The Prime Minister has opened a summit on antisemitism, convened amid a series of recent attacks targeting Jewish communities in London and renewed concern over community safety.
Speaking at the start of the meeting, the Prime Minister set out the Government’s intention to intensify efforts to tackle antisemitism across schools, universities, and public institutions. The summit comes less than a week after stabbing attacks in Golders Green, and just days after a rally organised by Campaign Against Antisemitism outside Downing Street calling for a clearer national strategy.
It also follows an arson attack on a Jewish institution in East London on the same day as the summit, further heightening tensions and concern among community leaders.
The Government has previously pledged additional funding for antisemitism education and enforcement measures in educational settings, alongside expectations that universities take firmer disciplinary action where incidents occur.
However, pressure has been mounting on ministers to set out a more comprehensive and enforceable plan, with critics arguing that existing measures have not been sufficient to stem a rise in incidents or reassure affected communities.
Community organisations say the recent sequence of attacks has intensified fears and underscored the urgency of coordinated action across policing, education, and online platforms.
The summit is expected to bring together ministers, law enforcement officials, and community representatives to discuss further steps, though no immediate policy announcements were made in the opening remarks.
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Days after we stood outside Downing Street calling on the Prime Minister to present a plan to tackle antisemitism, this is a start.
“We note that he has adopted some of our language and his acknowledgment that antisemitism comes not just from the far-right but also from the far-left and Islamism.
“But most of what is being announced is merely a programme of telling the authorities to do the jobs they were supposed to have been doing for years. The police have had the powers to ban marches all along, and it should not have taken a spate of stabbings and arson attacks for the Charity Commission to act against extremist mosques or for the Arts Council to stop funding venues that spread hate.
“It is absurd that basic steps have still not been announced today. We all know that Iran is a malign influence in this country, so why hasn’t the IRGC been proscribed and its ambassador expelled? The Prime Minister has been in office for almost two years, and it’s been half a year since the Manchester terrorist murders so why is he merely pointing to ongoing reviews of indeterminate length, without taking obvious action right now, for example banning the Muslim Brotherhood?
“We suspect that avoiding these questions is why the Prime Minister did not invite the UK’s largest antisemitism campaigning charity to his event at Downing Street today. He probably knows that we would play no part in any choreographed spectacle that puts words before action. Now is not the time to be avoiding uncomfortable truths and hard questions.”
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