Speeches and Statements
Search for press releasesThe Home Secretary's speech to the Community Security Trust
3 March 2009
Good evening. I’m delighted to be here tonight to pay tribute to the work of CST and to express my whole-hearted support for your work.
Not just in making the Jewish community safer – but in making Britain, in turn, a better and more tolerant place to live.
And for the leading role he plays in that work and in the life of the community, both here and abroad, I’d like to start with a special mention for Community Security Trust's (CST) Chairman, Gerald Ronson.
Last week, Gerald, King Juan Carlos of Spain honoured you with an Order of Civil Merit – the Encomienda de Número.
I’m told that this is the Spanish equivalent of a knighthood – and while I don’t know if that now makes you a ‘Don’ or whether you remain a plain ‘Señor’, one thing I am sure about is that it’s hugely well-deserved.
Tonight is an opportunity for us to celebrate the ongoing achievements of CST and all who are active in it:
- your committed supporters, many of whom are here tonight, and who do so much to make your work possible
- your tireless and committed full-time staff, some of whom I met when I visited your London offices recently
- your 3000 or so security volunteers
- the hundreds more in the Jewish community – including Rabbis, caretakers, parents, young people and school children – who you’ve provided with training and advice over the past year
You have a proud history – dating back way beyond your 15 years as a charity – of defending and protecting your community, working with the police, councils and government to do so.
And you have an admirable tradition, too, of reaching out beyond the Jewish community to offer help and guidance to others – be they Muslim, Sikh or Hindu – who can also, sadly, be the victims of discrimination, personal abuse, and physical attack.
'The world is not dangerous,' Albert Einstein once said, 'because of those who do harm – but because of those who look at it without doing anything.'
It should be a source of great sadness for us all that still today there are those who would do harm, who seek to target synagogues, schools and the Jewish community in Britain today.
And while we are thankful for the work of CST in doing what you can, I think it a cruel indictment on our times that you must still devote so much time and energy to this task – and that, indeed, in Britain in the early 21st century we should have good reason to fear the growth of anti-semitism.
But that is the case – and yours is not only a necessary and essential task, but a more compelling one now than in the recent past.
Last week – together with the Prime Minister, the Foreign Secretary, and Communities Secretary Hazel Blears – I signed the London Declaration on Combating Anti-semitism.
It is a landmark declaration of intent, numbering 35 separate commitments across government, to do all in our power to meet head-on the challenge of resurgent anti-semitism.
CST’s figures show a rising trend of anti-semitic incidents over the last decade – even before the dramatic spike in incidents that took place in the first four weeks of the Gaza crisis at the beginning of this year is factored in.
Let me be clear about where the Government stands. It is quite simply beyond the pale – it is insidious and obscene – for Judaism and British Jews to be attacked because of events in Israel.
But in the month since 27 December last year, some 250 incidents of anti-semitism were recorded in Britain – to put that in a chilling context, there were just over double that number in the whole of 2008.
These included:
- violent assault and verbal abuse
- threatening phone calls and hate mail
- vicious graffiti and criminal damage to Jewish buildings – including an arson attempt on Brondesbury synagogue
The damage there would have been much worse if the schul’s windows hadn’t been strengthened already – as part of CST’s £3m Protective Windows Project to install shatter-proof glass in every Jewish communal building in the country.
So let no-one question the need for CST to be there as a line of defence.
Your work is making a difference – from taking practical steps to improve security to building greater confidence through safety awareness training…from presenting the facts of the matter (rather than relying on heated emotions) to your respected role in arguing for change.
And you are not alone. I, too, am not prepared to stand by 'without doing anything', as Einstein put it, when the security of British communities – whatever their race or religion, wherever they may be – is threatened by those who would do us harm and who seek to spread hate. Whose aim is to turn people away from our shared values of tolerance and respect, and who count it a success to close young minds to the value of our common humanity.
Those who do harm to one, do harm to us all. But let’s make no mistake – in this contested and controversial field, there are difficult decisions to be made. There are difficult conversations that we need to have.
One of those conversations is about how and where we draw the line on allowing individuals to come to the UK to express views that many of us would find abhorrent, and that foster fear and loathing, violence and division.
In their quite different ways, some recent high-profile cases have shown the importance of being vigilant in where the line is drawn. This is about tackling extremism in all its forms, and so far this year I have made decisions on several cases, including:
- a Dutch MP, who equates the Koran with Mein Kampf and calls Islam a 'fascist religion' – refused entry as a threat to public security
- two members of the Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas, who incite violence against the gay community and picket churches, colleges, synagogues and military funerals with crude and twisted slogans – excluded because they wanted to bring their scare tactics here
- a Palestinian cleric and Hamas member of the Palestinian Parliament, who praises suicide attacks against Israel as 'the most exalted form of jihad' – excluded in February this year
As we all know, these are not isolated cases – there have been many in the past, and there will be more. Since 2005, in fact, we have excluded 270 people on national security or unacceptable behaviour grounds – a significant proportion of whom have held anti-semitic views.
I say that not as a badge of pride – but as a mark of my determination to protect the public life and personal safety of all in Britain. These can be difficult decisions to take, and I will always aim to take them on the basis of verifiable evidence, not hearsay. But when these decisions need to be made, I give you this assurance – I will not shirk them.
In October of last year I strengthened our policy – creating a presumption in favour of excluding anyone engaged in unacceptable behaviour, and shifting the burden of proof onto the individual if they claim they have disowned their extremist views. And we will now report regularly on who we have excluded.
I will never allow the right to freedom of speech to become a licence to preach hate. But by the same token I will apply high thresholds to the protection of an individual’s freedom of speech and liberty of movement.
Our powers to deny entry to the UK should always be used fairly and consistently – and while on each and every decision I make I will pay heed to legitimate fears and concerns, I will not be swayed by controversy for controversy’s sake.
Free speech is a vital component of our society, a hallmark of which is the right of individuals to be able to express views with which we may not necessarily agree. And so, while a strong legal response is needed for those breaking the law or inciting others to do so, this can only ever be part of the solution.
We also have to provide a civil challenge to those who promote an extremist position that actively seeks to undermine our shared values and our respect for democracy and the rule of law.
We oppose the promotion of hatred, in all its forms, not just because we face a severe terrorist threat.
We do it because that is the first line of defence for all communities in a cohesive, compassionate and confident society.
And we do it to prevent the spread of a cynical, warped and potentially violent view of religion and of the world.
That includes taking on extremists where they use the internet to spread their message of hatred – and, again, I pay tribute to the recent work CST has been doing with King’s College to chart the dangers of online radicalisation.
Our civil challenge to extremists involves us all in some of those difficult conversations I mentioned.
Grown-up democratic debate. Ensuring that communities are empowered – willing and able to stand up for what they believe, and not bullied or bowed into silence or submission by those who preach hate.
I leave you with this thought on the issue. To return almost to where I started, I was struck how, during the recent Gaza crisis, some of the most effective voices speaking out against those who wanted to twist events into a justification for anti-semitism in the UK came from within the Muslim community.
When leading British Muslims publicly denounce attacks on their 'fellow citizens of the Jewish faith' – that seems like progress is being made.
When, at the height of the crisis, they call for relationships with the Jewish people to be re-humanised, and for all Muslims to remain vigilant against attempts to bring their faith and community into disrepute – that feels like grounds for hope.
And so, at a time when CST’s role is as necessary – if not more necessary – than ever in protecting the community, I know that no-one here will lose sight of the need to build bridges beyond the community as well. Indeed, I would commend again CST’s work in doing just that by widely sharing its experience and knowledge.
My sincere hope for the coming year is that the Jewish community can live, work and worship in safety and security – and that you can have full confidence in the prospects for greater understanding and greater tolerance in the months ahead.
I’m pleased to give CST my assured support in all you are doing to protect and promote your goals.
Thank you.
