At the Community Security Trust’s (CST) annual dinner last night
(Wednesday 28th February), Prime Minister pledged to give the
organisation, which was established to protect Jewish community
sites, more than £70 million over the next 4 years, as part of
the Jewish Community Protective Security Grant. The
funding will increase security at a range of Jewish
buildings across the country, including schools, synagogues and
other facilities used by the Jewish community.
The £54 million of new funding announced today is the biggest
single financial commitment any government has made to protect
Jewish communities. It comes on top of the £18 million already
given to CST for 2024 to 2025 and will mean the organisation’s
crucial work is funded until 2028. The funding will provide
protective security measures such as security guards, CCTV and
alarm systems at Jewish educational sites and other Jewish
community centres, as well as a number of synagogues. By
guaranteeing this level of funding for the next 4 years, the
government is providing Jewish communities with reassurance and
certainty in the face of increased antisemitic incidents.
A recent report from CST showed the organisation recorded 4,103
antisemitic incidents in the UK in 2023, the highest total ever
reported to CST in a single calendar year and an increase of 147%
compared to 2022. The figures spiked after the start of the
Israel-Hamas conflict - 1,330 of these abhorrent incidents were
reported to CST in October 2023, more than the 3 previous highest
monthly totals combined.
Speaking at the dinner, Prime Minister said:
It is shocking, and wrong, the prejudice, the racism we have seen
in recent months.
It is hatred, pure and simple. An assault on the Jewish people.
We will fight this antisemitism with everything we’ve got.
As Prime Minister I will lead this government in a long-term
effort to strengthen your security, defend our liberal democratic
values and change our culture so we tackle the root causes of
this hatred.
We know CST is going to be needed for many years to come. So
tonight, I am changing the way CST is funded to help you plan for
the long-term… with the biggest financial commitment that any
government has ever made.
Home Secretary said:
The rise in antisemitic hatred and abuse we have seen in the UK
in recent months is absolutely sickening.
It is crucial that Jewish adults and children are free to go
about their daily lives without fear of intimidation, abuse or
harm – and importantly, feel safe to do so.
Committing this largest ever funding for security to protect
Jewish communities will give people the certainty and confidence
they will be kept safer for the foreseeable future. We are also
working with the police to ensure that hate crime and expressions
of support for the terrorist organisation Hamas are met with the
full force of the law.
Security Minister said:
Since the October 7 attacks, we’ve seen a shameful rise in
antisemitism across the world, including in the UK.
We won’t hesitate to take action to keep British Jews safe.
That’s why today’s package of support is the largest ever made by
the government to tackle antisemitism, and to ensure their
protection and safety.
The government remains committed to ensuring abhorrent hate
offences are stamped out – which is why we have a robust
legislative framework to tackle hate crime wherever it is
found.
The government provided an additional £3 million for the
Community Security Trust to provide additional security in
October 2023, raising the funding to £18 million a
year.
The additional £3 million has been used to offer additional
support to more than 480 existing or new Jewish community
locations, including schools and synagogues.
Nearly 200 schools and more than 250 synagogues have been able to
hire more security guards, or increase the number of guarding
hours from existing security guards.
This announcement follows today’s confirmation that £31 million
will be made available to protect democratic processes and
institutions in response to growing threats.
The government also condemns the recent rise in reported
anti-Muslim hatred. We expect the police to fully investigate all
hate crimes and work with the CPS to make sure the cowards who
commit these appalling offences feel the full force of the
law.
An additional £4.9 million was also made available in October for
protective security at mosques and Muslim faith schools. This
brought total funding for 2023 to 2024 to £29.4 million, which
the government confirmed will also be maintained in 2024 to
2025.
The new Protective Security for
Mosques Scheme provides physical security measures, such as
CCTV, intruder alarms and secure perimeter fencing, to mosques
and associated Muslim faith community centres. Protective
security measures are also available to Muslim faith schools.
