Following today’s Government announcement of additional funding to tackle antisemitism, the Leader of Barnet Council and Labour Group, Councillor Barry Rawlings and Cabinet Member for Community Safety, Councillor Sara Conway said:
“We are a borough that is proud to be home to Britain’s largest Jewish community, and we welcome this additional funding as part of a package of extra measures announced by Government to boost work to tackle the rising scourge of antisemitism and help keep people safe.
“Since 7 October 2023, the imported impact of international conflict on the daily lives of our Jewish communities has been immense and unacceptable.
“This significant investment from the Government will enable us to build on our work to stamp out antisemitism and do more of the community cohesion work that is so needed at this unprecedented time.
“Barnet’s programme is focused on practical action to build cohesion and resilience, and combat prejudice. This will include:
- Running a range of effective targeted engagement with key local communities, as well as wider community engagement, to stop disinformation and misinformation, increase connection, cohesion, resilience, and reporting.
- Bringing together key local leaders to discuss and develop meaningful understanding and allyship.
- Working in and with schools and young people on effective early intervention support to create meaningful dialogue, foster mutual understanding, and address shared challenges to better equip educators, young people and families with the support and tools needed to bridge divides and strengthen connection, cohesion and resilience.
- Recognising the fear and experience of Jewish communities in healthcare settings and addressing concerns for people at their most vulnerable by rebuilding trust with key stakeholders.
“We welcome the Government’s acknowledgement that alongside essential funding for increased policing and security, community cohesion work is vital with everyone working together.
“This programme complements the £2.3m investment we’ve made locally to upgrade our entire CCTV network and control room, with 33 additional re-deployable cameras and 2 mobile CCTV vans, alongside the work of our community safety team, and our fully staffed police Safer Neighbourhood Teams.”
