This is the time of year when our Jewish friends and neighbours would normally be wishing each other Happy Chanukah. Sadly, this time, it does not feel very happy.
On Sunday, we witnessed ordinary Jewish families, celebrating the first night of Chanukah at Bondi Beach in Sydney, suddenly coming under fire by gunmen in a horrific terror attack.
My heart goes out to all the victims and their families, with the grim death toll rising even as I write. Amongst those who tragically lost their lives are two Rabbis, a Holocaust survivor and a ten-year-old girl. May all their memories be a blessing.
Once again, following the horrendous attack in Manchester on Yom Kippur, we see Jewish people murdered simply for being Jewish. Of course, those primarily responsible are the perpetrators themselves.
But these attacks are also happening in an atmosphere of soaring hate and antisemitism on our streets, ever since the barbaric attacks of October 7 by Hamas terrorists in Israel. 2023 and 2024 have been the two highest years on record for reported antisemitism in the UK.
Phrases such as “globalise the intifada” and “from the river to the sea” are chanted week after week on our streets. These are not just antisemitic but incitement to violence. Tragically, we have seen exactly what “globalising the intifada” looks like.
The far-left's hand-wringing on Bondi fools no one after two years of abetting a death cult - Susan Hall | Getty Images
It is all very well for far-left politicians like Zarah Sultana and Jeremy Corbyn to express their ‘horror’ at the attack in Sydney, yet every other day they spread hate and incitement that fuels the antisemitism we see on our streets.
Our own Mayor, Sadiq Khan, posted a heartfelt message of sympathy with the Jewish community. Yet a few months ago, he was falsely accusing Israel of ‘genocide’.
I have long admired the resilience and determination of our Jewish citizens. Chanukah is the celebration of light over darkness, and already we are seeing Jewish people getting out to public menorah lighting displays, determined to stand up and be counted.
In Manchester, before our party conference, I attended a rally by the local Jewish community to mourn those lost on Yom Kippur, and was struck by the pride and determination of the many people there.
The Jewish community does a wonderful job of organising its own security through the Community Security Trust, in coordination with the police. But they shouldn’t have to do all this alone.
Jewish children go to school in fortresses. Security volunteers at synagogues wear stab vests. There is only so much higher the security walls can go. We have to tackle the hate and incitement at the root of the problem.
We hear lots of fine words from government ministers. Many have expressed their sorrow for what happened in Sydney, as they did for Manchester and previous atrocities. But talk is cheap. Action is long overdue.
Jews deserve to live their lives, celebrate their religion and go about our capital city just as anyone else does. It is not too much to ask.
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