Anti-Semitism

Debate between Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon and Lord Wright of Richmond

Tuesday 29th July 2014 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

Again, I share the noble Baroness’s sentiments. It is important to look at our great country and see that over time people of different faiths have come to this country and have settled here. Different migrant communities have made this country their own and generation upon generation continue to respect each other, live with each other and build a prosperous nation together. I totally share the sentiment expressed by the noble Baroness, and the Government are working on the ground with people of all faiths and communities. We have invested £8.2 million in the Church Urban Fund’s Near Neighbours scheme; we have invested £1.8 million on the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust; and, more recently, noble Lords will know that we have also launched the Remembering Srebrenica campaign, which recalls the Srebrenica genocide that took place on European soil not so long ago.

[Lord Wright of Richmond (CB)]

My Lords, while fully associating myself with the Minister’s condemnation of anti-Semitism in all its forms, does he nevertheless accept that much anti-Semitism is a reaction to the appalling Israeli treatment of its Arab neighbours in Gaza, Jerusalem and on the West Bank?

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[Lord Wright of Richmond]

Is not the best action that the Government can take to avert such activity to show not only that they deplore such actions as the constant growth of Israeli settlements and the disproportionate reaction of the Israel Defense Forces in Gaza but that they are prepared, with our European allies, to take effective steps to stop them?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

My Lords, when it comes to conflict in the Middle East, the UK has three clear objectives: first, to secure a ceasefire; secondly, to alleviate humanitarian suffering; and thirdly, and most important, to keep alive the prospects for peace negotiations—I am sure that all noble Lords adhere to that. They are the only hope of breaking the cycle of violence and devastation once and for all. I can assure the noble Lord that the UK is working closely with the US and European allies in encouraging both sides back to dialogue, supporting the Palestinian Authority and keeping pressure on Hamas and other extremists—and also, most importantly, alleviating the humanitarian consequences of this tragic conflict.