Blackman urges swifter government action on antisemitic hate citing anti-Zionist demo
Tory MP raises concerns about Palestinian Pulse protest outside parliament entitled ‘Confront Power in Parliament, an anti-Zionist rally.’
Conservative MP Bob Blackman has called on the government to act swiftly to tackle antisemitic hate, warning that the Jewish community cannot afford to wait for long-term reviews while antisemitism persists across the UK.
Speaking during Prime Minister’s Questions, the Harrow East MP highlighted plans for a pro-Palestinian demonstration outside Parliament by the group Palestinian Pulse, describing it as “an anti-Zionist rally.” Blackman noted that the protest comes just one day after Holocaust Memorial Day.
He told MPs: “Yesterday was Holocaust Memorial Day, but unbelievably, Palestinian Pulse plan a protest outside parliament today, entitled ‘Confront Power in Parliament, an anti-Zionist rally.’
“The Jewish population of our country has had to put up with weekly protests in our towns and cities since October 7, 2023.
“We have Jewish businesses and restaurants targeted by protests trying to close them down.
“The chants are antisemitic, the meaning behind them is antisemitic, and we see where it leads: the massacre on Bondi Beach, attacks in the United States, and, unbelievably, two members of our Jewish community were murdered in Manchester.”
Blackman referenced the ongoing review by Lord MacDonald into the policing of repeat protests and the use of chants considered antisemitic, but stressed that the community “do not have two years to wait before this hatred is extinguished.”
He pressed Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, who was standing in for Keir Starmer at PMqs, to outline when the government will “take concrete steps to ensure that antisemitism is driven out of our country.”
In response, Lammy said: “He’s quite right, the rising antisemitism that we see in the nature of some forms of protest is intolerable and unacceptable.
“That is why the Home Secretary has set out the plans that she has, and I will continue to work with her closely to drive antisemitism out of this country.”
Earlier at PMQs, Lammy also marked Holocaust Memorial Day, saying:“Yesterday was Holocaust Memorial Day, and for the first time, a Holocaust survivor, Marla Trivich, addressed the Cabinet.
“I found her testimony profoundly moving, especially having recently visited the Majdanek concentration camp in Poland.
“We owe it to every survivor and to the six million Jewish people murdered in the Holocaust to never forget.
“We will build a national Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre next to this Parliament, so that the voices of survivors are never forgotten, and their courage inspires future generations.”
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