OPINION: We Will Protect Britain’s Jewish community

It’s the fear that comes first. Every Jewish person knows it. When you hear of an attack occurring, close by or far away, you feel a sense of dread. That very personal sort of panic, as you mentally check where your loved ones are. Were they close by, are they safe?

Yesterday was the realisation of those fears for several families. Their lives torn apart, without warning. My heart goes out to all the loved ones of the two worshippers killed, to the injured, and to those who lived through terror in what should have been a day of peace and reflection. Their grief is immeasurable.

The attack in Manchester will understandably have an impact far wider than the devastation it has caused for a heartbroken community. Not just because Yom Kippur is the holiest day in the Jewish calendar; a day of fasting and atonement. But because it is also about togetherness.  Synagogues fill with worshippers – some regulars, many others attending their one service of the year. For Jews across Britain, it is the day when community matters most.

For me, yesterday was when most of my family were at synagogues across the country. I have, very many times, been one of those volunteers in hi-vis stood outside of services and cheder lessons. So believe me when I say I know what antisemitism feels like, and I understand how our community feels.

We are heartbroken. We are frightened. We are angry. The rising tide of antisemitism has been plain for all to see, yet is too often explained away.

British Jews are not asking for special treatment.  We are asking for the same thing every family, of every faith, should expect: to live and worship freely, without fear. That means, tragically in these times, police on the ground. It means protecting our schools and synagogues. And it means leaders in every party and community calling out antisemitism wherever it appears.

The Prime Minister has promised to do everything in his power to guarantee the security of Britain’s Jews. I also want to thank my friend, the Home Secretary, for her leadership and steadfast commitment to keeping communities safe. These pledges matter – because antisemitism is not a marginal problem. It is growing. And it corrodes everything this country stands for at its best; decency, tolerance and diversity.

The best of our country can be found in the security volunteers and community at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue, whose swift actions prevented many more from coming to harm.

The best of our country can be seen in the speed of our emergency services, who undoubtedly saved lives.

And I know the best of our country will be shown in the coming days, in the solidarity of our neighbours, showing that Britain is bigger than the hatred that threatens it.

In the days ahead, forces across the country will step up their protection of Jewish communities. Many hours will be spent trying to understand how this vicious attack could have been prevented. This government has ensured that more police are being deployed to Synagogues, provided £18 million per year to the Community Security Trust to provide protective security measures at synagogues, schools and Jewish community sites and £7 million has been committed to tackle antisemitism in schools, colleges & universities.

That is the right response. But it cannot be the end of the conversation. The focus will not just be on security and justice, but on how we can bring communities together to heal from this. This government is determined to build a country where no minority has to live in fear, and where antisemitism is confronted without hesitation, without qualification, and without excuse.

We will be unflinching in our drive to counter antisemitism, in our determination to combat all forms of racism and prejudice, and we will have absolute resolve in our efforts to bring our diverse communities closer together.  We cannot let terrorists divide our communities, or forget that that there is so much more that unites us.

Lord Hermer is the Attorney General for England and Wales and Advocate General for Northern Ireland.