Anti-Semitic Attacks

Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town Excerpts

Tuesday 18th May 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Lab)]

My Jewish 97 year-old aunt Rose lives in St John’s Wood. I never imagined I would see such scenes on her street. As Simon Wiesenthal said,

“For evil to flourish, it only requires good men to do nothing.”


And Pastor Niemöller wrote:

“First they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew.”


Does the Minister agree that each and every one of us must stand up to, and speak out against, what we saw at the weekend?

[The Minister of State, Home Office and Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (Lord Greenhalgh) (Con)]

I completely agree that we must stand in solidarity with British Jews. The events we saw in the past week were abhorrent and I am pleased the police acted swiftly to arrest four individuals for that offence of driving up and down Finchley Road. Equally, there was the violent attack on Rabbi Rafi Goodwin in Chigwell, and I am pleased to say that the latest news is that the police have arrested two individuals concerning that incident.