Safety of the Jewish Community

Christopher Chope Excerpts

Tuesday 8th September 2026 Westminster Hall

[Tom Hayes (Bournemouth East) (Lab)]

It is a privilege to speak in this debate on Jewish safety, and to represent one of Britain’s oldest seaside Jewish communities as the Member of Parliament for Bournemouth East. Jewish families in Bournemouth have built businesses, strengthened our heritage and contributed to civic life, and we have had a number of Jewish mayors, including Louis Barney, Gabriel Jaffe, Michael and Anne Filer, Pamela Harris, Ben Grower, Barry Goldbart and Lawrence Williams.

I was privileged to attend the consecration of the new synagogue for the Bournemouth Hebrew Congregation in East Cliff—my neighbourhood—in the presence of the Chief Rabbi just a few short months ago. It marked a new chapter in the life of the Jewish community in Bournemouth. The new shul has been refurbished, and throughout the building there are colours inspired by Bournemouth’s sand, cliffs, piers and breakwaters. The light-filled main prayer hall has a series of stained-glass images, many of which recreate those from the old Wootton Gardens synagogue. I was pleased to visit that synagogue many times, including for its farewell concert, which showed that a new start means that we must also say farewell.

My Jewish constituents deserve what every citizen deserves: to feel safe. The statistics tell part of the story: Dorset police tell me that they recorded 26 antisemitic crimes across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole in the year to May, and every one of those crimes matters, but statistics alone cannot explain what it feels like when fear enters everyday life. For that, we must listen to the people in Bournemouth, so I encouraged my constituents to get in touch ahead of this debate.

Ann told me that she has removed the Star of David necklace that she wore throughout her life because she no longer feels comfortable openly displaying her Jewish identity. Stefan from East Cliff and Springbourne wrote:

“We are alone, we are afraid.”

At the age of 73, he has never experienced such open antisemitism, and he speaks now of conversations taking place around dinner tables that many had hoped belonged to history. David, a retired rabbi, said that British Jews regard themselves as British citizens first and foremost, and he spoke of generations of Jewish people serving our country in our armed forces, of prayers being said in synagogues each week for the royal family and the Government, and of a public duty throughout our town.

I know some Jewish patients in my constituency are reluctant to identify their faith when admitted to hospital, because they fear how they may be treated. I want them to know that, following Lord Mann’s review, the Government are requiring anti-racism training aimed at tackling antisemitism and other racism in the NHS. Another constituent, who is not Jewish himself, showed solidarity by writing to me about friends who feel unsafe and threatened.

Josephine, who has happily lived in Bournemouth for more than two decades, told me that she never expected to face continual hostility and intimidation. She and her husband recently celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary at the synagogue, but they felt compelled to employ security guards for the event. Adele, who is 82, spoke movingly of her grandparents who found safety, democracy and peace of mind in our country, and she tells me:

“All we ask is to live here in peace and free from fear.”

Derek describes the reality that many Jewish people now live with, following the atrocities of 7 October and the war that followed, which has left many Jewish people spending their time, in his words, “watching our backs”, relying on police protection and the Community Security Trust to guard places of worship and community events.

Several members of the community have been in touch to talk about a particular incident in Bournemouth Square last year. Alongside Jewish residents and Christian supporters, a small protest—

[Sir Christopher Chope (in the Chair)]

Order. I am afraid we now have to move on to the wind-ups.

--- Later in debate ---

[Tom Hayes]

On a point of order, Sir Christopher. I was under the impression that there was no time limit. I was not warned in advance of the need to reduce the length of my speech. I have deliberately solicited the views of my constituents, which I want to put on the official parliamentary record, about an issue that affects them very deeply, which is their feeling of insecurity and discontent in our country because of antisemitism. I am concerned that they have been unrepresented on the parliamentary record because you, as Chair, have artificially circumscribed the time limit. I ask that I be given the chance to speak fully and represent my constituents’ views in their entirety.

[Sir Christopher Chope (in the Chair)]

I did not impose a time limit, but there is always half an hour at the end for the wind-ups. You have been a Member of this House now for over two years. You must realise that in an hour-and-a-half debate, there is an hour for the speeches and half an hour for the wind-ups.

[Tom Hayes]

indicated dissent.

[Sir Christopher Chope (in the Chair)]

You are shaking your head; I am sorry you have not been able to learn on the job, but I am not going to accept criticism for calling the Front Benchers at half-past to enable them all to participate in this debate and, hopefully, give a chance for the person who initiated it to have a few words at the end. I am almost lost for words, because the hon. Gentleman should have realised when we got to half-past that that was the end of the time for Back Benchers and when the Front Benchers start speaking. But anyway, perhaps—

[Tom Hayes]

Further to that point of order, Sir Christopher.

[Sir Christopher Chope (in the Chair)]

No, I am not going to accept a further point of order. Perhaps the hon. Gentleman will learn from what has happened this morning.

[Zöe Franklin]

The latest Home Office figures show that there were 106 religious hate crimes targeting Jewish people per 10,000 of the Jewish population—by far the highest rate, sadly, for any religious group. Behind these shocking figures are people who are changing the way they live, as we have heard in this morning’s debate, because they are frightened—frightened of being attacked, abused or intimidated simply for practising their faith.

I see that in my own constituency of Guildford, which has a relatively small but growing Jewish community of around 450 residents, which rises to 600 during university term time. Members of the community have told me clearly that since the horrific attacks of 7 October, the tone has noticeably shifted in the community. Our local rabbi has received death threats and has even been physically assaulted in public. Jewish residents have faced verbal abuse, a swastika has been drawn at a local golf course, and a single Jewish mother had a rotten chicken thrown through her open window while she was with her five-year-old child, and those are not isolated incidents.

What has stayed with me the most, though, is hearing that some local Jewish families have moved their mezuzah from the outside of their front door to the inside because they are frightened of being identified as Jewish. That is an extraordinary thing for anyone to feel they must do in Britain in 2026 to keep their family safe. It is why I believe our response must be about much more than simply reacting when another terrible thing happens. We need to step up, as community leaders and as Parliament. We need to ensure that Jewish communities are protected now, but we also need to tackle the hatred that makes that protection necessary in the first place.

I welcome the Government’s additional £25 million for security following the attacks in Golders Green, bringing the total available to £58 million. I have seen how much that investment matters. The Guildford synagogue has had to spend thousands of pounds upgrading security, and our rabbi has had to spend money improving his own personal security. I refuse to accept that this is simply the way society is turning—that violence and intimidation is now being normalised. Will the Minister explain what long-term certainty the Government will provide for the Community Security Trust and for the security funding relied upon by synagogues, Jewish schools and community organisations? Protecting buildings is necessary, but it is not enough.

We also have to ensure that our police and prosecutors can identify antisemitism and act when the law is broken. I want to be really clear on protest. The right to peaceful protest is fundamental in a liberal democracy, but there is no right to intimidate Jewish people, to glorify terrorism or to use protest as a cover for antisemitic hatred or incitement to violence. It should not be a difficult distinction for us to make as a society.

We Liberal Democrats have called for mandatory antisemitism training for police officers policing demonstrations, as part of a statutory code for the policing of protests. That would also include stronger protections around places of worship, and place responsibilities on protest organisers to take reasonable steps to prevent harassment and intimidation. I really do think that those are practical steps that the Government should take seriously. Will the Minister consider introducing consistent antisemitism training for officers policing protests across the country?

Will the Government also consider again how we protect synagogues and other places of worship from intimidating protests immediately outside them? The same applies when cases reach the justice system. I could go on, and I know that colleagues across this Chamber have raised a number of issues in relation to that point.

I also want to note the gap between the official statistics and what Jewish residents say that they experience. I hear it in my own constituency of Guilford, and I am sure that colleagues hear the same. Many incidents are never reported to the police. Others happen in schools, universities and workplaces and are dealt with internally, which means that they simply disappear from the national picture. If we do not understand the scale of antisemitism, we cannot properly respond to it.

We have talked this morning about the crucial issue of educating people to understand what is and what is not acceptable in our language. We have also heard about Sir David Bell’s review of antisemitism in schools. I have, sadly, heard too many stories in my own constituency and in neighbouring ones of children and young people facing antisemitism within their education setting. I am glad that Sir David Bell’s review is coming. Will the Minister commit to responding quickly to the review and its recommendations when it comes out?

I want to end by sharing something positive, as many colleagues have done at the end of their speeches, too. I want to share the genuinely positive work happening in Guildford. I am glad that Surrey police have developed a stronger liaison relationship with our Jewish community. Guildford and Waverley councils, Surrey police, Jewish residents and local faith leaders have worked together on a hate-crime pledge. We have growing relationships between the Jewish community, the Reform Jewish community in Weybridge, and Woking mosque. Those relationships are crucial. They show that even at times of terrible conflict and division internationally, Jewish and Muslim communities here can continue to talk to one another, support one another and refuse to allow events overseas to divide neighbours at home.

I was proud to stand with local faith leaders and civic leaders with the Guildford declaration of freedom of religion and belief. That work is crucial, and it brings me to the issue of inter-faith initiatives. Sadly, inter-faith funding has largely disappeared. Will the Government consider reinstating the crucial grassroots inter-faith funding, which is at the core of enabling positive cross-faith work?

Ultimately, I do not want the measure of success for how the Jewish community is being protected to be about how many security guards we have funded or how many hate crimes have been recorded. I want Jewish families to feel comfortable putting their mezuzah back outside their front door. I want Jewish children to be able to talk about their faith openly, without worrying how other pupils will react. I want the Jewish community in my constituency of Guildford to be able to light the menorah on the high street without the need for armed police to make that possible. That requires proper security funding now, but it also requires better policing, better education, stronger enforcement online and investment in relationships that prevent hatred from growing in the first place.

I think that everyone in this Chamber agrees that antisemitism has no place in our society. We should not accept Jewish people having to change how visibly Jewish they are in order to feel safe. I hope that the Minister will use this opportunity to set out more on the practical steps that the Government will take to help ensure that that is the reality.