of Hale (Con) (Maiden
Speech):...As noble Lords will have gathered, I am a man of
faith, so entering the Chamber for the first time from the Moses
Room was very special to me. I was raised in a traditional Jewish
household, where my parents—both businesspeople—left a deep
impression on me of the pillars defining Judaism: belief in God,
kindness to others, charity, justice and prayer. I have, over
time, increased my observance and religiosity to become what is
known as shomer Shabbat: someone who guards and observes the
Sabbath, which is the most wonderful 25-hour weekly digital
detox. I highly recommend it to everyone. As a hard-working
entrepreneur, I like to say that I am available 24/6.
On Tuesday, we remembered the Holocaust, with our annual Yom
HaShoah events around the country. It is with great sadness and
despair that within living memory of the Holocaust, anti-semitism has
returned around the world. Like many Jews in this country, I am
horrified and frightened by what I see, what I hear, and what I
feel, whether on the streets, through social and other media, or
of course in our universities.
I am therefore very grateful for the outpouring of support from
noble Lords of all religions and backgrounds, who have been
united in their condemnation of this. If we fight together and
fight hard enough, we can and will stamp out this virus. I am
also particularly thankful to our Prime Minister for his
unwavering support of the Jewish community and for everything
that he and the Government are doing to ensure that anti-semitism has no
place in society, including today meeting university leaders to
ensure a zero-tolerance approach to anti-Semitic abuse on all
campuses...
(Con): My Lords, I
congratulate my noble friend of Hale on a wonderful maiden
speech. He is assured of a very warm welcome to our House. He
gave an important and topical reminder of the dangers of anti-semitism For
many of us, is an excellent example of how
the wisdom of the Jewish tradition can be of value to us all. The
athleticism of the noble Lord, of Hale, is also clearly very
impressive. We look forward to seeing his running shoes alongside
the mobility scooters downstairs. I am sure that he will be an
important contributor to our debates in this House...
