UK ambassador: We are overhauling efforts to fight antisemitism, protect British Jews

The United Kingdom is initiating a “complete step change” in protecting Jewish communities and cracking down on antisemitism, says British Ambassador Simon Walters.

The first step is the security of Jewish communities, through funding Jewish community security and increased police presence, he says.

“The Metropolitan Police has significantly increased the number of officers in and around North West London,” he says in a briefing at his Ramat Gan residence, “including both uniformed and plainclothes officers, and additional powers to stop and search individuals have been introduced across the areas affected. Armed response vehicles and counter-terrorism policing resources have been deployed alongside local police.”

The UK, says Walters, is also commissioning independent reviews into antisemitism in the education system and the National Health Service, in addition to existing requirements for universities to develop and implement plans to deal with antisemitism.

The UK has given more authority for police to confront antisemitism and calls for violence in protests.

Last week, notes Walters, “the Crime and Policing Bill was given Royal Assent, meaning it came into force, which gives police much more powers over protests and the conditions around them, including the power to deal with large repeated protests as well as demonstrations outside places of worship to ensure that intimidation is not tolerated on our streets. The government is bringing in urgent new legislation to enable people working for state organizations, not just foreign intelligence agencies, to be prosecuted under the National Security Act.”

His comments come after a spate of violence against British Jews in recent months, including a stabbing in London last week and a string of arson attacks.