Prime Minister Rishi Sunak visits synagogue in Golders Green to tell crowd 'I will always stand with you'
- Prime Minister vowed to fight 'sickness' of antisemitism amid rising incidents
- Addressing the crowd he said: 'I know what it is like to be seen as different'
- He said 'Israel deserves to live in peace and security' amid ongoing Hamas war
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak emphatically threw his support behind Britain's Jewish community saying, 'I will always stand by you', as he also vowed to fight the 'sickness' of rising antisemitism in Britain.
Mr Sunak made the comments during a campaign trail appearance on the final weekend ahead of Thursday's general election, in Golders Green, north London.
Addressing an audience at Machzike Hadath Synagogue on Sunday afternoon and wearing a black kippah, a traditional Jewish skullcap, Mr Sunak said: '[Like you] I do know something about what it is like to be seen as different from others and even to experience hatred directed towards you and your community because of who you are.'
He added: 'Antisemitism is a sickness, and I'm determined to confront it.'
Reports of antisemitic incidents in the UK have seen a huge surge since the Hamas terror attacks in Israel on October 7, 2023 and the ensuing Israeli military action in Gaza.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak emphatically threw his support behind Britain's Jewish community saying, 'I will always stand by you' at a synagogue in north London on Sunday afternoon
Addressing an audience at Machzike Hadath Synagogue, Mr Sunak added: 'Antisemitism is a sickness, and I'm determined to confront it'
Mr Sunak was warmly greeted by members of the Jewish community during his visit on Sunday
According to Community Security Trust (CST), a charity established to protect the Jewish community in Britain from antisemitism and related threats, there were 4,103 instances of anti-Jewish hate recorded, equating to a 147 per cent rise, in 2023 - the highest annual total ever reported by the charity.
The Prime Minister referenced the Government’s multi-year funding deal for the CST, now worth more than £70 million over the next four years for the charity.
In video footage posted of his seven-minute speech on X, Mr Sunak referred to the events of October 7 and a previous address to the Jewish community in north London.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak greets local Conservative candidate Alex Deane in Golders Green
His visit to the area also included meeting volunteers of Hatzola Northwest, a charity ambulance service with a station next to the synagogue
The Prime Minister popped into a kosher bakery in Golders Green and purchased challah, a traditional Jewish bread
He said: 'I'll never forget coming to Finchley to Kinloss [Synagogue] days after October 7.
'I wanted to be with the Jewish community to show I would stand with you in that hour of grief as we mourn victims of an ugly and horrid attack of terror.
'And let me tell you this, I will always stand with you.
'Others might forget the horror of that day. I never will.'
He added that he would 'never equivocate on who was to blame for this ugly horrid attack of terror'.
On the continuing Israeli military action in Gaza following the October 7 attacks, Mr Sunak said he would 'not try and bully Israel into making concessions that are not in its interest.'
He told the crowd: 'Israel deserves to live in peace and security.'
Mr Sunak continued: 'We must never forget that there are still hostages being held by Hamas terrorists.
'I say loudly, and I know that you will join me, 'bring them home'.'
Mr Sunak added: 'When Jewish children are hiding their school uniforms, Jewish students are facing harassment on campuses, the birth certificates of Jewish babies are being defaced, and Jewish families feel unable to enter the capital city of our country at the weekend, the whole fabric of our nation is under threat.
'This antisemitism is a sickness and I am determined to confront it. Now sadly, we cannot cure it overnight, but I will lead 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.'
Mr Sunak went on to state he was 'proud' of the role British military played in thwarting Iran's recent missile attack against the state.
Hamas led a horrifying incursion into southern Israel on October 7, killing some 1,170 people and seizing more than 250 hostages, according to official figures from Israel.
Mr Sunak addressed the Jewish community amid a 147 per cent rise in reported antisemitic incidents in 2023 - the highest annual total ever reported by charity CST
In the months since, Israel has pounded the dense Gaza Strip with aerial attacks, displacing 80 per cent of Gaza's 2.3 million people.
There are also reports of severe hunger and UN officials say parts of the territory are experiencing famine.
As of June 29, nearly 38,000 people are reported to have been killed in Israel's military strikes, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its tally.
Israel has stated its war objectives to be returning the hostages and definitively vanquishing Hamas, but has drawn criticism from its allies over civilian casualties and the failure to return some 120 hostages still captured in Gaza after nearly nine months of fighting.
Before addressing the crowd, Mr Sunak spent time visiting a kosher bakery and meeting dispatchers and first responders from Hatzola Northwest, a charity ambulance service with a station next to the synagogue.
He looked inside an ambulance - a fully converted Mercedes Sprinter used for the most serious emergencies - and support cars which are also equipped for serious incidents.
Mr Sunak also greeted local Conservative candidate Alex Dean during his north London stop.
His visit to Golders Green is the latest stop in a packed campaign trail to try and bolster Tory chances at Thursday's General Election.
Despite overseeing an election campaign buffeted by major rows over his skipping of a D-Day commemoration event and a growing gambling scandal, Mr Sunak said he was 'proud' of the Tory effort.
He also told BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg he would still be PM on Friday, adding: 'I'm fighting very hard and I think people are waking up to the real danger of what a Labour government means.'
