FCO Human Rights Minister marks Solidarity Sabbath

22 May 2015 12:48 PM

Foreign Office Minister, Baroness Anelay, visited a Jewish primary school to demonstrate solidarity with the Jewish community.

The UK Government is demonstrating its commitment to standing up to anti-Semitism by taking part in the International Solidarity Sabbath on Friday 22 May.

This new international initiative - launched by the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice - aims for leaders from across Europe and North America to demonstrate a unified response to the increasing acts of anti-Semitism present on both sides of the Atlantic.

To mark the day, Foreign Office Minister for Human Rights, Baroness Anelay, visited a Jewish primary school in North London as they prepared for the weekly Sabbath. The Minister watched some of the nursery and reception children role play the family Sabbath dinner and talked to some of the older children about their recent work on the elections and new charity projects they had been involved in.

Baroness Anelay said:

I was delighted to have the opportunity of visiting Wolfson Hillel School today. For too long anti-Semitism has been a scourge on our communities with the number of anti-Semitic attacks in the UK reaching a record high last year. The fact that anti-Semitism continues to be a problem in our society, despite the strong stand the government has taken, is deeply worrying. We need to continue our comprehensive efforts to tackle it.

The Solidarity Sabbath is an initiative I am proud to be a part of, along with so many other members of the international community, to show my support for Jewish communities in the UK and across the world and to say that there can never be any excuse for anti-Semitism and intolerance.

Background

• More information on the Solidarity Sabbath can be found here

• The UK ensures a coordinated response to anti-Semitism through the cross-Whitehall Working Group on Anti-Semitism, working in close partnership with the Community Security Trust, the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council.

Further information

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