Conservative Lords strongly condemned the rise in antisemitism, in a debate on Thursday secured by Baroness Berridge.
CFI Honorary President Lord Polak CBE emphasised in his speech that antisemitism is not just a problem for the Jewish community, it “should be seen as a grave threat to British values, to British decency and to all that we hold dear”.
He said: “When Jeremy Corbyn was elected leader of the Labour Party, I argued that his views and opinions, which had been confined to the far-left corner of our society, would gravitate to the centre of British politics. Sadly, that has happened. His views and friends have become mainstream”.
CFI Parliamentary Chairman and UK Special Envoy for post-Holocaust issues, Rt. Hon. Lord Pickles, gave examples of antisemitism he had witnessed and quoted U.S. Envoy Elan Carr in his speech; “Antisemitism is not just about Jews, every society that has drunk antisemitism has rotted from the inside”.
He highlighted that the UK was the first country to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism.
Lord Leigh of Hurley paid tribute to the “incredible” work of Rt. Hon. Lord Pickles in securing the IHRA definition in the UK.
Baroness Berridge said that preparing her speech “was not a healthy diet for my mind, so goodness knows what it is like living any of the experiences that I have outlined”.
She condemned the Malaysian Prime Minister’s antisemitic comment at the Cambridge Union this week and the audience’s reaction to it – “I have some Jewish friends, very good friends. They are not like the other Jews, that’s why they are my friends”.
Lord Shinkwin in his speech quoted Holocaust survivor Manfred Goldberg: “I truly did not dream that in my lifetime, there’d be such a thriving industry of Holocaust deniers. It is unbelievable, while survivors are still alive”.
CFI Officer Baroness Altmann underlined in her speech: “We must keep speaking up against anti-Jewish hyperbole, spread by left-wing racist ideology, whether masquerading as anti-Zionism or anti-capitalism”.
Responding to the debate, UN and Commonwealth Minister Lord Ahmad asserted: “It is because I am a Muslim that I am strong on antisemitism”.
Lord Ahmad spoke about his family visits to Israel, emphasising that Israel is a country that “brings together communities of all faiths” and “often protects those minorities…who are often persecuted elsewhere”.
Click here to read the debate in full.
