Paris Attacks

I know that like me, you will have been shaken by the terrorist attacks in France last month. Part of me did not want to write about them at all. They were murders carried out by fanatics and arguably any further discussion, albeit in a very small way, just gives them more of the coverage that they seek.

But for our area, they have a particular significance. Both Bushey and Radlett have very strong, vibrant and growing Jewish communities. Our High Streets are invigorated by kosher stores, the numerous synagogues are part of the bedrock of our community, and our Jewish faith schools are some of the finest schools in the country. The vibrancy of the community was brought home to me when was invited to Tesco in Borehamwood on a cold and windy December evening to help light the menorah and was delighted to see a crowd of several hundred, including many young families. All this makes the violent anti-Semitism in Paris that much more sickening.

Clearly the first priority must be community safety. It saddens me that whenever I visit a Jewish school, the first thing I have to do is to pass through a security barrier. Unfortunately, these measures will have to remain in place for the foreseeable future and will almost certainly have to be tightened. Having worked closely with the Prime Minister for the past five years, I know how seriously he takes this issue and once again he has made it clear that whatever security measures are needed, they will be provided. Similarly, we continue to invest in the police and security services. As has often been said before, they have to try and stop every plot; the terrorists only need to succeed once.

Second, there must be zero tolerance of anti-semitism. We are very fortunate to live in an open, free and democratic county. Respect for all religions has always been a central part of that freedom. I am proud that someone can feel just as comfortable walking down Radlett or Bushey High Street wearing a kippah as wearing a baseball cap. Allied to this, we need to root out extremism, including by banning preachers who instill hatred towards other religions and by removing material that promotes it from the internet.

More fundamentally, we need to educate people about fighting prejudice and hatred. One of my most vivid school memories is a talk from a holocaust survivor. I still remember the faded tattoo on his arm with his Auschwitz prisoner number on it, and the haunting sound of him calling out that number, replicating the way in which he was addressed by concentration camp guards. With the passage of time, the number of survivors of course diminishes. That’s why the work of the Holocaust Educational Trust is so vital in ensuring that out children and grandchildren gain a similarly profound understanding of the consequences of this hatred.

Read the article in January's edition of MuBushey and MyRadlett News.