Anti-Semitism
(12 years, 11 months ago)
Grand CommitteeRead Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Lord Boswell of Aynho
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they will take to tackle anti-Semitism and what assessment they have made of the success of the cross-government working group on anti-Semitism.
Lord Boswell of Aynho
My Lords, some noble Lords may be aware that in another place I participated in the all-party inquiry on anti-Semitism which sat in 2005 and reported in 2006. I should make it clear that I did so neither as a member of the Jewish faith nor as a Member of Parliament who had then taken much interest in, or at least shown overt commitment to, the political affairs of the Middle East. It would be fair to say that that degree of detachment was not confined to me; among the 14 members of the committee there was that general pattern. It informed the nature—I hope dispassionate nature—of the conclusions of our work.
I should begin with a confession to the Committee. After waiting six months for this debate, I booked the date when offered it without realising that it fell on the Jewish festival of Shavuot, which has precluded a number of noble Lords who are religiously observant, including the noble Lord, Lord Sacks, from participation. All I can say in mitigation is that I still felt that it was right in the circumstances to proceed because these issues needed airing. I also realised that if I could be so careless in my respect for others when I trusted my motivation was impeccable, how easy it is for us to neglect cross-cultural issues and the sensitivities that there are; and how easy also it is, for example, for a university academic, who might be less benignly disposed, to overlook the legitimate claims of Jewish or other students in the setting of exam dates and somehow finding that they coincided with a religious festival and created difficulties for the students. We all need to sharpen our act, and I shall be one of those. My overwhelming message to the Committee is that we need to be alert in these issues.
Beyond the strict remit of my Question, I do not feel that any views that Members may have on the Middle East situation or on the position of the Israeli Government—and I do have some of my own—should in any sense condone issues around anti-Semitism, although they are often used as a proxy.
Our concern here should primarily be with our domestic situation within the United Kingdom. This is rightly the concern of Members across the House. It is also important, and perhaps a useful piece of symbolism, that I speak as a Christian. My noble friend the Minister happens to be a Muslim and there will be others who participate who may have no act of faith at the moment. And so it should be. We should all engage on issues of intolerance involving our Jewish population because such acts and attitudes tarnish and diminish our society as a whole—and, of course, they are easily transferrable, in one nexus of intolerance, from one community to another, and that is intolerable too.
I am a member of the British delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. I should early on in the debate draw the Committee’s attention to a worrying upward trend in anti-Semitism internationally. As with our own British situation, this may from time to time burst out overtly into the public gaze. I remember going past synagogues in Vienna and seeing the police guard and so on and finding it depressing.
I am concerned equally by the Holocaust deniers, who tend to be rather noisy, and by what I might call the anti-Semitism deniers, who tend to be less open about it. We in Britain, at least in our Committee’s work, were honest enough to confess to our problems, but I become concerned when I hear other countries deny that contemporary problems exist or perhaps define them as merely extensive with those who happen to hold views that are critical of the Israeli political system or policies. With perhaps the exception of Germany because of its own ghastly history, accepted by nearly all those in responsible positions in Germany, too many other European countries turned a blind eye to pressure on their resident Jewish populations. This is perhaps partly because those populations—sadly, but it needs saying—have been reduced by the Holocaust, and they are now often by no means the largest faith minority. Nor in many cases do they have direct political clout.
I turn now to the specific issues raised in our 2006 inquiry and the government response. I have to say that there is much to celebrate and commend here. Under both the previous Government and the current coalition Government there has been a determined and positive response at both ministerial and official level. This has spanned a wide range of government departments, through the cross-government working group, and has drawn in partners from the agencies of the Jewish community. This dialogue has already led to three successive government responses, reporting to parliamentarians of all kinds in the light of that inquiry. One benefit of the occasion is to be seen when you revisit the latest White Paper that came out last December; for a government document it is, dare I say, quite a meaty response, with a lot of facts in it as to what has been achieved and what still needs to be achieved. Parliamentarians across the House and in the other place have maintained focus on that area and, in certain cases—and I include myself in relation to Holland—have taken the example of our work to a number of other Parliaments. This culminated in the first international conference on the subject in London, in February 2009.
I shall now comment briefly on a number of outstanding issues. First, hate crime itself—and these are crimes, whether they are attacks on individuals, buildings or cemeteries—continues in Britain at historically high levels. However, there is now better public articulation of the policing and other issues around them, and there is valuable co-operation with the community support trusts. Having as part of our inquiry visited a Jewish school in a Paris suburb which had been burnt out before we were there—and which, I found to my distress, was burnt out again after we visited—I welcome the money that the present Government have been able to find for school security. I hope that that will continue. It is appropriate at this point to mention, in difficult times, the money that the Government have recently made available to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation—a good international lead.
Secondly, we know that there is an outstanding issue in higher education. I am sure that others will want to comment on this. As a former Minister in that field myself, I cannot remain silent. Universities are one of our glories, and they flourish through the pursuit of light and liberty. We can never be content for them to act as agents for academic boycotts or the denial of free speech on any reasonable or sensible arrangements, let alone the fostering or condoning of violent attacks. Of course, I know that most academics would take exactly the same view as I do. Very valuable work is being actioned through the Equality Challenge Unit and the vice-chancellors themselves, but there are still cases where individual Jewish academics are targeted, and Jewish students may feel chilled or deterred from attending particular institutions. Universities have a public sector equality duty, and they should follow it.
At a more demotic level, I welcome the work of community leaders such as Gary Lineker and what is being done in sport. There is identification of some clubs with the Jewish population, not just in Britain, and we need role models. Political parties also have a job to discharge at election time, and to criticise those who do not.
To summarise, I hope that, as a result of our work, parliamentarians and the Government are now engaged in an integrated approach to pushing intolerance in this country to the margins where it deserves to be. There cannot be any complacency or let-up in the process of reviewing this and there is no amnesia for the lessons of the Holocaust. Old hatreds may be buried but they have not gone forever. Our task is to create opportunities to tackle specific abuses while setting a moral tone which is wholly intolerant to extremism. We need to express respect for individuals and to meet their problems but, above all, we need to be ready at any time to take a stand on this.
Lord Anderson of Swansea
My Lords, as a fellow Christian I am delighted to follow my noble friend. I can call the noble Lord, Lord Boswell, my noble friend as he has a proud record in the other place and here—and, I may say, in the Council of Europe, which takes hate crime very seriously. I follow him and I congratulate him. Indeed, in terms of the Council of Europe it may well be that one of the priorities of this Government when we assume the presidency later this year will be to raise the issue of hate crime to a high profile. I hope that the Minister will note that.
I confess from the beginning that I had been somewhat complacent on this issue. From my background, which I perhaps romanticise, during my schooldays in my native south Wales, not one of a number of Jewish friends mentioned having in any way suffered forms of anti-Semitism. That complacency was punctured when I noted a few years ago that the synagogue in my home city of Swansea was damaged. Indeed, last December I noted that among the cities where groups had been arrested because of their targeting of rabbis and synagogues was Cardiff, the capital city of Wales, so that complacency is no longer.
It is obviously easy to target or mention the BNP but we delude ourselves if we do not recognise the role of Muslim extremists, certainly in my part of south Wales, who have been responsible for the change in atmosphere. It is surprising in a way, given that hate crimes affect mainly ordinary Muslims and Jews. Rationally, one would hope that there would be some form of co-operation between the victims. Much of the hatred is directed at Jews indirectly because of Israel. The Community Security Trust shows a correlation between, for example, the Gaza incident last year and the incidence of attacks on the Jewish population, where attacks on Israel are often a proxy for attacks on Jews.
It is interesting to read the valedictory article by Ron Prosor, the outgoing Israeli ambassador, in the Daily Telegraph last weekend. He stated that as an Israeli ambassador—and indirectly, no doubt, as a Jew—he was barred from many campuses, which is wholly contrary to the tolerant traditions of our universities. That must be in part because of the weakness or unwillingness of vice-chancellors to confront this problem. What is clear when university academics and trade unions criticise Israel is that they fail to notice that the Israeli universities are by far the freest in their region and that the Israeli trade unionists are by far the most vocal and free in that whole region. It is absurd that Israel should be singled out in that way.
Returning to the UK, obviously the problems include hatred on the internet, which is extremely difficult to regulate. It is not the time today to go into the Prevent strategy, published yesterday, but I am sure that there will be another debate on that.
We end on good news. The all-party report of 2006, to which the noble Lord, Lord Boswell, made a good contribution, received a positive response from both the Labour and coalition Governments. All its recommendations have been taken seriously, including the cross-government working group which has built up expertise and has ensured that there is a joined-up government response. Both Governments have given an important lead. I noticed when we prayed this afternoon that one of the phrases that we often use is “the tranquillity of the realm”, which is highly relevant to the attacks on hate crime. I hope that the Government’s work on hate crime will continue in the Council of Europe, and that we can try to promote greater understanding between Jews and Muslims. The law and central government can only go so far. The battle must be fought in hearts and minds; it must be fought among churches working at a local level and among community groups. We must be ready as individuals to confront examples of anti-Semitism in particular and hate crimes in general. I applaud the initiative, I applaud the response of the Government and I look forward to hearing an update on the current position when the noble Baroness, Lady Warsi, speaks.
Lord Alderdice
My Lords, I congratulate my noble friend Lord Boswell on obtaining this debate and so helping us in this House to keep to the forefront of our minds the scourge of anti-Semitism. It is very important that we do not let it be pushed to the side when there are many other pressures on our time and thoughts.
Growing up, I was, like many others, very aware of the question of anti-Semitism. I learned as a schoolboy about the Holocaust but also read about the Dreyfus case in France and other such events. I came from a community that always felt an instinctive sympathy with Jewish people. Irish Presbyterians, particularly in the north, always felt quite an identification with Jewish people and felt a little bit beleaguered at times, as often they do. Then I started my work in psychoanalysis and very many of my friends were of course from Jewish backgrounds. I became aware of the difficulties of their experiences—indeed the founder of psychoanalysis, Freud himself, wrote about his difficult experiences at the hands of Christians. That was one of the distressing things: the recognition that throughout the millennia, not just the centuries, much anti-Semitism actually came from the Christian community. More recently we have tended to associate it with other communities but we must not forget that historically that is where much of the anti-Semitism has come from. All sorts of rationalisations were given for it but it was just prejudice and bigotry.
What became clear when I talked to my colleagues was the range of views, not about faith so much—of course, that was the case as it is in every faith community—but the attitudes to the state of Israel. There were some who were not actually very supportive of it. Freud himself, when he was asked to give support, refused and said it would be a very troublesome business. He was not supportive of the idea of a state of Israel at all. The vast majority are supportive of the notion of a state of Israel, a place where Jewish people can feel at home and comfortable, safe in their own culture and community. Then there are those within that community who support the state of Israel but have from time to time very serious questions about the particular policies of particular Governments.
My old friend Amartya Sen has pointed out that when the pressure comes on, the important differences between people tend to be squeezed out and we see them all as a single bloc. It seems to me that under the pressure of prejudice and bigotry—or of economic crisis, which is always a bad time for tolerance—there has been a tendency to see all Jewish people as falling into one group. That is unfair and inappropriate and justifies, in the minds of some people at least, a critique against Jewish people as a whole, when it is quite clear there is a very healthy diversity within that community, not only within Israel but within Jewish communities right across the world.
It is extremely important that we do not allow people inside or outside the Israeli community to portray it as inappropriate that Jewish people should have a range of views. It is also extremely important to keep being clear that Jewish people have a range of views on every subject under the sun, not only because those views are often eloquently written about and enrich our culture, understanding and science but because politically it is the best detoxification of the notion that if you do not agree with the current policies of the Israeli Government, that in some way justifies an anti-Semitic attitude. Whatever the Government do, we must continually point out that not agreeing with the current policies of the Israeli Government is not a justification for anti-Semitism and does not go along in any way with the notion of it being justified. It is a very important distinction that we must keep hammering away at, because in times of crisis these differences tend to be squeezed out.
That is one of my anxieties at present. In the past few years, we have seen a rightward shift in the politics of Europe. You can see it in almost every election in almost every country. When you see that shift, you see more intolerance, a lack of pluralism and, almost inevitably, a resurgence in anti-Semitism. I say resurgence because it has always hovered there under the surface. I even noticed that there were nasty phrases and words during the financial crisis—“It’s all about money and the banks and you know who is at the back of that”. Sometimes it was even said, “It’s the Jews, you know”. You got that horrible, sinking feeling that we were experiencing a serious and dreadful rise of anti-Semitism. We must be clear that this is completely unacceptable and I welcome the fact that our Government are coming back, as have previous Governments, to remind us of that problem.
Apart from pointing out that anti-Semitism is wrong in principle and does not recognise the extraordinary richness that the Jewish community in this country has brought to us all, in almost every field of human endeavour—culture, science, medicine, the law, Parliament, and everywhere—I wish to make one other remark on this subject. My wife and I love to get away for as much time as we can down in the south of Burgundy. We love it very much there, and we love the vineyards. Some of you will know that every so often at the end of a row of vines a rose is planted. I was a little puzzled about this in my ignorance, in the early days when I started going down there many years ago. Then I discovered what it was. The rose is much more susceptible to mildew than the vines, so if the mildew starts to appear on the rose the vigneron knows that he must get out and spray the vines. The rose is the canary in the mine, as it were. The Jewish community is the rose in the vineyard because you can be sure that when you see the rise of anti-Semitism, it is merely the first sign of a dreadful prejudice and intolerance in our community. Never forget that the Jews are the rose in our vineyard and that when we see anti-Semitism arising, it will call for all our minorities and damage our country.
Lord Mitchell
My Lords, this is the first time that I have used this technology, so it had better work.
I have never been described as a rose before and I quite like it, actually.
The inclusion of this debate today is very timely, and I thank the noble Lord, Lord Boswell, for introducing it this evening. I have the privilege of being the chair of the Coexistence Trust, whose principal remit is to engage with Jewish and Muslim students on UK campuses, with a view to lessening the undoubted tensions that exist between the two student communities.
I thank my noble friend Lord Janner, who founded the trust and whom I succeeded three years ago. He is our co-president; the other co-president is His Royal Highness Prince Hassan of Jordan, whom I must also thank.
Right from the beginning, it has been important to our trust that we strike a balance between Jewish and Muslim participants. Our employees are both Jewish and Muslim and so too are our donors and trustees. In particular, I am pleased to say that the noble Baroness, Lady Deech, who will speak later, is one of our trustees. I must also thank the noble Baroness, Lady Warsi, who has been hugely supportive of everything that we have done since our early days.
There can be little doubt that our university campuses have allowed many forms of extremism to take hold. This week’s announcement by the Home Secretary on the successor to the Prevent agenda bears witness to the seriousness that this Government attach to the problem. The fact that international terrorists with murderous intent have been students at our own British universities is chilling. At the Coexistence Trust, we seek to bring Jewish and Muslim students together. Social engagement is the best way to dispel preconceived views. In January, we launched our campus ambassadors programme. These are students, one Muslim and the other Jewish, from both communities who operate at each of 12 pilot campuses. Their job is to engage students from both communities and encourage them to begin dialogues and work on joint programmes. For example, we look at issues that are common to both communities, including mutual threats. We discuss the BNP, which sees Jews and Muslims in much the same light as does the English Defence League. Most of all, we seek to encourage students to realise that we are none of us all that different from one another and have much to learn from each other. Islamophobia and anti-Semitism exist on campus; they emanate from certain students and certain faculties which are neither Jewish nor Muslim. But, sadly, they come, respectively, from Jews towards Muslims and Muslims towards Jews.
Fortunately, during the three years that I have been chair of the Coexistence Trust, I have noticed an improvement on campuses. For example, in the immediate Gaza aftermath, we were encouraged not to be present at the universities of Manchester and Nottingham. It was judged that the situation was too inflammatory and that we would only worsen it. Today, I am pleased to say, we are welcomed and work closely with them. Manchester in particular has issued a powerful code of conduct instructing administrators and faculty how to deal with the conflict. The issue is clear: universities are places to learn and experience new thoughts and ideas. Free speech is an integral part of our national life, and students must expect to hear views and opinions that may make them uncomfortable. Equally, universities have a duty of care to their students and they, too, must abide by the laws that this Parliament has passed to protect everyone from hate, speech and racism.
I should like to quote from the all-party report:
“The Government expects universities to have measures in place to ensure that their students are not subject to threatening or abusive behaviour”.
Recently, two Jewish protesters went to SOAS to protest against Israeli Apartheid Week, where they were set upon. One of them was bitten on the cheek and was told that the best thing that the Jews had ever done was to go into the gas chambers. This behaviour is simply unacceptable and the universities need to be much more robust in preventing its repetition.
Why cannot universities take a look at the calendar of religious holidays for some of the minority religions and try to avoid having exams on those days? As has been said, this very day is the Jewish holiday of Shavuot. It is a prime example. Here we are, smack in the middle of the school and university exam period, and there are students who are precluded from taking their exams or have to take them on different days.
One of the rules that we have at the Coexistence Trust is to avoid discussing the Middle East. The reasoning is simple: we cannot change the conflicts, but we can change how we interrelate in this country. But I must address one aspect of this conflict that does affect us in this country. What gets to many Jews is the way in which Israel is singled out in the media and by those in power. Clearly, it is both wrong and illegal to attack Jews for being Jews, but somehow it seems perfectly acceptable to attack the only Jewish state simply because it is Jewish. I must confess that I am no great lover of the current Israeli Government and am highly critical of their behaviour. Criticising them is totally legitimate, but how about some of Israel’s neighbours? Let us take Syria as an example of how double standards apply. Even as we speak, a massacre is in the making. A thousand Syrians have already been murdered by Assad and his henchmen. Very shortly and very sadly, more will be slaughtered in cold blood. It is simply awful. Where are the demonstrations in London? Where are the protests outside the Syrian embassy? Where are the Socialist Workers Party and all the other protestors who turned out in such force against Israel at the time of Gaza? There is a not a word on Syria, on Libya or Iran, but when Israel overstretches the mark, everyone goes nuts. Many Jews think, and with good reason, that anti-Israeli invective is often anti-Semitism masquerading under a different name. The fact is that to criticise Israel is not anti-Semitic, but to single out Israel simply because it is a Jewish state surely is.
Lord Roberts of Llandudno
My Lords, perhaps I may say how much I appreciate this opportunity that the noble Lord, Lord Boswell, has given us to discuss this situation.
If we each look back at our history, there were massive turning points or milestones. I was a boy of nine at the end of the war in 1945 when I went to the local cinema that was showing a newsreel of Belsen, Mauthausen, Treblinka and Auschwitz. I saw the mounds of skeletons, and those who still existed were shuffling their way to a dream of freedom. I am sure that I was not the only lad who said that this must not happen again; this horror must not be allowed to repeat itself. That is one reason why it is so important that what happened then is not allowed to be forgotten by the current generation in our schools and colleges—the horror of 6 million Jews, as well as many of other ethnic origins, executed in Hitler’s Europe.
Fairly recently, I was in the Parliament in Warsaw looking at the plaques for those parliamentarians who had died in 1939 and 1940. You could see, one after the other, how they had died in those concentration camps and death camps. I was glad that those plaques were there to keep reminding us of the horror of what had happened. Those sorts of events make me what I am. They guide you in your political direction and your religious conviction—to build a world in which every person is honoured and respected, whatever they are and whatever their background. We have to work together, which is one reason why I am such a strong supporter of Europe. The more that nations are bound together and work together, the less likely we are to experience the hurt and destruction of past generations. That is the most valid reason, among others, for my support for the European project.
Karl Lueger was mayor of Vienna and chair of the Christian Social Union and Anti-Semitic Union of the Diet of Lower Austria. As has already been mentioned, he represented a Christian anti-Semitic element. He saw anti-Semitism as a way of channelling public discontent to his political advantage. Goebbels spoke of the,
“parasites of the Jewish race”.
On the other side, there was Judah Leib Pinsker, who in 1882 said he believed that anti-Semitism was hereditary and, as a disease transmitted for 2,000 years, was incurable and an,
“inherited aberration of the human mind”.
We need time to think that through for ourselves.
We should have learnt the lesson of the Holocaust. I am sorry that the Chief Rabbi is not with us today. He said in 2006 that a “tsunami of anti-Semitism” was spreading globally. The Boston Review in 2009 stated that 25 per cent of non-Jewish Americans blamed Jews for the financial crisis of 2008-09. According to a study in 2004, Germany, France, Britain and Russia have the highest rate of anti-Semitic incidents in Europe.
There were victims, of course, even before Hitler. I believe that the survivors of the camps and those who came out of the pogroms have a fear, a deep-rooted suspicion, “What might happen because I am Jewish? What might happen in the future?” Pogroms have taken place over more than one generation and the parents and grandparents who have survived bear the scars and tattoos of that persecution.
I am a Welshman and a Christian, I hope, and when I see the film footage of those little kids being loaded onto the transport wagons and taken away to the death camps, I think of my own seven grandchildren and I say to my family, “This could have been us”. I was looking at television coverage of it only a couple of days ago, where Jewish toddlers in the camps were lifting their sleeves to show their tattoo numbers.
This is an important debate but I must not go over my time. Ours is an awesome responsibility; we must act and legislate so that no future generation suffers in this way. Our own attitudes and conversation can undermine not only the Jewish people but other vulnerable people in our communities such as asylum seekers and refugees. I wish the newspapers would stop demonising people who come to this country. Their headlines create suspicion and hostility and I hope that, without legislation, we will see an end to this demonising.
So much more could be said. For instance, the curriculums in our schools could cover the history of what has happened so that children can learn. I am grateful to the Holocaust Educational Trust for giving youngsters and others the opportunity to go to Auschwitz and other places. Much has been and must be done. In doing it, I hope that we will create for Jewish and other people a generation the like of which they would never have known in past centuries.
Baroness Deech
My Lords, I never thought that in my lifetime in this country, to which my family has reason to be so grateful, I would have to say that anti-Semitism is on the rise and that there is a need to speak out. I welcome the Government’s actions in response to the inquiry, in particular the excellent appointment of Sir Andrew Burns as the envoy for post-Holocaust issues. The noble Lord, Lord Boswell, has been a brave exponent of the truth and a defender of minorities, and I thank him.
The Government have not been able to influence the way in which anti-Semitism is taking hold in higher education and the way in which anti-Zionist rhetoric is being used to cloak anti-Semitism. The old language of prejudice is once again manifested, for example, in West Dunbartonshire Council banning books from Israel.
One should be rational about these issues but I cannot help but be passionate about what I see around me—in particular the way in which the minds of young people are being infected. The National Union of Students recently issued an interim report on hate crime. It surveyed 9,000 students and reported that 31 per cent of Jewish students had experienced a hate incident—more than any other religious group.
The unhappy plight of many Jewish students was first exposed nationally by the report of the All-Party Parliamentary Group in 2006, with accounts of harassment and attacks, often in the name of Israel. There was a dramatic rise in national anti-Semitic incidents to nearly 1,000 a year in the period of the Gaza operation. Students paid the price too. Universities are in denial about extremism and radicalisation and have not addressed the very real problems of anti-Semitism that exists on campus. Only yesterday the Government issued their Prevent strategy, highlighting the dangers of extremism in universities.
There is a considerable overlap there with the topic of tonight’s debate because where there is Muslim extremism there is usually extreme dislike of Jews. Our priority task should be to save young minds from being indoctrinated with this ancient hatred, whether it is by the preaching of inferiority at some faith schools for the young or the doctrine of exclusivity at universities. I am pleased to be a trustee of the Coexistence Trust, headed by the noble Lord, Lord Mitchell, which is doing pioneering work.
Baroness Deech
Since 1986, universities have been required to issue a code of practice on freedom of speech within the law, enabling control of speakers where a breach of the law is likely. Universities are subject to the law of the land, including the Equality Act and the Protection from Harassment Act, which should be sufficient to protect students. But most universities have failed to operate their codes, and they emphasise freedom of speech at the expense of ignoring its limits.
There is no legal freedom of speech that involves hatred of minorities, racial and religious abuse. There are egregious examples of universities failing to protect Jewish students. Ironically, one of them was the LSE, which was content to make financially rewarding links with Libya. It hosted a speaker late last year called Abdel Bari Atwan, who was already on record as having glorified the killing of Israelis and rejoicing over the assassination of Jewish students. The university could have used the code to ban this, having been forewarned, but did not, with sad consequences. Given the increasing dependence of universities on raising funds, one hopes not to find links between those universities that have received funds from extremist regimes and their unwillingness to control such speakers.
Students may feel reluctant to report anti-Semitic incidents to their lecturers, whose union, the University and College Union, has officially decided that anti-Semitism cannot occur in the context of Israel-related activity and is obsessed with Israel. The European working definition of anti-Semitism states that the singling out of the state of Israel for criticism not levelled at other countries, the denial of Jewish self-determination and comparison with Nazi policies may be anti-Semitic. In its recent motion 70, the UCU resolved not to use this understanding of anti-Semitism in its own internal complaints procedures, so that it can cry Israel in order to stop Jews talking about the racism that they have experienced. Many Jewish members have resigned from the UCU, but the union has rejected a motion to investigate that as well. In its actions, the UCU is denying the Macpherson definition of racism, reached in the wake of the murder of Stephen Lawrence, as,
“any incident which is perceived to be racist by the victim”.
UCU's actions, including this latest motion, show it to be an organisation which is institutionally racist against Jews.
This is the union that has spent years trying to establish an illegal boycott of Israeli academia. This is the union that hosted a South African called Bongani Masuku as a speaker, despite the fact that the South African Human Rights Commission had found him guilty of hate speech against Jews. This is the union that would now deny Jews the ability to complain about racism by denying their perceptions of victimhood if the topic of Israel is in the frame.
Universities should now consider breaking off recognition of UCU. Universities have a statutory duty to promote good race relations on campus and a public sector duty of equality. The Government should insist that they carry out their legal responsibilities and apply their codes of practice on freedom of speech; and I call on the Equality and Human Rights Commission to investigate the UCU.
Lord Beecham
My Lords, I join other noble Lords in congratulating the noble Lord, Lord Boswell, on securing this debate. The date is perhaps a little unfortunate, but at least we are in the right Room, because the picture on the wall is actually of the event that the festival celebrates.
Anti-Semitism has variously been described as the oldest hatred based on religious differences and as the socialism of fools, with its appeal to the far right and to the far left. Now, as has been said, it is often linked to anti-Zionism. Martin Luther King said:
“When people criticise Zionists they mean Jews. You’re talking anti-Semitism”.
Actually, that is too broad a generalisation, although certainly the two can overlap and, as we have heard, moral relativism is all too frequently found in these arenas.
A few months ago, I met a delegation from the Union of Jewish Students who relayed to me the concerns that other noble Lords have expressed about what they have to face on campus. As a result of that, I tabled a Question for Written Answer that, among other things, asked the Government what representations they had made to university authorities concerning invitations to speak, and what steps they would take to protect Jewish and other students from anti-Semitic, Islamophobic or other racist behaviour on campus. The noble Lord, Lord Henley, the Minister replying, did not really take matters very much further than to refer to guidance already issued. I hope that in replying the noble Baroness, Lady Warsi, may indicate an intention to take this further, because the response of university vice-chancellors has been, frankly, rather feeble in this respect, as the noble Baroness, Lady Deech, has pointed out.
There are real grounds for concern about what is happening in various parts of the country—not least, rather surprisingly, in the Greater Manchester area, which appears to have been the scene of about 30 per cent of the recorded serious incidents investigated by the Community Security Trust. The trust finds about two-thirds of the complaints to be justified. They are not finding every complaint to be justified, but they take a serious look at these matters. It is extraordinary that Greater Manchester appears to have such a high proportion. Perhaps that is something that the Minister might ask her department, or a department, to look into.
At election time, there is sometimes a temptation for people to stray into this rather dangerous territory. In 1967, when first a candidate for the ward I represented for longer than I care to remember, I was subjected to some anti-Semitic campaigning by the Conservative candidate. In fairness to the Conservative Party, they very publicly and very rapidly repudiated him and his actions. This May, another Labour candidate in another ward, opposed by a Muslim candidate for the Conservative Party, was also subjected to an anti-Semitic campaign, partly conducted on the internet. It was a little odd because the Labour candidate was not actually Jewish, but nevertheless anti-Semitism was deployed. Again, in fairness, the local Conservative Party has taken up this matter and I have no doubt will deal with it very seriously. However, it indicates that the same disease can still abound, perhaps in different circumstances.
Apart from these domestic issues, some wider issues are of concern. For example, I understand that Press TV, the Iranian Government’s broadcasting outfit in this country, has been guilty of repeated breaches of the Ofcom code—not least latterly in giving airspace to publicity for the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. I am not asking the Minister to give an immediate response to this, but I wonder whether the Government might look again at making representations about whether Press TV’s licence should be continued in circumstances where it so frequently breaches the code.
Another matter arises from the tendency in some countries of eastern Europe—I think notably of Latvia and Lithuania—to present an equivalence between the Nazi occupation and the subsequent Soviet occupation, which entirely leaves out the question of the treatment of those countries’ Jews. I recall visiting the Riga museum and seeing a great deal of suffering portrayed under both regimes, but there was no mention at all of what had happened to Latvia’s Jews or, indeed, to other Jews who had been deported and killed.
However, there are some positives in the situation. Reference has been made to the Holocaust Education Trust and I am grateful to the Government for continuing the financial support for its work, which is to bring home to young people in particular the terrible period of the Holocaust. There is also the Anne Frank Trust UK, of which I declare an interest as a patron. Drawing from Anne Frank’s experience and her very moving diary, the trust goes beyond referring simply to the Holocaust and works in schools and prisons more generally to promote tolerance, encourage community cohesion and to help young people in particular to deal with instances of bullying and behaviour management. I hope very much that the trust’s work will be supported. I am sure that the Government will continue to support it and perhaps even slightly increase their support.
It occurs to me that we have in this country many councils of Christians and Jews but not many organisations embracing the three Abrahamic faiths. That is not a matter for the Government, but as we will have had, once the noble Baroness speaks, a representative of each of the three main Abrahamic faiths speaking in this debate. A message to encourage that kind of interfaith co-operation would be very helpful. I am glad that the present Government are continuing the work of their predecessors and look forward very much to hearing the Minister’s reply.
Baroness Warsi
My Lords, I take this opportunity to congratulate my noble friend Lord Boswell of Aynho on securing this extremely important debate. My noble friend was an integral part of the initial all-party parliamentary inquiry in 2005 and, since the publication of the report, he has worked tirelessly to challenge anti-Semitism. Today’s debate is a valuable opportunity to demonstrate our strong and enduring commitment to tackle anti-Semitism and all forms of hatred. I am grateful to Members from all sides of this House for their wise and insightful contributions to this important debate.
As my noble friend Lord Boswell mentioned, this debate is taking place during the Jewish festival of Shavuot, so many Peers including the Chief Rabbi are not with us today. That said, the ongoing fight against bigotry and hatred falls on all our shoulders, whatever our background. It is an issue that crosses party lines. As my noble friend mentioned, I am pleased that Muslim, Christian and Jewish people, those of different faiths and none, are here today discussing this important issue whatever our backgrounds. I thank the noble Lord, Lord Mitchell, whom I have had the pleasure of working with on many occasions for his kind remarks.
As many noble Lords have highlighted, anti-Semitism regretfully remains a factor in the life of the British-Jewish community. The Government continue to share the community’s concern about the rise of anti-Semitism, both at home and abroad. In particular, we are concerned about the rise of hate on the internet, the growth of extremism on university campuses, the security concerns of Jewish faith schools, the low levels of hate crimes brought to justice and the existence of extremist groups such as al-Muhajiroun, the English Defence League and the British National Party. I cannot be clearer; wherever and whatever the roots of anti-Semitism, it must be confronted, challenged and condemned. Since the all-party inquiry in 2005, the Government have made significant progress against the initial 35 recommendations. The police and other bodies have become better at dealing with violence, threats and the desecration of synagogues and cemeteries. However, we recognise that progress still needs to be made, especially when anti-Semitism is less explicit and when there is lazy acceptance of Jewish stereotypes.
It is almost six months since we published our three years on progress report and, despite the progress outlined in the report, we have not been complacent. We will continue to take practical, effective action to stamp out anti-Semitism whenever and wherever it occurs. I am extremely pleased that noble Lords have referred to the specific work of the cross-government working group, which brings together civil servants from across Whitehall and representatives from three leading Jewish organisations: the Board of Deputies of British Jews, the Community Security Trust, and the Jewish Leadership Council. The working group gives members of the Jewish community direct access to central government and is a vehicle to raise concerns—and I assure noble Lords that these concerns are heard and that the concerns of the community are acted upon.
The noble Baroness, Lady Deech, raised a very important point about the UCU and the motion not to use the European Union Monitoring Centre's definition of anti-Semitism. That issue was raised by the Jewish community through the working group late last week. A teleconference took place to discuss the issue this week and an urgent group meeting has been scheduled for the week beginning 20 June. I assure the noble Baroness that I shall keep her updated on the progress of that particular matter. The group has been cited as an example of best practice across Europe and the Americas by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe.
The noble Lord, Lord Anderson, among others, raised the issue of extremism on university campuses. Noble Lords will be aware that yesterday the Government published an updated Prevent strategy, and this issue was referred to particularly. Universities and colleges promote and facilitate the exchange of opinions and ideas, and promote debate as well as enable a learning environment. However, universities and colleges have a legal and moral obligation to staff and students to ensure that the place of work and study is a tolerant, welcoming and safe environment. Universities and other higher education institutions are charities and therefore they must comply with charity law. The Charity Act 2006 requires all student unions to register with the Charity Commission by the end of June 2011. Legally, all charities must work for the public benefit and must act to avoid damage to the charity’s reputation, assets and associated individuals. Higher education institutions and student unions must therefore give due consideration to the public benefit and associated risks when they, or one of their affiliated societies, invite controversial or extremist speakers to address students.
We accept that universities and colleges of further education will need guidance, information and best practice to address these issues. Therefore the Government will continue to support the sector to improve its capacity. The National Union of Students is already in the process of developing guidance to student unions on free speech and tolerance, which will be published later this year. Moreover, the Equality Challenge Unit will publish outcomes from its major religion and belief study later this year. The Jewish community has been directly involved in the project’s development.
Ofcom and its role in relation to Press TV was another issue that was raised. Officials from the cross-government working group meet Ofcom regularly to discuss issues of concern, and to date I can inform noble Lords that Ofcom has recorded four breaches against Press TV; the first three relate to breaches of the due impartiality requirements by not including viewpoints arguing the position of the Israeli state. However, at this stage I am not aware of any breaches against Press TV in relation to anti-Semitism.
The noble Lord, Lord Beecham, raised the issue of extremism during election campaigns. We have initiated meetings and correspondence with the Electoral Commission and the Equality and Human Rights Commission in the hope of getting clarity on this issue. The cross-government working group that tackles anti-Semitism has been tasked with taking this matter forward. As politicians, we are renowned for having different opinions on a whole host of issues, both domestic and international. Indeed, my noble friend Lord Alderdice made an important point about a diversity of opinion within and between religious communities. However, while we regularly oppose and contradict each others’ ideas, it can never be right that a person standing for high office, such as a Member of Parliament, should be campaigned against simply because of their race or religion.
My noble friend Lord Roberts of Llandudno referred to Auschwitz-Birkenau. It is a place that I visited in 2008 with the Lessons from Auschwitz project. The systematic, bureaucratic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of 6 million Jews and other minorities by the Nazi regime and its collaborators makes the Holocaust a unique and unparalleled horror in Europe’s history. I am proud that this Government have contributed £2.1 million to the Auschwitz-Birkenau restoration fund. This contribution, alongside our commitment to continue to fund the Lessons from Auschwitz project in 2011, and the £750,000 that we are providing to the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust for the 2011 commemoration, will ensure that the Holocaust has a permanent place in our national conscience and that the memory of those who perished is honoured and preserved.
This Government are committed to building on the foundations laid by the previous Administration. In the past 12 months, we have appointed Sir Andrew Burns as the UK envoy for post-Holocaust issues. We have agreed to provide up to £2 million to fund security measures for Jewish faith schools within the state sector. We have committed £2 million during 2010-11 to Faith in Action, a small grants programme to support local interfaith activity. In particular, we have supported to the tune of around £275,000 52 projects that are bringing together people of the Jewish faith and other faiths. The Government have also supported Interfaith Week to the tune of £200,000 in 2010, including funding for the Board of Deputies of British Jews, Three Faiths Forum, the Council of Christians and Jews, the Joseph Interfaith Foundation and Mitzvah Day UK. The UK also regularly contributes to international efforts to tackle anti-Semitism, and we play a key role in developments in the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the Inter-parliamentary Coalition for Combating Anti-Semitism.
All police forces must now record anti-Semitic hate crimes, and in November ACPO published the first official anti-Semitic hate-crime statistics. This action has received specific praise at the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s High Level Meeting on Confronting Anti-Semitism in Public Discourse, held in Prague in March 2011. The Government have also produced and delivered occupational standards for police officers handling hate crimes, and we have published a diagnostic toolkit to enable local criminal justice agencies to self-audit their performances in the handling of hate crimes, from initial call handling through to prosecution. We have also supported the Community Security Trust, with funding from the Victims Fund. The grant was awarded to support the CST’s work to improve the reporting of anti-Semitic attacks in London and Manchester. The funding also helped to develop a guidance booklet, A Guide to Fighting Hate Crime.
International agencies and monitoring bodies have regularly praised the UK’s approach and are often held up as being at the forefront of state responses to tackling hate crime. However, as I said earlier, we cannot afford to be complacent, and I can assure the Committee that we are committed to continuing this work and to offering whatever support we can in the ongoing fight against anti-Semitism. As I have said before, and will say again, anti-religious bigotry and hatred should not be tolerated whenever and wherever they manifest themselves.
Once again, I thank all noble Lords who have contributed to this important debate and in particular to my noble friend Lord Boswell for his efforts in securing this debate and his commitment over the years in the other place and now here to tackling anti-Semitism.