UK minister rejects claims country unsafe for Jews in Israeli newspaper op-ed

A Foreign Office minister has dismissed claims that the UK is now unsafe for the Jewish community, in an unprecedented article published in an Israeli newspaper.

In an op-ed for the Jerusalem Post, Middle East Minister Hamish Falconer emphasized that being both British and Jewish are not “competing identities” but “complementary parts of a shared story—one this government is determined to protect.”

Falconer acknowledged concerns, writing: “I know that many of you reading this in Israel also want to know whether Britain remains a place where Jews and Israelis are safe, welcome, and able to live openly and confidently.”

The article details the government’s efforts to protect Jewish communities, with Falconer noting his regular meetings with community members following the October 7 attacks, as well as recent terror incidents at Heaton Park synagogue and Bondi Beach, Australia.

He said these meetings have allowed him to hear first-hand the fears about the future of UK Jewry.

Falconer also cited the latest annual Community Security Trust statistics, which recorded more than 3,700 antisemitic incidents in the UK last year—the second-highest figure since records began.

He stressed that this rise in antisemitism is “not unique to Britain,” calling it a “global scourge.”

Referring to the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks—the largest killing of Jewish people since the Holocaust—Falconer said, “We have witnessed an unprecedented attack on Jews across the world.”

He added, “It is a travesty that Jews worldwide must live in fear because they are Jewish.”

Outlining the government’s response, Falconer pointed to increased funding for security and schools, enhanced education on antisemitism, new police powers to tackle extremism, and measures to counter anti-Jewish racism in the NHS. “These actions are just the beginning. We know we must do more,” he said.

Rejecting suggestions that the future of UK Jewry is now in doubt, Falconer concluded: “Britain has been home to Jewish communities for centuries. It will remain so, because Britain without its Jewish community would not be Britain—whether through contributions to democratic life, with over 200 Jews having served as MPs, or through shaping our society in culture, business, science, and many other fields.”

He quoted the prime minister: “‘Jews are not guests in Britain. They are home.’”