INTERVIEW: ‘An attack not just on Britain’s Jews – but on Britain itself’
Courts Minister Sarah Sackman speaks to Jewish News in the aftermath of the Golders Green Hatzola ambulance arson attack
Courts Minister and Finchley and Golders Green MP Sarah Sackman has described the Golders Green Hatzolah ambulance attack as an assault “not just on Britain’s Jews – but on Britain itself, and its values.”
In an interview with Jewish News, the Labour minister also said she fully understood the fear and anxiety now running through the community following Monday’s latest antisemitic incident, which follows the deadly Manchester synagogue attack on Yom Kippur.
Speaking only hours after the arson attack destroyed four ambulances run by the Hatzola charity, Sackman said: “We are living through a dangerous moment, and we should rightly demand even more of law enforcement, of government, but also of the institutions whose job it is to keep us safe.”
The 42-year-old Jewish politician and barrister admitted she was well aware of the sense of anger and frustration amongst many in the community over the perceived failure of Keir Starmer’s government to stem the tide of increasingly violent antisemitic hate.
Asked about growing frustration within the community that government’s pledge to rid our society of the scourge of antisemitism was not being matched by action, Sackman said: “The government has shown strong action since it came to power — with record levels of investment to the CST, £28 million to secure Jewish schools and synagogues, investment in education at universities and schools to educate people in what antisemitism looks like, commissioning reviews into workplace antisemitism and antisemitism in the NHS, and strengthening our charity laws and public order laws. All of this is important.
“But I’m also really clear that what I hear from Jewish constituents — and feel myself — is that we don’t simply want to build higher walls around our community. We want to be able to live an open, free Jewish life. And that means there is a collective responsibility.”
pic PA Joanthan Brady
Elected to represent the seat with the highest percentage of Jews, Sackman was appointed Solicitor General immediately after the election, before being promoted in December 2024 to Minister of State for Courts and Legal Services at the Ministry of Justice.
But with the unrelenting antisemitic attacks in the UK and across the globe, and with the aftermath of the October 7 Hamas attacks leading to never-before-seen levels of hatred of the Jewish state, her time in government has seen Sackman repeatedly being asked to defend the record of the Starmer government to a sceptical community.
“One of the things that I’m very clear on is this: this attack was an attack not just on Britain’s Jews, but on Britain itself and British values,” says Sackman, as we discuss this gloomy state of affairs.
“This isn’t a fight that the Jewish community should or needs to fight on its own.
“The government has the back of the community, but it’s a society-wide fight that we’ve got to have. Institutions need to step up — universities, workplaces, the private sector, and tech companies. Everybody has a role to play in this.
“I understand the depth of feeling within the Jewish community. I understand the fear, the anxiety, but also the sense of inevitability about this latest attack.
“We’re seeing antisemitism spiking not just in this country, but around the world — in Australia, America, France, Holland. We are living through a dangerous moment, and we should rightly demand even more of law enforcement, of government, but also of the institutions whose job it is to keep us safe.”
Sackman is also keen to counter the argument made by some of the political left and now increasingly also on the right, that the real cause of rising antisemitism is the actions of the state of Israel.
Asked whether it is true to conclude that events in the Middle East were fuelling antisemitism at home, she said: “The British government is responsible for the safety and security of British Jews in this country.
“We have a responsibility not just to fund enough police, to fund the CST, to fund the security of places where Jewish people are going about their lives, but we also have a responsibility to tackle extremism here in Britain.
“It’s why the counter-extremism and social cohesion action plan is so important. It’s why education on our campuses is so important.”
She continued: “No one should feel scared or threatened because they are Jewish. And I’m very clear that the people who attacked those ambulances last night were attacking Jewish people for being Jewish — irrespective of our views on what’s taking place in the Middle East.
“That is an attack that speaks to the oldest hatred. It predates what’s happening in the Middle East. It is, unfortunately, endemic — what’s happening globally is spiking. But we all have a responsibility to stamp it out and ensure that Britain’s Jews feel safe and protected in this country.”
While the identities of those behind the Golders Green attacks have yet to be confirmed, the suspicion that those involved held Islamist or pro-Iranian sympathies is widely suspected.
This week’s incident will also provide further fuel for those within the community itself arguing that there is now an undoubted threat posed to Britain’s Jews from within the Muslim community also residing here.
But Sackman refuses to go down this path. She insists: “My politics has always been about unifying people, about finding solutions, not scapegoats.
“I can tell you that I’ve had messages from Muslim leaders locally, Christian leaders, people of all faiths and none, to express solidarity with the local Jewish community.
“I think they speak for the vast majority of British people, and we would do well to build ties and cohesion with those people. Those who are seeking to divide, sow division, and make politics out of this are not our friends.
“I believe that what happened last night and the attack on the British Jewish community is actually above politics. This is quite simple, and it’s why I say an attack on Britain’s Jews is an attack on Britishness. I don’t think I can repeat that enough.
“If they’re coming for Britain’s Jews, they’re coming for the liberal democratic values that we all hold dear. And equally, if there are people scapegoating other minorities and pitting them against Jews, they don’t have the interest of the Jewish community at heart.”
On Monday, Sackman also attended the meeting called by the Prime Minister at Downing Street to meet with communal leaders in the aftermath of the latest outrage to impact the community.
Describing the mood at the Downing Street meeting, she said: “It was a positive meeting. It was very resolute.
“There was a real recognition that the Prime Minister’s assuredness and promptness in calling the meeting together show how seriously this is being taken at the very heart of government. Questions and comments naturally turned to what more can be done to reassure the community and to provide additional security.
“There was real unity around the table. People right across the community — from the strictly orthodox to the reform and progressive wings — are all feeling a sense of deep anxiety.
“There were interesting perspectives brought by Louis Danker, the president of the Union of Jewish Students, explaining how this is affecting young people on campuses.
“The Prime Minister showed strong awareness. He showed how steadfast he is with the community, and he was very clear that the outcomes of the meeting needed to be focused on actions — the commitment to additional funding to replace the ambulances, to expedite the implementation of the social cohesion action plan, and the reviews of antisemitism led by John Mann and others.
“He also said he would be speaking to the Home Secretary about what more can be done in terms of public order and restriction laws.”
Amongst all the darkness, Sackman was also able to take away at least some inspiration from Monday’s horrific incident.
“I was down on the scene with Wes Streeting this morning,” she recalled. “The first thing we did was we met with the Hatzola volunteers who had been working through the night.
“And here’s the amazing thing — they told me that even as they were responding to the situation, evacuating elderly people from the flats next door to where the incident took place, they were also taking first responder calls and literally going out on call and saving lives last night.
“They gave me a first-hand account of how they were responding. That, to me, is just extraordinary — it speaks to not just the resilience, but the amazing life-saving work that they do.”
She continued: “When we said to them that the government was on hand to provide support from the London Ambulance Service, from St John’s Ambulance, and also that the government had announced four replacement ambulances, their response was: ‘Thank you, but we’re just going to be getting on with the job.’ And that, to me, speaks volumes.
“I was incredibly proud of the work that they’ve done. But it also speaks to how horrific this attack is — because it’s horrific both in terms of the symbolic location, in the heart of Golders Green, a stone’s throw away from Jewish Care and Kosher Kingdom, where I’ll be doing my shopping for Pesach ahead of next week.
“Everybody knows it. Everybody feels connected to it. And at the same time, to target a vile antisemitic attack against something which is life-giving seems to me to tell you everything you need to know about the vile perpetrators who did this.”
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