LAAS co-director comment in The Telegraph

Following ugly scenes outside Jewish community centre JW3, LAAS wrote a letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Parts of it along with comments by LAAS co-director Alex Hearn were published by The Telegraph. The full article can be found here

Published below are some excerpts:

Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of allowing anti-Semitism in the UK to “deteriorate” amid a string of “performative” policies which “only serve to satisfy an extreme cadre” of ultra-Left-wing groups.

Alex Hearn, the director of LAAS, says ‘many use Israel as a cipher for this hate’

In a letter to Sir Keir, seen by The Telegraph, LAAS said: “As Prime Minister, you have set the tone and allowed an already unacceptable state of affairs to further deteriorate.

“It is not good enough to promise that school children will learn about the Holocaust when you are allowing Jewish children to be bullied on our streets.

“Once again, you need to put actions to your words and reassure the Jewish community that contemporary antisemitism, under the guise of humanitarian anti-Zionism, will not be tolerated.

“You must once again close the door on the anti-Semitism that the previous government’s inaction and your government’s policies have welcomed back on to our streets, making Jews feel unsafe and unwelcome in the UK.”

‘Climate of intolerance’

Alex Hearn, director of LAAS, said: “There have been a number of Labour policies which seem to have only served to satisfy quite an extreme cadre of groups.

“Government figures show attacks against Jews have rocketed and we know many use Israel as a cipher to express this hate.

“Policies such as the decision to reinstate UNRWA funding despite evidence they are intertwined with Hamas, the arms embargo and the ICC arrest warrant are, in reality, performative, but they add to the mood music that Israel is persona non grata.

“People going on these [pro-Palestinian] rallies have become empowered, in part, by these policies. It has added to a climate of intolerance and hate.

“Some of the time Labour policies seem to be catering to those who are attacking us rather than offering us solidarity and support.