Remembrance is not enough – now I will act

Three years ago today, the world became a more dangerous place to be Jewish.

The October 7 attack on Israel was the deadliest day for Jewish people since the Holocaust.

Three years on, we remember the 1,200 people whose lives were senselessly taken by Hamas terrorists, the families they were taken from, and the Jewish people in Britain and around the world who still carry the weight of those events with them every single day.

But if the three years since have taught us anything, it is that remembrance alone is not enough.

According to the CST, there were nearly 2,000 reported cases of antisemitism in the first half of this year – up a fifth on the same time last year. That is almost twice the monthly rate recorded before October 7.

We have seen where that hatred can lead. Almost exactly a year ago, a terrorist attacked Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation in Manchester. People had gone to synagogue to worship in peace on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar.

Two of them would not return home again. And since then, there have been further attacks on Jewish people and institutions in London, including arson attacks and a terrorist attack in Golders Green.

Antisemitism has become more visible, more aggressive and, in some places, more normalised.

It’s simply unacceptable that there are people in this country who now feel they have to hide who they are to stay safe.

This should worry us all. Because antisemitic attacks are not just attacks on our Jewish community, they are an attack on us all.

When we talk about our national security, we usually go straight to our borders – and, of course, that’s a huge part it. But national security is about the strength and resilience of the country within our borders too.

It is about whether people feel safe in their homes and communities, whether they trust their neighbours have their best interests at heart, and fundamentally about how easily it is for our enemies to turn us against one another.

Hostile states are actively using these methods to exploit us. They are peddling lies and conspiracy theories about minority communities right here in Britain, including Jewish people

Today, we live in a world where a conflict overseas can be on someone’s phone in any part of this country within seconds.

We live with devices and algorithms that can push people further towards hatred and conspiracy without them having to even leave their bedroom.

And we use technology every day that can take the actions of a government thousands of miles away and, with a couple of clicks or swipes, twist them into hatred of minority communities here at home.

Hostile states are actively using these methods to exploit us. They are peddling lies and conspiracy theories about minority communities right here in Britain, including Jewish people.

Because those who want to weaken this country understand something that our politics has sometimes been too slow to understand: division is a threat to our security.

We are putting record levels of protection around Jewish schools, synagogues and community centres, with more police on the streets in Jewish neighbourhoods and stronger counter-terrorism capabilities.

But we won’t get real security with higher walls around synagogues or more guards outside Jewish schools.

Dealing with the symptoms of this hatred simply isn’t enough – we have to deal with the hatred itself.

That means tackling the poison spreading online and teaching young people to recognise attempts to radicalise and divide them. And it means bringing people together and reminding them that there is far more that unites us than divides us.

Because, ultimately, the strongest defence against those who want to divide Britain is a country that refuses to be divided.

Where we allow antisemitism to take root, we allow this country to become weaker. So on the anniversary of October 7, I want my message to the Jewish community to be clear.

We will do more than just remember. We will change this country and we will not stop until every Jewish person in this country feels safe in the community they call home.