Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Communities and Local Government, Baroness Williams, visited Israel this week.
During her visit, Baroness Williams engaged in a series of meetings with Israeli NGOs involved in improving community relations. She met with Hagai Agmon-Snir of the Jerusalem Intercultural Center, where she heard about the challenges faced in the municipality, and the achievements of projects undertaken by the centre in making Jerusalem a more participatory and inclusive environment for all its residents.
Baroness Williams also met with the Max Rayne Hand in Hand School for Bilingual Education, which works to bring together Jewish and Arab Israeli children in six schools throughout Israel, and with Terech, an NGO working to encourage ultra-Orthodox women to succeed in the labour market.
On Thursday, Baroness Williams met Israel’s Police Foreign Press Spokesman, Superintendent Micky Rosenfeld, where they discussed police action in tackling hate crime in Israel and the UK.
Baroness Williams visited Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem where she laid a wreath in commemoration of those who perished.
The Minister also visited the Café Britannia Club for Holocaust survivors. The club was created by former British Ambassador to Israel H.E. Matthew Gould, at the Jerusalem Foundation’s community centre for the elderly. Three groups of Russian, French, and North African survivors spoke to the guests about their stories.
