Government urged to include antisemitism in Prevent strategy
Exclusive: Lord Pickles calls for Jew-hate to be included in the terrorism prevention programme after briefing from the Community Security Trust
Jewish security groups and government envoys have begun pushing for the inclusion of antisemitism in the national Prevent strategy, Jewish News can reveal.
It follows a call made by Lord Pickles, the government’s special envoy for post-Holocaust issues, for Jew hatred to be included in the country’s main terrorism-prevention programme.
Speaking in the House of Lords, he said: “Given that antisemitism is often an open gateway to violent extremism, does the minister think that now is an appropriate time for the government to incorporate antisemitism into their Prevent strategy?”
Pickles said he intervened after he was “persuaded” by a private briefing note from the Community Security Trust (CST).
Mark Gardner, the CST’s communications director, said the organisation was pleased that the matter was now being taken seriously. “CST’s argument is that antisemitism should be considered one of the early warning signs by which potential future terrorists can be identified,” he said in this week’s Jewish News.
“We believe our argument is increasingly regarded as a pretty obvious statement of fact by government, police and the security services.”
Pickles told Jewish News: “From the beginning, antisemitism has been a really good early indicator of extremism… Antisemitic conspiracies peddled by the far-right and far-left are a regular part of the ideological package that counter-terrorism officers encounter.”
He said: “It’s not like antisemitism is being ignored by those engaged in preventing terrorism. There are some early interventions around it, but it’s a bit half-in, half-out. We need to go a little bit further now and fully integrate it. Now is the right time.” He added: “This is no silver bullet, but if it helps protect the Jewish community then it’s obviously worth doing.”
The call was backed by Danny Stone, chief executive of the Antisemitism Policy Trust, who said: “Antisemitism should be clearly identified as an indicator of violent extremism by the government and relevant authorities. We support Lord Pickles and the CST’s call for this to be looked at carefully.”
Jewish peer Lord Carlile, the government’s former independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, had been scheduled to review the Prevent strategy but withdraw in December after a legal challenge over perceived bias. He said: “Prevent applies to the risk of terrorist violence by a person. If an antisemite was a credible risk of violence against Jews, Prevent could be used.”
However, Liam Duffy, a counter-terrorism consultant who wrote a Civitas report on Prevent, said there must be a reason to believe that an antisemite was a threat to Jews beyond just their views.
“If someone held antisemitic views in isolation – as opposed to antisemitism caused by an Islamist ideology, for example – and there was reason to believe they were heading towards committing an act of violence, then that would be sufficient to warrant a Prevent intervention.
“However, there are few definite ‘thresholds’ which would trigger an intervention. One comment alone, for instance about Jews controlling the world, might not be enough, but with more context it might be.”
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
