My Lords, antisemitism is a crisis for all of us and the Government are absolutely clear that it is unacceptable and has no place in our communities. It manifests across society—in schools, synagogues, workplaces and beyond—and that is why it requires a whole-of-society response. We are acting across education, communities and institutions, tackling antisemitism in schools, strengthening guidance for public bodies and supporting local responses as set out in Protecting What Matters. We are strengthening policing and investing in record protective security funding to keep our Jewish communities safe.
My Lords, I welcome the positive steps the Government are taking, because many of us are utterly depressed by the antisemitism we have seen, particularly in recent months. However, could I ask the Minister to acknowledge something on the positive side of this? I have talked on behalf of refugees in many synagogues and to Jewish organisations, and it is characteristic of them to support child refugees, most of whom are Muslim. Is that not a positive story that we should talk about?
I am grateful to my noble friend for making that important point. All communities need to feel safe in our country, and some of the recent incidents have meant that many communities do not feel safe now. My noble friend referred to the welcoming Jewish culture, and I was delighted to see that Jewish Culture Month has been supported so strongly, recognising the contribution of Jewish heritage and culture to our country.
My Lords, the Protocols of the Elders of Zion is an antisemitic hoax purporting to detail a Jewish plot for global domination. It was published in imperial Russia in 1903 and exposed as black propaganda, but it is still widely available and quoted as if it is true. Does the Minister agree that modern social media is the current version of this infamous propaganda? I heard what the Minister said, but what moves are the Government making to stop this dissemination of antisemitic lies?
There is a huge responsibility on online platforms to tackle this dreadful spread of misinformation. It is way past the time for them to take their responsibility more seriously. We are all in favour of free speech, but when it creeps into misinformation, inciting violence and spreading the kind of long-held misinformation to which the noble Lord referred, they need to tackle that. We are using the full strength of the powers under the Online Safety Act to tackle illegal and antisemitic content online. That places duties on platforms and other services in scope to address illegal hate content and content that is harmful to all. It is not only very concerning for our Jewish community but extremely harmful to our young people.
My Lords, have the Government taken the advice of global Jewish scholars, who have concluded that Holocaust education and memorialisation have no effect and can be positively damaging? This is supported in reviews by University College London. Youth education should instead be about Jewish life and history, and specifically about antisemitism—about life, not death. We do not need another Holocaust memorial; we need a Jewish museum in London. We can use that £200 million to celebrate a thousand years of Jewish contributions to this country.
The Government are firmly committed to supporting Holocaust education, but I am pleased to tell the noble Baroness that, this week, I met with Andy Pearce from UCL to talk about the programme of education that that institution is undertaking. He told me about the evidence-based approach it takes to that education and how it is going to tackle some of the gaps it is finding in young people’s knowledge. Jewish Culture Month, which I referred to earlier, is a clear way that we can celebrate and inform the wider community about the wonderful heritage of our Jewish community.
My Lords, while I welcome the Minister’s assurances about what needs to be done, I fear that the “how” is missing, particularly on education at school and university level. What is being done to ensure that our children are educated in knowing that the scourge of antisemitism must be stopped and that it is bad for the country as a whole? Over the last year or so, we have heard so often that action will be taken, but this action has to be effective. The sooner that happens, the better.
I absolutely agree with the noble Lord, and the Government are committing £7 million of funding to tackle antisemitism in schools, colleges and universities. We launched the tackling antisemitism in education innovation fund to help identify and tackle misinformation, improve media literacy and promote tolerant debate among our young people. We will also respond to the findings of the review led by Sir David Bell into antisemitism in schools and colleges. The review looks at whether the policies, processes and support are available to help our schools and colleges across England to identify and tackle antisemitism when it arises.
My Lords, last autumn, Sheffield City Council entered into a faith and belief charter with local faith leaders, setting out our expectations of one another for mutual respect and kindness. Yesterday, I spoke to a rabbi who observed that antisemitism inevitably increases in seasons when society is more divided and polarised, and decreases when the culture of our common life is kind. Does the Minister agree with me that faith charters, such as the one in Sheffield, play a vital role in fostering precisely the virtues of kindness and mutual respect that counter the evil of antisemitism, among other things?
I commend the work being done in Sheffield to promote tolerance between faiths. It is important that we do that. The problems do not lie in people in our communities getting together; they lie with those who want to cause division and hatred between communities. If we work more to bring faiths together in communities, so that we properly understand that we all have more in common than divides us, when people get together they will support each other and we will see a wonderful synergy between them. I hope there will be more of the type of charter to which the right reverend Prelate referred.