Goldsmith: ‘I’ll use every tool’ to stop Jews questioning their future in London’
Zac Goldsmith has vowed to “use every tool at my disposal” to prevent Jewish Londoners from questioning their future in London.
During an appearance at the Redbridge Jewish community Centre on Tuesday, the Tory mayoral candidate referred to the plight of Jews in France and the fact record numbers were leaving the country.
He said: “If I’m elected Mayor I will do everything I possibly can using every single tool at my disposable to ensure that we don’t go the way of France, that no-one ever in this great City, ever even has to question whether they have a future in this city. There’s an enormous amount the Mayor can do.”
Saying eradicating hate crime should be a priority for the Metropolitan Police, Goldsmith added: “When you have people hurling chairs through university windows because people are debating an issue relating to Israel, the authorities jump on it and they find the people responsibility and they prosecute them and if they’re part of a university they ensure that those people are expelled from that university.”
“The BDS movement in my view is often a cover for a much older campaign that has been raging over the centuries and it’s called anti-Semitism….As a London MP I’m confronted with activists from the BDS movement…and I have no doubt at its heart there’s often something quite sinister there….BDS
Thanks to everyone who attended tonight’s Q&A event at the Redbridge Jewish Community Centre. @RedbridgeJCC pic.twitter.com/36WMYUxbdl
— Zac Goldsmith (@ZacGoldsmith) March 1, 2016
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
