‘Daddy, are we going to stay?’ CFI chair reveals daughter’s fears after Manchester terror attack
Jeremy Brier KC revealed daughter's words as he spoke at Tory Party conference event
Conservative Friends of Israel chairman Jeremy Brier KC has told the organisation’s Tory conference reception how his daughter asked him whether the family would be able to stay living in the UK after the Manchester synagogue attack.
Speaking to over 500 people at Sunday’s event, the barrister said:”On Thursday night, my daughter said to me, ‘Daddy, are we going to be able to stay in this country?’
“And the answer is, only if people like you and me stand up and fight. Only if we fight for our democracy and our shared values. Only if our government starts to put the safety of the Jewish people above the interests of their backbenchers.”
Brier, who was cheered for his defiant remarks, was among a lengthy list of senior Tories to address the packed CFI event, which was hosted by Lord Pickles, the organisation’s parliamentary chair.
Shadow Attorney General Lord Wolfson of Tredegar KC also offered his thoughts on the Heaton Park shul attack, which left two members of the local Jewish community dead.
“What happened in Manchester on Yom Kippur was not an antisemitic attack; an antisemitic attack is when somebody pulls your kippah off of your head,” reasoned the peer.
“An antisemitic attack is when someone shouts at you, like somebody did at me when I was a kid…..
“What we saw in Manchester, a couple of miles from here, was, as the Chief Constable said, it was terrorism.
“And it wasn’t just any terrorism, it was radical Islamist terrorism. Because unless we recognise it for what it is, we will never be able to confront it and deal with it.”
Former Attorney General Sir Michael Ellis KC also spoke, and launched a scathing attack on the Labour government’s decision to recognise a Palestinian state.
“To recognise that state now and putting Israel under pressure is an international disgrace, and it will live sadly with this government for decades to come,” said Ellis.
In another well-received address, Dame Priti Patel MP said it was a “personal honour” to be speaking at the CFI event. She stated that Conservatives are “sincere and dedicated in the way in which we stand for Israel [and] advocate for Israel”.
“These are shocking and difficult times for the Jewish community, and made all the worse by Labour’s dreadful decisions”, she said.
The Shadow Foreign Secretary added that Labour’s actions have “actively undermined” the UK-Israel relationship, and in doing so, Keir Starmer has damaged our national interest, showing “weakness in the face of terrorism”.
Earlier, Suella Braverman had paid tribute to the resilience of the Jewish people in the face of adversity. And in tough talk, shadow home secretary Chris Philp called for the deportation of migrants found to be guilty of antisemitism.
Pickles praised Sir James Cleverly ahead of his speech at the event, saying he had rushed to Israel to show solidarity immediately after the October 7 Hamas attack.
Conservative Party Chairman Kevin Hollinrake MP and CFI Vice Chair Greg Smith MP also spoke.
Chair Briers also praised the speech made by Israel’s deputy foreign minister, saying, “I’d like to get everyone in this country to listen to it.” Senior Conservatives praise hard-line speech by Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister
Haskel had warned of “out of control migration” in the UK in her speech, which was loudly cheered by activists.
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