LOCATION House of Commons

SPEAKER Jim Murphy MP, Minister for Europe

EVENT Inaugural Lecture at the European Institute for the Study of Contemporary Anti Semitism

DATE 14/07/2008

I am delighted to be here this evening and give the inaugural lecture at the European Institute for the Study of Contemporary Anti Semitism. The Institute has been borne out of a sense of frustration at the lack of academic input into the debate on how best to combat anti-Semitism.

What we do know is that Europe is today possibly the most tolerant of all continents. But Europe has experienced historic struggles between tolerance and faith and race based hatreds.

We all know that European anti-Semitism is not a new phenomenon.

The Jew of the anti-Semites’ destructive imagination is simultaneously weak and inferior while also being all powerful.

French thinker and socialist Dohm articulated and reinforced a common perception of advanced thinkers on the eve of the French revolution that the Jews were indeed inferior but could be changed for the better.

The French revolutionary thinker Fourier said “are the Jews not the leprosy and the perdition of the body politic? In short the Jews are a parasitical sect.”

But perhaps uniquely Jews have an alter image of omnipotent and all powerful. And there always appears to be a utilitarian purpose for theories of anti-Semitism.

They have been blamed for many major European wars including the Napoleonic, First and Second World Wars. During the Boer War some in England accused the Government of pandering to Jewish gold mine owners in South Africa. During the Russian civil war Jews were interchangeably portrayed as being behind both the revolution and counter revolutionary forces.

In fact counter revolutionary officer circulated fraudulent 19th century anti-Semitic tome the protocols of the Elders of Zion.

This utilitarian function is what is different from the discriminatory instincts and violent actions against other faiths in the past, including in the Balkans, against Catholics here or in Ireland in the past. Remember some historians suggest that part of the motivation for the British Empire was to establish a Godly Protestant empire to rival the Continental Catholic ones.

But what is different about anti-Semitism is that is has both predated and outlived many, if not all, other reactionary instincts.

There are of course divergent philosophies which attempt to legitimise anti-semitism. This includes the extremes of both left and right as well as from some of other faiths.

The Extreme Right, such as the BNP and NF, has at least two ways to rationalise its stand. Firstly, the tangible hatred of “the other” – be it Jew or Muslim or anyone different. Every society has its other - the visibly, culturally, ethnically or religiously different individuals on communities that helps a society form its own identity. For long periods in Europe the Jews were the only substantial other. But the Hard Right view of supremacy based on demonising the other is a twisted logic.

Because, as we know, if our identity is formed by what we are not, it is a weak and fragile identity that will lead inevitability towards destructive competition and conflict. The Jewish community, of course, understand only too well the destructive power of the myth of the other. Discarded from societies as a pollutant and contaminator.

The second motivation has always been the Extreme Right’s (and a tiny minority on the revolutionary left) conspiring to create a conspiracy theory of influence.

For the extreme Left I would argue it is their unresolved relationship with Israel which drives their philosophy.

The idealistic dreams of Israel as a potentially enduring socialist and collectivist state were strong. But particularly during Israel’s second decade as a State, some international anti-imperialists came to a different conclusion. Israel’s relationship with the US was part of this.

And for a tiny minority anti-Israelism took on an air of anti-semitism. But I want to be clear that being critical of Israel in no way makes you an anti-semite anymore than Zionism equals racism.

In truth I believe you can be critical of Israel and Zionism without being an anti-semite. It is one of our great strengths in our democracy that we can argue passionately about the Middle East. But with that freedom comes a responsibility and on occasion some have gone beyond criticism of Israel into the entirely darker sphere of anti-Semitism.

But in addition to the anti-Semitism of political extremes there is also of course the anti-Semitic pulse from a minority in the Islamic world. President Ahmadinejad of Iran is the highest profile proponent but he is not alone. Sections of the Islamic media tolerate and on occasion advocate anti-Semitism.

This is then broadcast around the world. Indeed it can be argued that Europe which traditionally exported anti-Semitism, is now a net importer of it.

The most emblematic claim of this anti-Semitic source is that no Jews dies on 9/11 because no Jews reported for work that day, because the attacks were organised by Jews. But there are many brave Muslims who stand against this tyranny of stupidity. The work of the Political Council for Coexistence, founded by Prince Hassan of Jordan and Lord Janner, is important, but more can be done.

And that is why it is important that the Government passed the Racial and Religious Hatred Act in 2006 to make it an offence to use threatening words or behaviour with the intention of stirring up hatred against groups because of their religious belief or lack of religious belief. Christians and Muslims, for example, are therefore now afforded protection against those who seek to stir up hatred against them. The courts have ruled that Jews and Sikhs, amongst other groups, are covered by this definition and are therefore afforded protection under this law against those who seek to stir up hatred against them.

So we have read the lessons of the past but we have not learned them all. Rwanda proves that.

Man still seems capable of great inhumanity to man. I was recently in Sarajevo – a city whose very name should shame the international community. A city decimated by 44 months of an ethnic siege.

What the UK Government is doing

The UK Government is amongst the most acutely aware of its responsibility of perhaps any government in the world.

Not only is Her Majesty's Government providing some financing for the launch of this new think tank in the form of Department for Communities and Local Government's commission of work on anti-Semitic discourse, but we are fully committed to supporting this initiative. From our perspective, it is excellent that we will have an independent, London-based body to draw advice from.  Research and statistics on anti-Semitism in Europe, and racism more broadly, remains poor and we think there is real scope for this organisation to make a difference – including with the EU Fundamental Rights Agency, which has experienced difficulties dealing with anti-Semitism in the past as a result of having commissioned poor research.

Our commitment is absolute. That is the reason we welcomed the All Party Inquiry into Anti-Semitism and its important recommendations to the police, the Home Office, Government departments, schools and universities on steps to take to monitor anti-Semitism better and to reduce levels of abuse. In particular, the report calls for further research on the correlation between conflict in the Middle East and attacks on the Jewish Community.

This wider research is essential. We need to be much better at collecting statistics on anti-Semitic incidents throughout Europe. In the UK we carefully collect statistics on anti-Semitic incidents, unlike many other countries. Other European countries must now do the same. They promised to do so at the Berlin conference on anti-Semitism in 2004. They must make good on this promise and others contained in the Berlin Declaration. Sometimes the fact that the UK is so assiduous at collecting the statistics allows some people to come to the conclusion – malevolently or by mistake – that the situation is worse in the UK than in most countries.

Last week in New York I invited the city’s Jewish leadership for lunch, and many of them, and their media, had certainly come to that view. I hope that I was able to persuade them that the position in the UK is undoubtedly better than most, but we will never lose a moment to complacency.

The inquiry recommended that the FCO report to Parliament on far right activity and that it work to convince foreign governments to take action against anti-Semitic internet sites.  It asked the FCO to give full support to the work of the OSCE, the EU and the Council of Europe and to update MPs regularly on progress made in the UK in implementing the Berlin declaration. The report also suggested convening an international conference on anti-Semitism. I am pleased to confirm that the UK Government will jointly host the first ever international conference for parliamentarians from throughout the world. The conference will take place in February, and is organised jointly with the All Party Parliamentary Inquiry MPs.

But the All Party Report has even further potential and that is with an international audience.

Last week I was in the U.S. to launch a book on modern public diplomacy. The argument I made in the book was that traditional public diplomacy will always be necessary but is no longer sufficient. Our international policy priorities will be achieved by engagement with foreign governments but increasingly by interactions beyond government. The All Party Report can be exemplar of this modern public diplomacy. Non-government politicians engaging with politicians from all over the world persuading them to be more active against anti-semitism who in turn can persuade their governments more effectively probably than the British Government ever could expect to.

Of course education is the smartest investment we can ever make. That is why it is wonderful that all maintained schools in England have a statutory duty to promote community cohesion.

School linking is one way schools are promoting this - by giving children the skills, knowledge and opportunities to learn with, from and about those from different cultures, faiths and socio-economic backgrounds. To support schools in forming effective links the Government is providing £2m of funding, supported by £1m donation from the Pears Foundation, to roll out the Schools Linking Network’s successful work. The network will provide a new national website to allow schools to seek a linking partner online and hold resources and training materials. And there are pilot projects in 40 local authorities to facilitate school linking by providing support and training, including guidance, materials and training for local authority personnel, teachers and other staff embarking on a linking project.

But there are also the wider educational opportunities. The visits to Auschwitz Birkenau organised by Holocaust Education Trust and funded in part by the British Government. I have helped organise these visits from Scotland. Boisterous teenagers board the flight reading celebrity magazine and gossiping about their weekend plans. Twelve hours later they board the flight home changed. Many describe it as the most important day of their young lives. One of the visits I organised involved a group of young Muslim men. They were humbled and said that some of their friends had told them it was all exaggerated. They vowed never again would they allow that lie to be told.

And in addition to the continued support for the "Lessons from Auschwitz" project, we have committed to match fund the £250,000 per annum provided by The Pears Foundation "to ensure that teachers are adequately equipped with the training and resources to deliver Holocaust education in schools."  This commitment is for 3 years.

So everyday education is more important with every day that passes since the events of the Shoah. But education is not enough. It undermines any mass movement based on anti-Semitism. But we all need to always remember that some of the most visceral anti-Semites are also amongst the most educated.

All good people had expected that anti-semitism which reached its catastrophic nadir at the “Arbeit macht frei” gates would also end there. After all how could a sentiment that led to such industrialised mass murder survive?  But in truth anti-Semitism in word or action still scars the globalised world on a daily basis.

In a globalised world, the pace of political, cultural and technological globalisation is unprecedented. But if anything the pace of these phenomenons will quicken further. So the internet provides an unprecedented means of instantaneous worldwide exchange of the latest supposed proof of a Jewish conspiracy.

But it also provides us with international opportunities which we should continue to exploit. Tonight and the launch of the Institute can be a landmark in Europe’s efforts to challenge anti-Semitism and I am proud to be with you this evening.

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