Social Cohesion and Community during Periods of Change

Lord Leigh of Hurley Excerpts

Friday 6th December 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Leigh of Hurley (Con)]

My Lords, I congratulate the most reverend Primate the Archbishop of York on selecting this topic for debate, and thank him for bringing faith into the debate, which I will talk about more in a minute. I also congratulate my noble friend Lord Sharma on his excellent first contribution.

I care greatly about this issue. As my entry in the register of interests discloses, I serve on a number of organisations in the Jewish community and related outreach organisations. Social cohesion is under real threat. A survey published in October this year by the Institute for Jewish Policy Research, where I serve as president, demonstrates that more than one-third of British Jews have experienced anti-Semitic harassment, or worse, in the last year—a much higher proportion than the figures issued by the Home Office, which show only the incidents that are reported. Even this morning, at 4 am, the Adass Israel synagogue in Melbourne was firebombed while worshippers were inside. I am sure that your Lordships will join me in sending our best wishes to that community at this difficult time.

For decades, the Jewish community in this country has been the example par excellence of how to be part of a wider society and contribute to it while simultaneously maintaining its own sense of religious and Jewish identity. We can look at the contribution made to arts, law, business, philanthropy, science and, indeed, your Lordships’ House. But that is showing clear signs of change since 7 October. A study published by the Institute for Jewish Policy Research in October contains several indicators of Jews closing in on themselves, hiding their Jewish identity in public for fear of hostility, feeling uncertain or uncomfortable among non-Jewish friends, gravitating towards Jewish friends and retreating into the Jewish community spaces, where they feel safer, in search of solace and solidarity.

As president of a synagogue, I am always pleased to see more regular worshippers, but it saddens me that this increase is due to fear and concern for our presence. None of these is a good indication for social cohesion in Britain, and they all reflect a sense that it is becoming harder to feel comfortable or welcome as a religious or ethnic minority in this country. It has now reached the point where Jewish families are planning to leave the UK, as they no longer regard it as a safe place to live and bring up their families. I have spoken to many who have decided it is now time to leave.

Just a few weeks ago, the co-founder of the Outset Contemporary Art Fund, Mrs Candida Gertler, OBE, resigned from her role in the arts world because of vile, anti-Semitic sentiments, which she said seek “to marginalise and dehumanise” Jewish people. Worse, she pointed out that the institutions in the arts sector have failed to confront hate and

“allow prejudice to take root”.

These are not isolated incidents. The hate in the arts and literary worlds, which are now seeking to ban people who they call Zionists, sends a chilling effect down the spines of all Jewish subjects in the UK. We are sponsors of the Jewish film festival, which struggled to find cinemas to screen Jewish films. The cinemas provided all sorts of excuses as to why they could not do so. Even today, the Exeter International Dance Film Festival refused to screen a film about the Nova music festival in southern Israel.

Yesterday, Amnesty International, a somewhat flawed organisation, came up with a baseless report which has been described as a

“blood libel against the Jewish state”,

which will, of course, incite others to blame UK Jews for these grievances, as has been the case at Goldsmiths, where students forced the somewhat spineless college to remove the names of Jewish donors who had given in good faith to that college. We have seen anti-Semitism on campus, online, in workplaces and in the NHS. It has even been shown to Jewish pupils on the way to school, three of whom were glassed in Stamford Hill, with one girl receiving life-changing facial injuries.

CST found that, in the majority of anti-Semitic incidents in the first half of 2024, the ethnicity of the offender was provided and involved non-white offenders. A pattern is developing and there is a change in the demography of the offenders. It is clear that criticisms of the State of Israel’s actions, which are motivated by self-defence after 7 October, morph into hostility against UK Jews.

That includes actions by the UK Government, who, although having helpfully clarified that there is no genocide in Gaza, confirmed by the fact that there is no direct targeting of innocent civilians, then took the purely political action of banning arms sales and, unlike France, enforcing the ICC’s morally corrupt decision, which they must have known would lead to an increase in anti-Semitism and fuel such things as the marches in London, which simply terrify the Jewish community. Some 66% of British Jews avoid going to city centres when demonstrations happen, for fear of their safety. One such march, organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, took place last month past my synagogue, Westminster Synagogue in central London. It stopped for seven minutes outside our synagogue, shouting the genocidal, inciting slogan, “From the river to the sea”.

What can be done? Outreach instances such as the brave visit to Preston mosque last month by Manchester’s Jewish leaders, for which all parties should be congratulated, was promptly condemned by 5Pillars. A protest at Birmingham University has called for “Zionists off our campus”. We know what they mean. So, will the Government tie their approach to extremism in with their approach to social cohesion? Extremism is not only violent behaviour, and the continuing crossing of red lines is a threat not just to the Jewish community but to national security.

The Minister can be of great assistance. I call on him, as I think the noble Baroness, Lady Helic, did, to convene the moderates—people who are like-minded and feel they can work together and do something together. I have worked with the marvellous Council of Christians and Jews. There is not a council of Jews and Muslims; I do not know if there is a council of Christians and Muslims. Such initiatives need a little help, and perhaps the Government might think further about how to be the catalyst for dialogue and constructive conversations.

We need to ask ourselves what kind of country we want to live in today. Do we want to live in one that loosely and brazenly condemns minorities as guilty simply by virtue of their religious or ethnic identity, or for their profound and legitimate feelings of attachment to a country elsewhere, as well as to Britain; one that allows a complex conflict in another part of the world to spill over on to the streets of this country in ways that make some of our citizens fear for their safety and withdraw into their siloed communities; one that tolerates speech and behaviour that is hurtful, offensive or downright racist, but is too scared to call it out for fear of a backlash?

This country has long been known for its decency, tolerance and openness. However, the experience of the Jewish community over the past year suggests that it is rapidly losing that reputation. It has often been observed that a rise in anti-Semitism is like the proverbial canary in the mine: a sign of increasing social tension or even collapse. We need the Government to have a plan and to enact it. Speeches are fine, but it is actions which are now needed. We are seeing a rise in anti-Semitism here in Britain today. The data is extremely clear, and the implications should be too.