Amber Rudd: ‘I will not ignore threat to British Jews’

Anti-semitism has no place in Great Britain’s diverse and tolerant society.

In the past few years, the Jewish community has been the target of horrific attacks in Paris, Copenhagen, Brussels and Toulouse. These outrages horrify the people of Britain, but racist and religious hate crimes are also taking place within our shores.

The threat to the Jewish community in this country is something that I cannot, and will not, ignore.

Last year the Community Security Trust (CST) received 924 reports of anti-Semitic incidents in Britain, including 86 violent assaults. Any attack of this kind is one too many.

We must challenge anti-Semitism wherever we find it, and action is now being taken to ensure the safety and security of the Jewish community.

This week, I published a Hate Crime Action Plan, setting out the steps the government is taking to prevent all forms of hate crime, to protect victims and boost reporting.

It details work already underway to tackle these abhorrent crimes and increase safety for the Jewish community, including £13.4 million funding specifically to protect Jewish schools, synagogues and community sites.

Prevention is also key and we are funding an extension of the powerful Anne Frank Trust Schools Programme, which uses Anne’s life and diary to empower young people with the knowledge, skills and confidence to challenge all forms of prejudice and discrimination.

This programme has already reached thousands of young people up and down the country.

It is vital we give people the confidence to report hate crime and know it will be taken seriously. Kick It Out has worked with the CST and Maccabi GB on guidance on anti-Semitism in football that has been sent to all professional clubs.

And after hearing that members of the Charedi community are less likely to report hate crime, we are working with them to educate young people on what constitutes hate crime and how to report it.

We have also improved police recording of religious hate crime, while new Crown Prosecution Service guidance will encourage tougher sentences in religious and racial hate crime cases.

But we will not stop there. My job as Home Secretary is to protect all the people and communities that make us Great Britain and I will do all I can to achieve this.

Let there be no doubt, I will not stand for anti-Semitism or any form of hatred.

Communities across Britain must come together and stand united against those who use hate to divide us.