Fighting Antisemitism

A couple of years ago, during a spate of attacks against the Jewish community across Europe, I was visited in my surgery by a Jewish constituent who was concerned for her own safety. It was distressing to hear that she felt that even in the heart of the Hampshire Downs, she might be a target for hate and violence. My response was to reassure her that in the unlikely event that a person filled with hatred came for her, they would find me on her driveway, blocking their path.

I was speaking literally and metaphorically of course; antisemitism is a form of racism which must be confronted by all of us wherever it occurs. In the UK, we all have a collective duty to the safety of every individual, and particularly those who are targeted for who they are or what they believe.

In order to help us see it clearly, a group of renowned academics, including experts in Judaism, the Holocaust and Jewish history, have come together to create the Jerusalem Declaration, a tool for the identification of antisemitism, so we can all play our part in fighting this racism. I endorse it, and I would urge you to read it.

You can find it here: https://jerusalemdeclaration.org/