Starmer Hosts Business, Culture and Policing Leaders to Combat Antisemitism

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will host senior figures from business, culture and policing at Downing Street on Tuesday as part of efforts to tackle antisemitism through a whole-of-society approach.

Announcing the summit, Starmer said it is not enough to simply say we stand with Jewish communities. Effort is needed across sectors to eradicate antisemitism from every corner of society.

The event follows a spate of suspected antisemitic incidents in recent months, including the stabbing of two Jewish men in Golders Green on April 29.

The home secretary, communities secretary, health secretary, education secretary and culture secretary will each chair meetings with leaders from their sectors.

No. 10 has not confirmed exactly who will attend the talks. Representatives from business, civil society, health, culture, higher education and policing will take part in individual round-table discussions with members of the Jewish community, hosted by the ministers.

Participants will be asked to reflect on the forms antisemitism takes in their sector, the work they are already doing to tackle it and how they can go further.

Starmer will also convene ministers in the afternoon for a Middle East Response Committee meeting focused on the domestic security implications of the conflict in the Middle East, particularly the heightened threat to Jewish communities in light of recent attacks.

In opening remarks, the prime minister is expected to say the Golders Green attack was part of a pattern of rising antisemitism that has left Jewish communities feeling frightened, angry and asking whether this country, their home, is safe for them.

He will add: "These disgusting attacks are being made against British Jews. But make no mistake, this crisis is a crisis for all of us. It is a test of our values. Values that are not guaranteed, but are earned. Every single day, through our actions."

Suspect Essa Suleiman, 45, has been charged with three counts of attempted murder in relation to the Golders Green attack.

Shloime Rand, 34, and Norman Shine, 76, were stabbed in the north London suburb, while a third man, Ishmail Hussein, who knew Suleiman, was attacked earlier the same day.

Two Jewish people were killed in October last year and three left in serious condition after a car ramming and stabbing attack outside a synagogue in Manchester. One of the men was killed by a bullet fired by police.

On April 30, the terrorism threat level in the UK rose from substantial to severe for the first time in four years.

Several arson attacks have targeted sites linked to Jewish communities in recent weeks.

On March 23, four ambulances belonging to Jewish charity ambulance service Hatzola were set alight. Three men and a teenager have been charged.

On Monday, the Metropolitan Police confirmed it had arrested two people on suspicion of arson in relation to an attack against a memorial wall in Golders Green earlier this month.