Writing in the Jewish Chronicle today, Prime Minister Theresa May assured the UK’s Jewish community of her “personal determination” to “keep you safe”.
The Prime Minister’s article follows her speech at CFI’s Annual Business Lunch on Monday, where she made the “groundbreaking” announcement that the UK was adopting the broad definition of anti-Semitism drawn up by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) – an intergovernmental organisation backed by 31 countries.
Mrs May underlined in the article: “As Prime Minister, I want to speak very directly to every Jewish family in the UK, to assure you of my personal determination to do everything possible to keep you safe and to rid this scourge of hatred from the soul of our country”.
The Prime Minister wrote: “I know fighting against the divisive prejudice and extremist ideology that lies at the heart of antisemitism is part of the good that government can do. As I have said before, without its Jews, Britain would not be Britain”.
Referring to her announcement at CFI’s Annual Business Lunch, the Prime Minister said: “The first step in defeating antisemitism is to define it clearly, to remove any doubt about what is unacceptable, so that no one can plead ignorance or hide behind any kind of excuse. That is why the announcement I made on Monday is so important”.
Prime Minister May paid tribute to the work of Rt. Hon. Sir Eric Pickles MP, CFI’s Parliamentary Chairman and the UK’s Post-Holocaust Issues Envoy, writing that “Britain has led the way in establishing an international definition of antisemitism, through the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance”.
She added: “This week, thanks to the work of the Communities Secretary Sajid Javid, this Conservative government is now taking a ground-breaking step by adopting this definition here in Britain. Through this definition we will call out anyone guilty of any language or behaviour that displays hatred towards Jews because they are Jews — and we will actively encourage the use of this definition by the police, the legal profession, universities and other public bodies”.
The Prime Minister concluded: “Together, we will keep Jewish people in our country safe and defeat the scourge of antisemitism by standing up for our values and our way of life — today, and for every generation to come”.
Click here to read the Prime Minister’s article in full.
