By R. Blum
Calling Antisemitism a “deplorable form of hatred,” British Home Secretary Amber Rudd said that the UK government is doing all it can to protect the country’s Jews, including allocating £13.4 million to safeguard their schools and religious sites, The Sun reported.
Rudd made this statement at the annual fundraiser for the Jewish charity Community Security Trust (CST) — where she was the guest of honor — two days after the multi-media international news platform The Foreign Desk revealed that an ISIS-linked Telegram channel has been encouraging “lone-wolf” terrorists to carry out attacks by disguising themselves as Jews and concealing weapons in their clothes, along with a list of targets in the UK.
“There have been terrorist attacks on our doorstep, in France, Germany and Belgium and attacks on British people overseas,” Rudd said. “We’ve seen terrorists target Jews specifically in recent years including in Paris, Brussels, Toulouse and Copenhagen. Just last month a 16-year-old girl was charged with terrorism offences in Denmark after she was caught planning to blow up a Jewish school. And Daesh [ISIS] literature continues to identify the Jewish community as a ‘desirable and legitimate target.’”
Referring to the CST’s role of assisting police in protecting Jewish sties, Rudd went on, “[H]owever friendly and professional security guards are, I’m sure you would all prefer to go to your local synagogue or drop your child at school without being greeted by one and this is a future that we are all working towards.”
She also said that “security measures alone are not enough. We must deal with those who promote hatred, intolerance and violence. That’s why in 2015 this government introduced our Counter Extremism Strategy which focuses on four pillars: building partnerships with all those opposed to extremism, countering extremist ideologies, disrupting extremists and building cohesive communities. All these areas of work challenge extremism in all its forms – from Islamist to the far right.”
The CST gala — attended by some 1,000 guests — began with a video message from Prime Minister Theresa May, who said, “[T]here is one thing I want you to know: I am with you, and we will defeat this evil together. For as long as I am prime minister there will be no excuses for any kind of hatred towards the Jewish people… let us reaffirm our resolve with confidence that hatred will never prevail in our country. Together we will keep Jewish people safe in Britain, and together we will defeat the scourge of antisemitism by standing up for our values and our way of life, today and for every generation to come.”
Last month, as The Algemeiner reported, CST released a report showing a record number of antisemitic incidents in the UK in 2016.
(c) 2017 The Algemeiner Journal
{Matzav.com}
