As we have just celebrated Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, I want to pass on my best wishes to everyone entering into the festivities.

A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of joining in with Rosh Hashanah celebrations at Shenley Synagogue. I thoroughly enjoyed making some traditional honey cakes for local residents and answering some very interesting questions.

As I hope I have made clear over the years, I am proud to represent one of the largest Jewish communities in the country. It remains one of my priorities as Hertsmere’s Member of Parliament to stand up for the Jewish community. I seek to be a strong voice in standing up for every community in Hertsmere, both locally and nationally. 

I would like to recommit myself to the solidarity to fight hatred, religious intolerance and unfair discrimination in all its forms as your elected representative. Anyone who has any concerns should not hesitate to get in touch and raise them with me. I know everybody at Hertsmere Conservatives shares this view.

I have been delighted to continue my relationship with the Jewish Leadership Council (JLC) alongside their member the Community Security Trust (CST), and the Antisemitism Policy Trust. I have worked closely with the JLC for many years, and I know that both CST and the Antisemitism Policy Trust do great work at local, regional and national levels to protect Jewish communities. As a former Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for British Jews and officer of the Conservative Friends of Israel, I have spoken out consistently against the scourge of antisemitism and anti-Israel bias. I have also successfully lobbied for a full ban on Hezbollah and Hamas.

I wish everyone in the community a happy New Year. Shana tova u'metuka!