Lord Popat has urged the UK government to reassure the Jewish community over the threat of anti-Semitism, warning that prejudice and hatred left unchallenged will have grave consequences for all of society.
Lord Popat initiated the urgent debate on anti-Semitism, which was held in the House of Lords last week, in response to the Jewish community’s growing anxieties about rising anti-Semitism in the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn.
During his opening speech, Lord Popat emphasized that anti-Semitism was a threat that went beyond the Jewish community and party politics: “The notion that anti-Semitism is solely a Jewish problem is as dangerous as it is wrong. It’s Jews today; it could be us tomorrow. Hatred knows no bounds. We saw that in the horrors of the Holocaust, and we are seeing it now with extremist terrorism and the rise of both the far right and ultra-left. Anti-Semitism concerns us all.”
Recalling that “the Jewish community was at the forefront in helping us (Ugandan Asians) to settle in” to life in the UK, Lord Popat highlighted the bonds that exist between the Jewish and Asian communities who share many cultural commonalities and shared values such as hard work, education, enterprise, family and faith, called on the British Asian community to speak out and stand in solidarity with the Jewish people in their hour of need.
Lord Popat went on to articulate the issues that lie at the heart of the Jewish community’s anguish. He told the House that modern anti-Semitism is expressed through the anti-Zionist movement which demonizes and delegitimizes on the world’s one and only Jewish State, Israel.
He said: “One of the striking features of anti-Semitism is its capacity to reinvent itself time and again. Unlike anti-Semitism of the past which was rooted in racial and religious hatred of Jews, today it is expressed through the anti-Israel movement.”
“It is important to emphasizes that it is not anti-Semitic to criticize the Israeli Government. But when a whole country becomes the subject of your obsessive hatred, ask yourself, honestly, what is your motivation? Is it purely a moral reaction to the unjust policies of a Government? Or are you driven by a deeper hostility?”
Lord Popat ended the speech by calling on all communities and faith groups to speak out against prejudice in all its forms, because “if we do not look out for each other, no-one will look out for us”.
Lord Parekh echoed Lord Popat’s praise of the Jewish community’s contribution to British life and to combating racism, saying: “I cannot think of any piece of race legislation passed during the past 40 years that has not been the creation of a member of the Jewish community”. Lord Parekh described the anti-Semitic abuse perpetrated against many Jewish MPs and Peers as “abominable and abhorrent”.
The debate was one of the most oversubscribed debates in the Lords in recent years. The 20 speakers who were able to sign up were limited to speak for just 2 minutes. Many speakers were concerned that the limit for speeches would not allow them to do justice to the seriousness of the subject.
A number of Jewish peers accused Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn outright of antisemitism.
Lord Sugar accused Mr Corbyn of failing to deal with anti-Semitism in his own ranks, because of political calculations:
“I think Corbyn allowed matters to ramble on because he, frankly, does not give two hoots about what Jews in the UK think.”
“What kind of leader is he not to take his party by the scruff of the neck and make them see sense and kill the matter off once and for all?”
Ending his speech he said: “We’re all familiar with the term ‘there is no smoke without fire.’ My request to the UK government is to extinguish the flame and use all efforts to ensure that Jeremy Corbyn does not become the leader of our country; that will be the day Britain died."
Lord Mendelsohn, the former Labour Business Minister, said: "I too believe that the leader of my party, Jeremy Corbyn, has been a perpetrator of antisemitism."
Lord Sterling, the Life President of P&O Cruises, gave a powerful statement to the House about ensuring that history does not repeat itself, “like the Popats of this world, we Jews would also fight just as strongly for other ethnic minorities who found themselves under attack. Never again will we be carried away in cattle trucks.”
Baroness Altmann, a Conservative said that "one of our mainstream political parties is led by an anti-Semite", and Lord Pannick, a crossbencher, said: "The leader of one of our main political parties is incubating antisemitism."
Speaking in turn, former Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks, who is remains one of the Jewish community’s most prominent figures, reminded the House that “A thousand years of Jewish history in Europe added certain words to the human vocabulary.
“Forced conversion. Inquisition. Expulsion. Ghetto. Pogrom. Holocaust. They happened because hate went unchecked. No-one said ‘stop’.
“Antisemitism is the hardest of all hatreds to defeat, because like a virus it mutates, but one thing stays the same. Jews, whether as a religion, or a race, or the State of Israel, are made the scapegoats for problems for which all sides are responsible. That is how the road to tragedy begins.”
That is why I cannot stay silent, for it is not only Jews who are at risk; so too, is our humanity."
The debate was concluded by the Faith Minister, Lord Bourne who thanked Lord Popat who “his stirring, thoughtful and perfectly crafted speech, which set the tone for the whole debate.”
The Faith Minister added, “the message [from this debate] is that in this country we remain totally committed to tackling anti-Semitism alongside other religious hatreds and doing whatever is needed to remain a united country of all faiths and no faith. That is the message that must go out powerfully to all politicians and to all people throughout this country.”
