Anti-Semitism

Debate between Mike Freer and Matthew Offord

Tuesday 9th December 2014 Westminster Hall

[Mike Freer (Finchley and Golders Green) (Con)]

I, too, join colleagues in congratulating the hon. Member for Bassetlaw (John Mann), not just on securing the debate, but on his outstanding work chairing the APPG. Given that we are running out of time, I will try to keep my comments brief.

In the streets of Finchley and Golders Green, which has the largest Jewish community of any parliamentary constituency, I have never seen or heard of fear like the fear during the summer months. There is always a rumbling of incidents that concern my constituents, but this summer I have never seen such a palpable change in sentiment on the streets of my constituency, and that was matched by a change in the level of correspondence, as people genuinely feared that society in London had turned against them.

There were swastikas on buildings—not just on Jewish buildings, such as synagogues, but on telephone boxes—and general intimidation; youths were driving down Golders Green road, winding down the windows shouting anti-Semitic abuse; and barbers elsewhere in London were refusing to serve a Jewish customer. We had not seen such incidents in Europe since the rise of Hitler. I do not use that term lightly. These were comments made to me by my constituents. They felt that the clock had been turned back and that we had suddenly been transported back to Nazi Germany.

[Dr Offord]

My constituency borders that of my hon. Friend, and I have experienced the same kind of problems as he has. Is he aware of a local Jewish newspaper poll that concluded that 63% of our constituents no longer felt safe and were considering moving abroad as a result of that fear?

[Mike Freer]

My hon. Friend is right. Many of my constituents said that they were now actively considering emigrating. I hope that that view has passed now that things have calmed down. However, that highlighted the genuine fear on the streets in my constituency.

Of course, it was anti-Israel sentiment that masked anti-Semitism—this constant dialogue in mainstream media that refused to differentiate between a Jew and an Israeli. That laziness seeped into an ugly discourse that fed anti-Semitism. One example of that in London is the disgraceful actions of the Tricycle Theatre, an art organisation, which banned the Jewish film festival—not the Israeli film festival—because it disapproved of the actions of the Israeli Government. That same theatre was happy to have a film festival funded by other countries involved in Government actions—internal conflicts or war with neighbours—that people disagreed with, but it singled out the Jewish film festival. That is blatant anti-Semitism, the likes of which we have not seen on the streets of London, and I hope not to see it again.

I want to mention one final thing before drawing my remarks to a close, because I do not want to repeat myself. In the demonstrations on the streets of London, people were wandering around, legitimately protesting about the Gaza conflict, but waving placards saying, “Hitler was right” and “Death to the Jews”. My constituents were shocked because the police stood by and allowed those people to walk past. I have raised this with both the Met and the Home Secretary and I understand that, operationally, the police are wary of wading in to lift those people out, for fear of causing a further disturbance. I understand and accept that. However, we need high-profile prosecutions—this is where I hope the Minister will be able to talk to his colleagues in the Home Office—such as those after the riots in Tottenham. The community and the public need to see firm action from the police in dealing with anti-Semitism, then people will start to feel safe.

I echo the words of the hon. Member for Bassetlaw: the work of the APPG, the cross-departmental work and the bipartisan work of parties form a model. Clearly, work still has to be done, but although the UK had problems, it did not have the same problems as France and Germany, and that is testament to the fact that what we are doing is having an effect. I hope that the Minister gives a commitment and says that we will continue to have the full support of this Government and whatever Government come after them.

Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill

Debate between Mike Freer and Matthew Offord

Tuesday 5th February 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mike Freer (Finchley and Golders Green) (Con)]

I thought long and hard about seeking to speak in the debate. I feared the tone of it and how colleagues would seek to oppose the Bill. When they talk about gay marriage making them physically sick, or suggest that it is a step towards legalising polygamy or incest—

[Dr Offord]

Will my hon. Friend give way?

[Mike Freer]

No, I will not.

Such colleagues need to remember that this involves peoples’ lives and we should remember that the words spoken in this Chamber hurt people far beyond it.

When I was elected to the House in May 2010 it could have been the proudest day of my life. I should point out, in fact, that it was the second proudest, because the proudest day was when I entered into my civil partnership, which I did six years ago, with my partner of 21 years. Our civil partnership was a huge step for us, and yet many argue that we should be content with that—after all, it affords us all the same legal protections as marriage. I ask my married colleagues: did they get married for the legal protections it afforded them? Did they go down on one knee and say, “Darling, please give me the protections marriage affords us”? Of course they did not. My civil partnership was our way of saying to my friends and my family that this is who I love, this is who I am and this is who I want to spend the rest of my life with. I am not asking for special treatment; I am simply asking for equal treatment.

People have talked about dissent, division and the heat of the debate, but sometimes leadership is about doing what is right, not what is popular. I congratulate the Prime Minister on leading on this subject. The issue has caused anxiety among colleagues and constituents. Some argue that this is not the right time, yet no one has been able to explain to me what the right time looks like. If not today, when? Monday? Next week? Next year? For me, this is the right time and we should simply get on with it.

Much of our time in this House is spent on technical legislation. Today, we have an opportunity to do what is right and to do some good. I am a Member of this Parliament and I say to my colleagues that I sit alongside them in Committee, in the bars and in the Tea Room, and I queue alongside them in the Division Lobby, but when it comes to marriage, they are asking me to stand apart and to join a separate queue. I ask my colleagues, if I am equal in this House, to give me every opportunity to be equal. Today, we have a chance to set that right and I hope that colleagues will join me in voting yes this evening.