Delivering the King’s decision to a 1200-strong crowd, Lord Finkelstein said: “We are not just Jews, we are British Jews. We stay strong and we stay here. We have seen worse, and we have come through it.”
The news comes after the vicious firebombing of four Hatzola ambulances in Golders Green, North London. Referring to the incident during the dinner, Lord Finkelstein declared: “We are going to stay strong because we have each other — and we have allies.”
As well as welcoming the Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, to speak “with an open heart and open arms”, he called the King “our greatest ally”.
The audience included politicians from across Parliament, from Health Secretary Wes Streeting to former Foreign Secretary Sir James Cleverley.
Taking to the stage, the Home Secretary spoke not only about the need to tackle antisemitism, but also laid out some of the key measures the government is taking. These include an increase in funding for the Jewish Community Protective Security Grant to £28 million.
During her address, Ms Mahmood expressed her wish “that the work of the organisation is no longer necessary”, added that she hoped we had already “defeated antisemitism in this country”.
Saying that she wished “we could take the safety of our Jewish community for granted”, Ms Mahmood said: “It is not lost on me that this funding is an illustration of a wider societal failure: the failure to address the scourge of antisemitism. I am no stranger to this fight. In the dark years of opposition, I fought the antisemitism that infected and disfigured the Labour Party, as did the Prime Minister”.
She described the attack on the Hatzola ambulances as “appalling,” saying: “To target Hatzola, an institution devoted to saving lives and serving the public in North London, is so warped it defies words.
“This was more than an attack on four ambulances. It was more than an attack on one organisation or on one community. It was an attack on this country and on us all”. And she made clear: “An investigation is ongoing. Those behind this warped attack should be in no doubt: they will be pursued and made to face the consequences of their vile actions”.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.express.co.uk ’
