Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the International Court of Justice case concerning Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel) on global trends in antisemitism.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
We respect the role and independence of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). However, we have stated that we have considerable concerns about this case, which is not helpful in the goal of achieving a sustainable ceasefire. Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas in line with IHL, as we have said from the outset.
Our view is that Israel's actions in Gaza cannot be described as a genocide, which is why we considered South Africa's decision to bring this case was wrong and provocative.
Antisemitism is evil and has absolutely no place in our - or any - society, and we are committed to tackling it in all its forms.
The UK will take on the presidency of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance in March 2024 for one year, which comes ahead of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz and the 25th anniversary of the Stockholm Declaration on Holocaust remembrance in January 2025.
Asked by: Michael Ellis (Conservative - Northampton North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of his Department's travel advice for South Africa, in the context of (a) recent trends in levels of crime in South Africa and (b) the case of cricketer David Teeger.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We are aware of the high levels of crime in South Africa and have reflected this in our Travel Advice. FCDO's Travel Advice is constantly under review and regularly updated to ensure the safety of British Nationals travelling to and living in South Africa.
We are also aware of the case involving David Teeger and the concerns that have been raised about this case.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on the number of antisemitism incidents there have been on higher education campuses since 7 October 2023.
Answered by Robert Halfon
Departmental officials have assessed evidence of antisemitism and racial hatred linked to incidents at English universities. Where concerns have arisen, officials have reached out to relevant universities to understand what actions they have taken, including reporting issues to the police where appropriate. The department also continually reminds providers of their obligations under the Prevent duty, where they should be working to prevent people from being drawn into or supporting terrorism. There is an online "Reporting Extremism" form where members of the public can raise concerns to the department directly.
The department also regularly meets with the Community Security Trust (CST), which monitors and reports on antisemitism in the UK. CST’s latest report indicates that there were 154 antisemitic incidents in higher education (HE) between 7 October 2023 and 13 December 2023.
This unprecedented level of antisemitism on campus is deeply concerning. On 5 November 2023, the department published a five-point plan detailing concerted action to protect Jewish students in HE. The plan involves:
In the 22 November 2023 Autumn Statement, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced an additional £7 million of funding over three years for a comprehensive package of measures to tackle antisemitism in schools, colleges and universities. The department will issue an invitation to tender shortly for organisations interested in delivering this package.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to tackle antisemitism in schools.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
It is deeply concerning to see the huge rise in antisemitism following Hamas’s terrorist attacks in Israel on 7 October 2023. To see this form of hatred also take place in education is unacceptable.
The government took immediate action in October 2023. First, to increase security measures at Jewish schools, colleges and nurseries - we announced £3 million of additional funding to the Community Security Trust.
The Secretary of State also wrote to all schools and colleges on 17 October 2023, urging them to support Jewish students and highlighting our political impartiality guidance and advice on the Prevent programme.
To support schools and colleges we published learning resources on our Educate Against Hate website.
We are also providing over £3 million of funding, between 10 August 2021 and 31 March 2024, to five anti-bullying organisations, which includes projects to tackle hate-related bullying on the basis of race and faith.
The department has networks of ‘Prevent’ practitioners who provide training to school staff on radicalisation and empower teachers to challenge extremism in the classroom.
We continue to monitor the situation carefully. Ministers have conducted several visits recently to listen to the experience of Jewish communities, including meeting with Dr David Landau who is Chair of Governors Menorah High School, one of the settings that temporarily closed in October over safety concerns.
We are engaging regularly with faith groups and school leadership organisations to understand their concerns and use it to shape our response. This includes the Board of Jewish Deputies and Chinuch UK.
In the Autumn Statement, on 22 November 2023, the government announced a further £7 million of funding over the next three years to help tackle antisemitism. This will help support schools, colleges, and universities to understand, recognise and deal with antisemitism effectively. We are preparing to issue an invitation for interested organisations to tender in the coming weeks.
If anyone feels that specific issues in education are not being addressed, they can raise them directly to the department through the Counter Extremism helpline or our “Report Extremism” online form. We then engage with the police and local authorities to consider what action is needed.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of changes in the level of antisemitism in Australia since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We strongly condemn antisemitism and are concerned by the rising levels since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas conflict, in the UK and abroad. We welcome that the Australian government has similarly condemned this globally rising antisemitism. We will continue to monitor the situation in Australia, and elsewhere, and update our policies as appropriate. The UK is committed to Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) globally.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many anti-Semitic online hate crimes were reported on the True Vision website between (a) 7 October 2022 and 6 January 2023 and (b) 7 October 2023 and 6 January 2024.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 5938 on 14 December 2023.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much funding his Department plans to allocate to the Jewish Community Police, Crime and Security Taskforce in 2024.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
The Government continues to provide protective security funding to the Jewish community through the Jewish Community Protective Security (JCPS) Grant. This includes £3 million of funding announced by the Prime Minister in October for the Community Security Trust (CST) to provide additional security at Jewish schools, synagogues and other Jewish community sites. This brings total funding for CST, through the Grant, to £18 million in 2023/24, and this will remain at £18 million in 2024/25.
The Taskforce does not have a specific budget allocation and does not currently have any specific costs associated with its work.
Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to help support victims of antisemitism.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
We’re committed to tackling the scourge of antisemitism and are providing £18m for protective security funding for the Jewish community in 2023/24 – this figure will be maintained in 2024/25.
The Government is providing £7m to support schools and universities to tackle antisemitism, and funds both an online reporting portal to make it easier for victims to report crimes and a hub which supports local forces in tackling online hate crime.
Asked by: Baroness Deech (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the adequacy of the responses by the University and College Union and relevant university authorities to complaints by students of anti-Semitism and violence perpetrated by fellow students and staff.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is deeply concerned about the growth in antisemitic incidents on campus since the 7 October terrorist attacks against Israel and this government takes antisemitism extremely seriously. Departmental officials have assessed evidence of antisemitism and racial hatred linked to incidents at English universities. There is an online "Reporting Extremism" page from where members of the public can raise concerns to the department directly. Where concerns have arisen, officials have reached out to relevant universities to understand what actions they have taken, including reporting issues to the police where appropriate.
The department is also concerned to see antisemitic motions being passed at some universities. The department urges universities to crack down on inflammatory, politically motivated displays of support for a proscribed terrorist organisation, and on demonstrations which make Jewish staff and students feel unsafe.
My right hon. Friend, The Secretary of State for Education and my right hon. Friend, the Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education (HE), wrote to all schools, colleges and universities on 11 October, urging them to respond swiftly to hate-related incidents and actively reassure Jewish students that they can study without fear of harassment or intimidation. Minister Halfon wrote again to Vice Chancellors on 16 November, further emphasising the use of disciplinary measures and the importance of police engagement, as well as the suspension of student visas where the student is a foreign national and requested that the universities review its policies and procedures to ensure that they remain fit for purpose at this challenging time. This was one of the key actions set out in the five-point plan for tackling antisemitism in HE, which was published on 5 November. A link to more information can be found here: https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2023/11/05/how-were-protecting-jewish-students-on-university-campuses/.
Asked by: Nicola Richards (Conservative - West Bromwich East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the polling by the Campaign Against Antisemitism, published on 27 November 2023, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the finding that 16% of British Jews think that the police treat anti-Semitic hate crime like other forms of hate crime.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
We have a robust legislative framework to respond to hate crimes which target race, religion, sexual orientation, disability, and transgender identity.
Whilst the police are operationally independent and work in line with the College of Policing’s operational guidance to respond to hate crime, we expect the police to fully investigate these abhorrent offences and work with the CPS to ensure perpetrators are brought to justice. We are supporting the police by providing them with the resources they need, including having recruited 20,000 additional police officers by March 2023.
The Government regularly engages with Jewish community stakeholders to ensure that we are doing everything we can to tackle antisemitism in the UK and protect the safety and security of the Jewish community. The Government’s Jewish Community Protective Security (JCPS) Grant provides protective security measures at Jewish community sites including education facilities and many synagogues. In response to increased incidents of antisemitism in the UK as a result of the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, the Prime Minister announced additional funding of £3 million to provide additional security at Jewish schools, synagogues and other Jewish community sites. This brings total protective security funding for the Jewish Community to £18 million in 2023/24. This level will be maintained at £18 million for 2024/25.
The Government is also providing £7 million over the next three years to ensure that more support is in place for schools and universities to understand, recognise and tackle antisemitism.
Since 7 October, forces across the country have increased neighbourhood patrols to provide reassurance to local communities. Police have also conducted thousands of visits to Jewish sites, including synagogues and faith schools. Forces have made a number of arrests linked to antisemitic and other forms of hate crime in the UK – including the Metropolitan Police Service which has made 134 arrests linked to hate crimes as of 1 December. The MPS also have a specific Hanukkah policing plan to provide assurance to the Jewish community.