Four months ago, my boss the Leader of the Opposition, Kemi Badenoch wrote these words,
"I am tired of standing before good Jewish people to offer condolences and expressions of solidarity. Words are not enough. We must do what is necessary to keep us all safe."
And yet. Here we are. Again.
In the aftermath of yet another appalling terrorist attack against our Jewish community.
The terrorist threat level in our country has been, once again, raised to ‘severe’.
This is not ‘a perception of unsafety’ as some insist.
This must now be called out for what it is - a national emergency.
We have all watched line after line being crossed – pictures of Jews, including children, abducted by Hamas terrorists torn down, protest marches becoming ‘hate marches’ - platforms for intimidation and calls for “Jihad” and “Intifada” against Jews, Jewish performers, artists and a Jewish MP being ‘cancelled’, Jewish businesses being harassed and boycotted and vandalised, Jewish children barricaded behind security fences at their schools practicing anti-terror drills, activists going door-to-door to identify ‘Zionists’.
Jewish ambulances have been destroyed, Jewish synagogues, shops and charities targeted, some have suffered arson attacks, a Jewish memorial wall, which also commemorated the deaths of Iranian protesters at the hand of the Islamist regime in Iran, set alight. Just yesterday, a young Jewish man was set upon, kicked and beaten in Golders Green. For being Jewish.
Jews have been spat on in our streets, subjected to daily physical and verbal abuse.
Jews have been stabbed.
Jews have been killed.
In England.
I am, in no way, denying the presence of antisemitism on the far right of political movements and its terrible history but we must acknowledge that, in 2026, that is not why we are seeing antisemitism rife in our schools, colleges and universities. In our cultural institutions and public services. That is not why we are seeing it being justified, ‘contextualised’, normalised. That is not why, under cover of ‘anti-Zionism’, it has become something that ‘good, virtuous, progressive’ people support.
Kemi Badenoch SHUTS DOWN a heckler downplaying antisemitism - Mims Davies MP on X: "💙💥Outstanding from our leader- this appeasement and whataboutery is simply rubbish and MUST end 🌟
In recent years, an insidious, left wing ideology – based on an anti-Western, anti-capitalist, postmodern oppressor narrative via a variety of critical theories, identity (group based) politics and ‘social’ (distributive) justice - which has long embedded itself in our national structures has found common ground with homegrown Islamist radicalisation and sectarian politics. We need to look beyond the #BeKind ‘vibe’ and innocuous language being presented and recognise the dangerous views that lurk beneath the surface. The views that are now becoming ever more visible, ever more violent. We have been here before although it is clothed in yet another guise:
I cannot begin to describe how appalled, how saddened, how angry I am that our country, our education system and our institutions have fallen so low and failed so badly on this issue.
There is a serious and ongoing threat against British Jews. We, all of us, need to stand with the Jewish people against this rising tide of hate. We must stop being tolerant of the intolerant. The Labour government needs to get a firm grip, stop mouthing platitudes and take action in this crisis: we are calling to ban the hate marches, deport hate preachers who spread antisemitism and proscribe the IRGC as first steps.
I am proud to stand by the words of the Leader of the Conservative Party, my party, when she said:
‘Not here. Not in Britain. And not on our watch. We need to stop the hand-wringing and start doing the right thing. That means standing with British Jews openly, unapologetically and without fear.’
