we absolutely need to be looking at the causes of that and put in place education measures.

Will the hon. Member give way on that point?

I will make some progress.

I welcome the Government’s support for security at Jewish schools, synagogues and community centres, as well as the announcement in July of £250 million for Jewish community safety. However, as we have heard so powerfully today, security funding alone is not enough, and none of us wants to be in a place where we are building higher walls. We need to take stronger action against hate crime.

We have briefly heard about what is happening in London at weekends, when neighbourhood police are drawn into the centre of London to police demonstrations. We need to be honest about the hate crime that takes place at such demonstrations, and we must take the toughest possible action against it. We need stronger action and a closer focus on neighbourhood policing, so that every synagogue understands and knows its neighbourhood police officers and has a relationship with them that gives its members confidence in their local community. We need stronger action on antisemitism online; I pay tribute to the work of the Antisemitism Policy Trust on that specific issue, which I believe needs a greater focus. We need continued Holocaust education and clear leadership in calling out antisemitism, wherever it occurs.

The safety of Jewish Londoners is not just an issue for those Jewish communities. It is an issue for all of us. When those in a community feel unsafe because of who they are, it affects us all and damages all our communities. We must stand firm against antisemitism and ensure that every Jewish Londoner can live openly, proudly and safely.

It is a privilege to speak in this debate on Jewish safety, and to represent one of Britain’s oldest seaside Jewish communities as the Member of Parliament for Bournemouth East. Jewish families in Bournemouth have built businesses, strengthened our heritage and contributed to civic life, and we have had a number of Jewish mayors, including Louis Barney, Gabriel Jaffe, Michael and Anne Filer, Pamela Harris, Ben Grower, Barry Goldbart and Lawrence Williams.

I was privileged to attend the consecration of the new synagogue for the Bournemouth Hebrew Congregation in East Cliff—my neighbourhood—in the presence of the Chief Rabbi just a few short months ago. It marked a new chapter in the life of the Jewish community in Bournemouth. The new shul has been refurbished, and throughout the building there are colours inspired by Bournemouth’s sand, cliffs, piers and breakwaters. The light-filled main prayer hall has a series of stained-glass images, many of which recreate those from the old Wootton Gardens synagogue. I was pleased to visit that synagogue many times, including for its farewell concert, which showed that a new start means that we must also say farewell.

My Jewish constituents deserve what every citizen deserves: to feel safe. The statistics tell part of the story: Dorset police tell me that they recorded 26 antisemitic crimes across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole in the year to May, and every one of those crimes matters, but statistics alone cannot explain what it feels like when fear enters everyday life. For that, we must listen to the people in Bournemouth, so I encouraged my constituents to get in touch ahead of this debate.

Ann told me that she has removed the Star of David necklace that she wore throughout her life because she no longer feels comfortable openly displaying her Jewish identity. Stefan from East Cliff and Springbourne wrote:

“We are alone, we are afraid.”

At the age of 73, he has never experienced such open antisemitism, and he speaks now of conversations taking place around dinner tables that many had hoped belonged to history. David, a retired rabbi, said that British Jews regard themselves as British citizens first and foremost, and he spoke of generations of Jewish people serving our country in our armed forces, of prayers being said in synagogues each week for the royal family and the Government, and of a public duty throughout our town.

I know some Jewish patients in my constituency are reluctant to identify their faith when admitted to hospital, because they fear how they may be treated. I want them to know that, following Lord Mann’s review, the Government are requiring anti-racism training aimed at tackling antisemitism and other racism in the NHS. Another constituent, who is not Jewish himself, showed solidarity by writing to me about friends who feel unsafe and threatened.

Josephine, who has happily lived in Bournemouth for more than two decades, told me that she never expected to face continual hostility and intimidation. She and her husband recently celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary at the synagogue, but they felt compelled to employ security guards for the event. Adele, who is 82, spoke movingly of her grandparents who found safety, democracy and peace of mind in our country, and she tells me:

“All we ask is to live here in peace and free from fear.”

Derek describes the reality that many Jewish people now live with, following the atrocities of 7 October and the war that followed, which has left many Jewish people spending their time, in his words, “watching our backs”, relying on police protection and the Community Security Trust to guard places of worship and community events.

Several members of the community have been in touch to talk about a particular incident in Bournemouth Square last year. Alongside Jewish residents and Christian supporters, a small protest—

Order. I am afraid we now have to move on to the wind-ups.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Christopher. I thank the hon. Member for Hornsey and Friern Barnet (Catherine West) for securing this important debate. It has been a powerful morning in this Chamber, in terms of both the challenges but also the stories of hope on this difficult issue. I want to start by expressing my solidarity with Jewish communities across the country and with everyone who is experiencing antisemitic abuse, intimidation or violence.

On a point of order, Sir Christopher. I was under the impression that there was no time limit. I was not warned in advance of the need to reduce the length of my speech. I have deliberately solicited the views of my constituents, which I want to put on the official parliamentary record, about an issue that affects them very deeply, which is their feeling of insecurity and discontent in our country because of antisemitism. I am concerned that they have been unrepresented on the parliamentary record because you, as Chair, have artificially circumscribed the time limit. I ask that I be given the chance to speak fully and represent my constituents’ views in their entirety.

I did not impose a time limit, but there is always half an hour at the end for the wind-ups. You have been a Member of this House now for over two years. You must realise that in an hour-and-a-half debate, there is an hour for the speeches and half an hour for the wind-ups.

You are shaking your head; I am sorry you have not been able to learn on the job, but I am not going to accept criticism for calling the Front Benchers at half-past to enable them all to participate in this debate and, hopefully, give a chance for the person who initiated it to have a few words at the end. I am almost lost for words, because the hon. Gentleman should have realised when we got to half-past that that was the end of the time for Back Benchers and when the Front Benchers start speaking. But anyway, perhaps—

Further to that point of order, Sir Christopher.

No, I am not going to accept a further point of order. Perhaps the hon. Gentleman will learn from what has happened this morning.

The latest Home Office figures show that there were 106 religious hate crimes targeting Jewish people per 10,000 of the Jewish population—by far the highest rate, sadly, for any religious group. Behind these shocking figures are people who are changing the way they live, as we have heard in this morning’s debate, because they are frightened—frightened of being attacked, abused or intimidated simply for practising their faith.

I see that in my own constituency of Guildford, which has a relatively small but growing Jewish community of around 450 residents, which rises to 600 during university term time. Members of the community have told me clearly that since the horrific attacks of 7 October, the tone has noticeably shifted in the community. Our local rabbi has received death threats and has even been physically assaulted in public. Jewish residents have faced verbal abuse, a swastika has been drawn at a local golf course, and a single Jewish mother had a rotten chicken thrown through her open window while she was with her five-year-old child, and those are not isolated incidents.

What has stayed with me the most, though, is hearing that some local Jewish families have moved their mezuzah from the outside of their front door to the inside because they are frightened of being identified as Jewish. That is an extraordinary thing for anyone to feel they must do in Britain in 2026 to keep their family safe. It is why I believe our response must be about much more than simply reacting when another terrible thing happens. We need to step up, as community leaders and as Parliament. We need to ensure that Jewish communities are protected now, but we also need to tackle the hatred that makes that protection necessary in the first place.

I welcome the Government’s additional £25 million for security following the attacks in Golders Green, bringing the total available to £58 million. I have seen how much that investment matters. The Guildford synagogue has had to spend thousands of pounds upgrading security, and our rabbi has had to spend money improving his own personal security. I refuse to accept that this is simply the way society is turning—that violence and intimidation is now being normalised. Will the Minister explain what long-term certainty the Government will provide for the Community Security Trust and for the security funding relied upon by synagogues, Jewish schools and community organisations? Protecting buildings is necessary, but it is not enough.

We also have to ensure that our police and prosecutors can identify antisemitism and act when the law is broken. I want to be really clear on protest. The right to peaceful protest is fundamental in a liberal democracy, but there is no right to intimidate Jewish people, to glorify terrorism or to use protest as a cover for antisemitic hatred or incitement to violence. It should not be a difficult distinction for us to make as a society.

We Liberal Democrats have called for mandatory antisemitism training for police officers policing demonstrations, as part of a statutory code for the policing of protests. That would also include stronger protections around places of worship, and place responsibilities on protest organisers to take reasonable steps to prevent harassment and intimidation. I really do think that those are practical steps that the Government should take seriously. Will the Minister consider introducing consistent antisemitism training for officers policing protests across the country?

Will the Government also consider again how we protect synagogues and other places of worship from intimidating protests immediately outside them? The same applies when cases reach the justice system. I could go on, and I know that colleagues across this Chamber have raised a number of issues in relation to that point.

I also want to note the gap between the official statistics and what Jewish residents say that they experience. I hear it in my own constituency of Guilford, and I am sure that colleagues hear the same. Many incidents are never reported to the police. Others happen in schools, universities and workplaces and are dealt with internally, which means that they simply disappear from the national picture. If we do not understand the scale of antisemitism, we cannot properly respond to it.

We have talked this morning about the crucial issue of educating people to understand what is and what is not acceptable in our language. We have also heard about Sir David Bell’s review of antisemitism in schools. I have, sadly, heard too many stories in my own constituency and in neighbouring ones of children and young people facing antisemitism within their education setting. I am glad that Sir David Bell’s review is coming. Will the Minister commit to responding quickly to the review and its recommendations when it comes out?

I want to end by sharing something positive, as many colleagues have done at the end of their speeches, too. I want to share the genuinely positive work happening in Guildford. I am glad that Surrey police have developed a stronger liaison relationship with our Jewish community. Guildford and Waverley councils, Surrey police, Jewish residents and local faith leaders have worked together on a hate-crime pledge. We have growing relationships between the Jewish community, the Reform Jewish community in Weybridge, and Woking mosque. Those relationships are crucial. They show that even at times of terrible conflict and division internationally, Jewish and Muslim communities here can continue to talk to one another, support one another and refuse to allow events overseas to divide neighbours at home.

I was proud to stand with local faith leaders and civic leaders with the Guildford declaration of freedom of religion and belief. That work is crucial, and it brings me to the issue of inter-faith initiatives. Sadly, inter-faith funding has largely disappeared. Will the Government consider reinstating the crucial grassroots inter-faith funding, which is at the core of enabling positive cross-faith work?

Ultimately, I do not want the measure of success for how the Jewish community is being protected to be about how many security guards we have funded or how many hate crimes have been recorded. I want Jewish families to feel comfortable putting their mezuzah back outside their front door. I want Jewish children to be able to talk about their faith openly, without worrying how other pupils will react. I want the Jewish community in my constituency of Guildford to be able to light the menorah on the high street without the need for armed police to make that possible. That requires proper security funding now, but it also requires better policing, better education, stronger enforcement online and investment in relationships that prevent hatred from growing in the first place.

I think that everyone in this Chamber agrees that antisemitism has no place in our society. We should not accept Jewish people having to change how visibly Jewish they are in order to feel safe. I hope that the Minister will use this opportunity to set out more on the practical steps that the Government will take to help ensure that that is the reality.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Christopher. I thank the hon. Member for Hornsey and Friern Barnet (Catherine West) for securing this debate on an issue important to so many of her constituents.

Despite having been in this role for only a couple of years, I have too often stood opposite Ministers to condemn violence against and, on solemn occasions, mourn the loss of life in the Jewish community—people targeted for no reason other than being Jewish. When those tragedies happen, we seem to find ourselves in the same post-tragedy discourse, with public figures stating that antisemitism has no place in our society, rightly acknowledging that it is an evil that must be vanquished. Yet how hollow must those words ring when British Jews know that another incident could merely be round the corner?

When the Golders Green attack occurred, my right hon. Friend the Leader of the Opposition was right to state clearly:

“This is a national emergency”.

As with any emergency, there is no single solution. It requires multiple measures, but underpinning those must be a willingness to tackle the underlying ideologies that allow this hatred to fester. Today the facts are stark. Having visited the Community Security Trust’s headquarters, I join hon. Members in recognising the organisation’s incredible professionalism. The CST data released in August showed that between January and June, antisemitic incidents reached the second highest total ever reported to the trust in the first six months of any year. That is a disgrace.

Prior to October 2023, the CST had only ever recorded monthly incident totals exceeding 200 on five occasions. In the first half of 2026, the organisation logged more than 200 incidents of anti-Jewish hate in every single month, and more than 300 a month from March to June. Those incidents ranged from threats to life, assaults and arson to damage and desecration of Jewish property and abusive behaviour.

But there is another statistic that should stop every Member of this House in their tracks. The latest Home Office figures show that in England and Wales, there were 106 police recorded religious hate crimes targeting Jewish people for every 10,000 Jewish people. Across the population as a whole, the equivalent rate was 1.7 recorded religious hate crimes per 10,000 people. If we put those figures alongside one another, the disparity is extraordinary and horrifying. On that population-adjusted measure, the rate of recorded religious hate crime targeting Jewish people was more than 60 times the rate in the overall population—I repeat, more than 60 times the rate. Religious hate crime is concentrated against Britain’s Jewish community, and on an extraordinary and horrifying scale.

In modern Britain, that fact should shock every one of us: it is a stinging indictment of where we are and why this debate is so necessary. It also illustrates why the Government were right, in the summer, to allocate further police resources to tackling the issue. Ultimately, across matters of enforcement, we need to increase police presence, see urgent prosecutions, put a moratorium on hate marches, implement maximum sentencing and deterrence, conduct a comprehensive audit of counter-terrorism cases involving antisemitic motivation, deport foreigners who express antisemitic views supporting violence or terrorism, and better use existing powers to ensure that hatred cannot be targeted at Jewish communities.

The question I have is this: is enforcement enough, when the ideas that fester continue to be popular? Many of us across this House were fortunate enough to go to university; yet, as has been said, polling conducted for the Union of Jewish Students earlier this year paints a horrendous picture. How can someone feel safe when one fifth of the university campus would not share a house with them and one in four have seen behaviour targeting Jewish students? Can the Minister confirm when the Government will publish the Bell review into antisemitism in schools, and whether they will accept its recommendations in full?

There is nothing intellectual about prejudice, there is nothing progressive about excluding Jews and there is nothing enlightened about recycling vile conspiracy theories that are centuries old. The same polling found that 16% thought it was not antisemitic to claim that Jews control the media or government. We need to tackle the ideologies creating this mindset, because antisemitism does not begin with an attack on a synagogue. It begins with ideas and conspiracy theories. It begins when Jews are treated as a sinister collective and ancient prejudices are allowed to spread under new guises. The need to tackle this across communities is unfortunately clear.

Polling by Policy Exchange this year found that more than two in five British Muslims believed that Jews had too much power over the media, weapons manufacturing and the banking system. We should be capable of saying two things at once: the overwhelming majority of British Muslims are not responsible for antisemitism and should never be treated as though they are, but when antisemitic attitudes exist within any communities, we do that community and British Jews no favours by being frightened to confront them.

At a recent event hosted by my wonderful local progressive synagogue, lots of issues were raised with me. This is a synagogue—it is not a representative of the Israeli Government. We cannot have anyone conflating Jewish faith with that. This is a synagogue that prays for Palestinians every week, but in that place, in my progressive city of Brighton and Hove, security and safety were still the absolute backdrop to everything raised; they have real fear. Would the hon. Member agree that it is so important for us to build solidarity and cohesion in communities, and make sure we do not drive further wedges between people in tackling this issue?

I agree that opening doors is part of the solution, but I also agree that we have to tackle antisemitism wherever it might be, and it is most prominent.

The same applies to antisemitism on the far right. Hatred does not become acceptable because of the politics of the person expressing it. These views go to the heart of the problem. It is not enough merely to have resources to protect the Jewish community. We must combat the intellectual idiocy that upholds and spreads antisemitic views. The test of a liberal democracy is not whether the majority feel safe; it is whether minorities can live openly as themselves, without fear.

I have taken a sombre tone because it is impossible to look at the current situation with rose-tinted glasses. However, for the vast majority of people, antisemitic hatred remains abhorrent. The university polling showed that many recognise this hatred when they see it, with 82% deeming calls to “globalise the intifada” to be antisemitic. That majority matters, but a tolerant majority cannot afford to become a silent majority.

My request to the Government today is twofold: first, to use the powers of the state unapologetically to protect Jewish people, and secondly, to go further upstream, work with the Jewish community, listen to Jewish students, challenge institutions that allow antisemitism to flourish, confront extremist ideology regardless of where it originates and, when making decisions in response to events in the middle east, remember that British Jews must never be treated as proxies for the actions of an Israeli Government. Whatever our political disagreements, that principle should be utterly uncontroversial.

I know that Members across the House want to see the Jewish community safe, but wanting is no longer enough. When the population-adjusted rate of recorded hate crime targeting Jews stands at more than 60 times the overall population rate, when Jewish students are questioning whether they belong on their own campuses and when Jewish families require security simply to practise their faith, we have to recognise the scale of the emergency before us. That is not simply a problem for the British Jewish community; it is a test for Britain, this Government, this House and our country, and it is one we cannot afford to fail.

It is a pleasure to close this debate, which I think has been very useful and moving. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Hornsey and Friern Barnet (Catherine West) on initiating it.

Before I respond to Members’ questions and to the debate itself, I have two reflections. One is to reiterate the commitment from this Government that we recognise we are on a journey to tackle antisemitism. Although I appreciate that many Members welcomed the funding that we have put in place and the changes that we are making, this will not be the end of the journey. We are on that journey to tackle antisemitism and we will do whatever is necessary for it. We have taken measures that many Members have talked about today, but that will not be the sum of everything we intend to do. We certainly do not intend to shy away from the huge challenge that we all face.

My second reflection, from listening to the MPs in this place who made such powerful speeches, is that as Members of Parliament we are all leaders of this country, and we should all ensure that we are well educated, trained and equipped to answer the call to tackle antisemitism. Whether that means going on the training days provided to Members of Parliament by the Antisemitism Policy Trust, or reading, or talking to and listening to our Jewish friends in our communities, it is incumbent on every single one of us to play a role in this debate and to be the leaders that people elect us to be. I was very struck by what my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent Central (Gareth Snell) said about how people are retreating from the public space because of their fear.

As we heard, we face perhaps the worst antisemitism crisis certainly of my lifetime on the streets, in people’s daily lives and online. I am Jewish, and when I go to synagogue at the end of this week to celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, I will walk past security guards. That should never have to happen, but it is utterly normal for the Jewish community.

We have seen a normalisation of hostility that has left many of my constituents wondering about their future in this country. Does the Minister agree that, exactly as my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent Central (Gareth Snell) said so clearly, it is not just a matter of building higher walls? We must be able to build a situation where Jewish people can live proud and open Jewish lives, free from fear. Does the Minister also agree that this is an all-of-society problem that requires an all-of-society response?

I completely agree that the solution is not just to build higher walls. If our Jewish friends and colleagues are retreating from the public space for fear of their own safety, we have to loudly make sure that that public space is full enough with the call against antisemitism, so that we can rebuild a society where people feel comfortable speaking openly about their religion and their faith, proud of being Jews in Britain and being able to exercise their religious rights freely.

I will respond to the points made as fully as I can. Many Members talked about the Protecting What Matters commitments. We are keen for the work to expand and be done as quickly as possible, and a whole cohort of work under that banner is being done as we speak. The disruptions team, which horizon scans for extremist influence and events, is being expanded with additional resources. Efforts to stop hate preachers and extremists entering the UK are increasing as part of an expanded global visa taskforce, which is important.

Work is going on to ensure that we report back to Parliament on our work. An annual “State of extremism” report is being developed, and the first iteration of that will be published this year. Embedding the 2024 definition of extremism and the engagement principles across Government means clearer guidance and improved training. Updating and embedding the 2024 engagement principles helps public bodies not to confer legitimacy, funding—crucially—or influence on extremist groups. A whole body of work is therefore being undertaken, and the annual “State of extremism” report will be published.

Several Members talked about universities, which are incredibly important, and referred to a powerful report that I have also read. Members quoted some absolutely shocking statistics. I was privileged to be at a roundtable with members of various universities, the Office for Students, Lord Mann and several representatives from the Jewish community talking about antisemitism in our universities. I know that there is a big programme of work under way to look at training, to make sure that there is funding to support new guidance from the Office for Students, to invest in the University Jewish Chaplaincy services and to make sure we work across different Departments, which was also mentioned, to tackle this issue.

From a policing point of view, my engagement on this issue is largely on some of the smaller unplanned protests that happen in Jewish spaces and trying to work with local police in those situations as to being clear who is responsible and how those issues are going to be tackled.

On that point, may I commend the police in Barnet in the run-up to the local elections, which is always a tense time? I want to put on record how outstanding the communication, reassurance and work with our local leaders—both Conservative and Labour—on Barnet council was.

I thank my hon. Friend for that praise. I am sure that it will be well appreciated and I absolutely endorse what she has said.

Members asked about the IRGC and the extra work being done beyond its sanctioning. We have sanctioned the IRGC in its entirety, as well as 550 Iranian individuals. Iran has been placed on the enhanced tier of the foreign influence registration scheme, and we are going after the criminal networks, proxies, enablers and illicit finance networks used by the IRGC, including with sanctions against criminal proxies. A lot of work is being done.

Members also asked when the David Bell report will be published. That will be this autumn, and it is important work about tackling antisemitism in schools.

I should touch on the funding that we have put in place following the awful attacks that we have seen in recent times and an absolutely dismal story of antisemitism and violence to which we as a Government have had to respond. Last April we provided an additional £25 million, initially to fund increased officer patrols and disruption deployments. We spent time just before the summer recess having a series of meetings with Jewish community colleagues, Jewish leaders and others, including a summit in Downing Street, talking about what extra was required. Just before the summer, we announced over £250 million of additional funding for the police to tackle antisemitism over the next three years.

That includes training for police officers, which the Liberal Democrat spokesperson, the hon. Member for Guildford (Zöe Franklin), asked about. Antisemitism training will be rolled out across policing as part of that work. That work is being largely done in our big cities where our Jewish communities mostly live and £85.8 million will be allocated to the Metropolitan Police Service. It will deliver 300 dedicated personnel to support the work that the Metropolitan police have already been doing. Other areas—Hertfordshire, Essex, Northumbria, Sussex, Thames Valley, West Midlands and West Yorkshire—will also be funded.

I am aware that I have not even really begun my speech, but that I now need to end it. I will do so where I started: by thanking all Members for their contributions. This is a journey, and we are absolutely committed to ensuring that our Jewish communities feel safe where they live and proud of their religion. We will do whatever we need to do to make sure that that can be delivered.

We have had an excellent debate. It is always a good debate when we want to say more but cannot fit it in. I thank everybody, across all the parties, for contributing to it.

The problem of tackling antisemitism will take the whole of our polity. That means all of us: local, national, school governors, public sector workers, the private sector and trade union colleagues. It will take everybody to look this in the eye and sort it.

We have had a good debate and, as the Minister says, it is a journey. I am very pleased that the Prime Minister is so intimately aware of the Manchester picture. I know that he is also engaged with London Board of Deputies colleagues as well. We look forward to a brighter future and to working together to tackle the scourge of antisemitism in our communities.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved,

That this House has considered the safety of the Jewish community.