CFI’s Parliamentary Chairman, Rt. Hon. Sir Eric Pickles MP, raised his concerns about the rise of anti-Semitic and racist activity during Oral statements on hate crime in the House of Commons.
Sir Eric said: “We know from dealing with anti-Semitism and those who are against Muslims, that we need a proper working definition for an understanding of this issue.
Referring to his instrumental role in drafting a working definition of anti-Semitism last month, Sir Eric said: “we have a good one for anti-Semitism that has been adopted by the police, and last month it was adopted by 32 countries as part of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance”.
Speaking about fear of a rise in xenophobia and racist attacks following the EU referendum, Sir Eric said: “I never believed that I would receive a telephone call in Brentwood and Ongar from someone—a Pole, perhaps, or a Frenchman —who was frightened, and whose kids were being bullied at school”.
He emphasised: “We must ensure that someone who goes to a police station will be met with sympathy, understanding and—most importantly—that prosecutions take place. People must understand that, as the Minister rightly says, these actions are a crime”.
He added that “unless we take action now, this will eat us alive from inside”.
As the UK’s Special Envoy for post-Holocaust issues and CFI’s Parliamentary Chairman, Rt. Hon. Sir Eric Pickles MP played an instrumental role in the drafting of a working definition on anti-Semitism, which has been adopted by 32 countries.
Over the past week, there has been a 57% increase in reporting to the police online reporting portal, True Vision, compared with this time last month. There were 85 reports made between Thursday 23 June to Sunday 26 June compared with 54 reports in the corresponding four days four weeks ago.
