Buckinghamshire MP tells Parliament some of his Jewish constituents "are living in fear"
Jewish constituents are hiding signs of their faith because they are living in fear, a Buckinghamshire MP has told Parliament.
Greg Smith, MP for Mid Buckinghamshire, called for urgent action during a Commons statement on antisemitism in schools and colleges on Wednesday, October 21.
He welcomed the Government’s commitment to tackling antisemitism but warned that the scale of the problem was “absolutely alarming”.
Mr Smith said: “I speak to Jewish constituents who are living in fear, and they have reported to me that they are removing all visual identifiers of their Jewish faith.”
He highlighted figures cited by Education Secretary Lucy Powell that almost three in five Jewish young people and half of Jewish teachers had experienced or witnessed antisemitism.
“That requires a hyper-urgent response,” he said.
Mr Smith asked for monthly or even weekly monitoring of how actions and recommendations were being implemented, rather than relying on a report back after a year.
He said this would help reassure Jewish communities that the Government was acting with urgency.
Responding, Ms Powell agreed about the scale and urgency.
She said the Government accepted all recommendations in the report discussed and would implement them, but argued that tackling antisemitism required a national conversation.
She said people needed to recognise antisemitism, challenge it and explain its dangers to younger generations.
“That is a job for every single one of us,” she said.