Communities secretary tours Stamford Hill for cohesion consultation

Stamford Hill’s strictly Orthodox community yesterday welcomed Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government James Brokenshire MP, as he sought to understand concerns around community cohesion.

The meeting involving religious and communal leaders was part of a wider consultation around the Government’s Green Paper on Community Cohesion, published in March this year.

The Green Paper seeks to tackle “barriers to integration,” with Prime Minister Theresa May saying in the foreward to the document: “We must do more to confront the segregation that can divide communities.”

The meeting was convened by the Jewish Community Council (JCC) and chaired by community adviser Shimon Cohen. It included Berish Berger, chair of the Torah Education Committee, Chaya Spitz, head of the Interlink Foundation, Councillor Michael Levy, and Rabbi Bentzi Sudak of Chabad Lubavitch UK, who hosted the meeting at Lubavitch House.

“Today’s discussions were the first step in responding to the Green Paper,” said JCC director Levi Schapiro. “We hope it impacts the final legislation and look forward continuing our dialogue with the department. We hope to ensure policy takes into account our community’s needs at this important time.”

Brokenshire MP said: “It was a pleasure to meet members of the Stamford Hill Jewish community, and to hear their views on how we can work together to champion our joint values and create stronger, more successful communities.”

After the meeting, the minister visited Hatzolah, the community’s first aid and emergency response service, where he was greeted by Rabbi Avroham Pinter, Moishe Breur, Gavreal Shlider and Dr Shalom Springer.