Kemi Badenoch: I stand for a Britain that will always fight for Jews

I’m not here to do politics today. Why am I here? Many of you will know that I’m not Jewish; you might have noticed. But I am here because I made a promise. I promised that I would stand with you. I promised I would lead from the front. I promised that I would do everything that I could to let you know that you are not alone and that Britain stands with you.

All of us standing know why we are here. We know why are here, we know what is happening in our country. But this is personal for me. Today is not the first day that I am speaking about antisemitism. And let’s call it what it is, the hatred of Jews. Today is not the first day. It wasn’t last week, when I was speaking to that heckler. It wasn’t the first time when I spoke six months ago or even last year. Or the year before that, when I was talking about those people who were ripping down the posters of hostages, children, babies, who had been taken away from their homes. I saw that hate then, but even then, it wasn’t the first time.

The first time I spoke about antisemitism was in 2015. When I was speaking about the Al-Quds march and I could not understand how people were standing by and seeing flags promoting terrorism, promoting groups that want to destroy Jews, that want to destroy Israel, and no one was saying anything.

We have to speak about what is going on. We have to call out hate when we see it. And the reason why I spoke then was because the year before, I had seen that terror, that promotion of terror. Many of you know that I was born in this country, but I grew up in Nigeria. And in 2014, I remember when 300 schoolgirls were stolen from their school by Islamic extremism. And they did not return, only a few returned. I know that that terror is all around the world and I remember on 7 October I saw that same terror, the stealing of children, the murder, the massacre of young people at a music festival.

We know what this is and we should not pretend. There are many, many different pockets of antisemitism in this country. But I am most worried about the growth of extremism and terror around the world. It targets many groups in this country. It targets Jews. And I do not say those words lightly. There are people who are afraid to call it what it is. There are a many people who afraid to called it out. I am not afraid. We do need to stand against extremism. We do need to stand against Islamic extremism. The murders that we saw at Heaton Park in Manchester, we know what was behind it, at a synagogue, on a holy day, a holy celebration. We all saw what happened in Golders Green. I can’t say too much about it because there is now a charge and a court case. But I recognise this evil, I recognise this threat that wants people to feel afraid, to feel terror.

They want you to be afraid when you step out of your house. They want you to be to afraid when you go to school, when you go to business, when you go to worship. The people who want us to be afraid must never be allowed to win. And so we must fight it, everywhere we can.

And I know there are many Jewish people who are worried about this country. I say to you now, you are not alone. I stand with you, millions stand with you. Britain has been a sanctuary for Jewish people and it must always be a sanctuary for Jewish people. It is so, it is so so wonderful to see so many people here today and I am glad about that. But I am also sad that we need this rally at all; I would never ever have guessed over the decades that we would need to have a rally against antisemitism

When I was growing up and I thought about Jewish people I thought the Bible I thought of movies like the Ten Commandments. When I was doing my A-levels I was thinking about Rosalind Franklin. When I went into politics I was thinking about Benjamin Disraeli. When I went clubbing, I was thinking about Amy Winehouse. I think it is a disgrace now that we are talking about the cancelling of Maureen Lipman for doing what she has always been doing. It’s a disgrace that we have people going door to door in Bristol, in Sheffield, asking people if they are Jewish and if they will boycott Israel, that is a disgrace. We know what is happening, we cannot pretend it is something else, and I stand against that. I stand against antisemitism.

As Rabbi Jonathan Sacks said, antisemitism is the best early warning signal against threats to humanity, threats to freedom, threats to the dignity of difference. Let’s call it what it is. It is hatred against Jews. That’s what it is. I stand against that hatred, but I stand with you. I stand with British Jews and everyone who is supporting you at this time. I stand with those who believe in freedom, the freedom of religion. I stand with others who believe in equality. But more than anything else, I stand for this country. I stand for a Britain where Jews can go to school freely without worrying about security. I stand for a Britain where you can worship freely and not worry about who is coming to attack you. I stand for the celebration of Jewish culture and Jewish people and I stand for a Britain that will always fight for you, that will support you and I will fight for that Britain every single day.

Thank you ladies and gentlemen.