‘Treat anti-Semitism as a national emergency’, says Wes Streeting as he warns Government 'can’t tackle problem alone'
Health Secretary says fight against anti-Semitism is a 'fight for the values and the soul of our country'
Anti-Semitism should be treated as a “national emergency”, Wes Streeting has told LBC – as he warned the public “cannot be bystanders to Jew hatred”.
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Speaking to LBC’s Shelagh Fogarty, the Health Secretary said there is a “fight for the values and the soul of our country” as fears grow for the Jewish community following a spate of recent attacks.
The latest incident saw two Jewish man, 34-year-old Shilome Rand and 76-year-old Moshe Ben Baila, stabbed in Golders Green on Wednesday in what police are treating as an act of terrorism.
Mr Streeting said the Government needs to ensure Jewish safety and security is properly funded in the wake of the stabbing - carried out by a 45-year-old Somali-born British national previously referred to the UK's counter-extreme programme Prevent.
It comes as the government unveiled an additional £7million to fund anti-Semitism teaching in schools, on top of an existing £25million funding pledge already set out by the Government.
This brings total funding to £65million this year, which ministers say is the largest investment ever made to protect Jewish communities.
Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir Mark Rowley will appear on LBC's Nick Ferrari at Breakfast on Friday, Live from 7am.
But Mr Streeting said the issue goes further than “higher walls and thicker doors and CCTVs", warning that the Government can’t tackle the problem “alone”.
“This is also a fight for the values and the soul of our country,” he told Shelagh.
When asked whether anti-Semitism is a national emergency in the UK, he responded: “I think we need to treat it like one.”
The Golders Green attack followed a string of other instances where the Jewish community has been targeted, including a fatal stabbing in Heaton Park synagogue in Manchester and an arson attack on a Jewish ambulance service, also in Golders Green.
“I think that we need to respond to this and the pattern of incidents and harm with the seriousness that's required,” Mr Streeting said.
He added: “We've got Jewish people not just asking whether they've got a future in this country, but actually leaving. Many of them moving to Israel, which is a country literally at war, because they feel safer there than they do here.”
Mr Streeting called on the public to general public to play a part in rooting out anti-Semitism, echoing comments made by Sir Keir Starmer on Wednesday night.
"We cannot be bystanders to this kind of Jew hatred. And it's not enough to do thoughts and prayers, hopes and prayers, we stand with the Jewish community,” Mr Streeting said.
He added: “They have heard it all before and they are not reassured. So we've got to make sure that we take action as a government.
“But all of us have a responsibility to not be bystanders when we see or hear hatred, intimidation directed at Jewish communities. It applies to other racism, of course, it does, but there is a specific challenge here with anti-Semitism.
“We've got to call it out, root it out, address it [not just] as a Government, but as a whole society too. The Government can't do it alone.”
It comes after protesters took to the streets of Golders Green last night with chants of "Keir Starmer Jew harmer" heard amid growing anger at the Government's response.
He was also heckled when visiting the scene today.
Mr Streeting said this response is "a reflection of the depth of fear, but also palpable anger that so many of my Jewish friends and constituents feel, and so many others besides, because Jewish people are feeling alone.”
It comes after Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood refused to be drawn on whether a national emergency should be declared.
On LBC’s Nick Ferrari at Breakfast, she was asked whether she agreed with Jonathan Hall, an independent reviewer of terror legislation, on his suggestions that Pro-Palestine protests should be the halted in the wake of the attacks.
“I think a national emergency would mean that we suspend elements of our democracy. I don't think we are there yet," she insisted.
She added: "I think we need to strike a better balance between the freedom to protest but also the freedom of people to be able to go about business.
"If the marches continue, they do so with greater police powers that have just hit the statute books to enable the police to place greater conditions on repeat protests, to ban face coverings, and also to make sure that those conditions are appropriate so that people can continue to visit synagogues and go about their business.”