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The UK Government has provided over £38.5m since 2015 to provide for protective security measures at Jewish schools, colleges, nurseries and other locations, Home Secretary Amber Rudd said in speech to the Community Security Trust (CST), a charity that covers anti-semitism, extremism, policing and security; such as by gathering reports of antisemitic incidents, physical and online. The March 7 dinner, CST’s main fundraising event of the year, was attended by over 800, including donors, politicians, police such as Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick, communal partners and other supporters of CST’s work.
Amber Rudd, pictured, said: “And this year, I’m pleased to announce a further £13.4m to ensure the security of Jewish faith schools, synagogues and communal buildings following concerns raised by the Jewish community. It is absolutely essential that we all feel safe where we live, where we work, where we worship and where we meet our friends.”
She spoke earlier of Jewish schools practising lock-down drills so they’re prepared should the worst happen. Even nursery age children are rehearsing what they would need to do in the event of an attack. “Some of these children are so small that the drill needs to be dressed up as a game of sleeping lions to get them to cooperate. Surely this can’t be right?”
For the speech in full visit the Home Office website. Earlier CST Deputy Chairman Lloyd Dorfman recalled how after the Manchester terror attack in May 2017, CST volunteers patrolled with police officers in Jewish communities. He said: “So tonight, we pay tribute to our outstanding Police and other Emergency Services who, every time, rush towards danger while the public flee. We are with you every step of the way.”
CST’s Chief Executive David Delew made reference to the pressures the body had faced these past 12 months of five terror attacks in the UK and thanked the “staff and every single security volunteer who time after time, when on security duty go out looking for danger.”
CST Chair Gerald Ronson ended the evening with an appeal speech. He described the last two years as the worst ever in terms of crimes recorded by CST. He said: “This isn’t some random event. Antisemitism isn’t like the weather. You don’t wake up in the morning and discover that it’s suddenly turned antisemitic outside. It comes down to the state of British society and politics. Fundamentally, it’s not just because of Brexit, or because of who leads the Labour Party, – but the experts told us these things could never happen – and then they did. They happened because people are angry, alienated, frustrated, and looking for scapegoats.”
For more details visit the CST website.
