Board of Deputies and Belfast community launch #TenCommitments for Northern Ireland election

The Northern Ireland Assembly Elections take place next Thursday, March 2 and the Board of Deputies, supported by the Belfast Jewish community, has produced a manifesto featuring #TenCommitments which we are asking politicians to sign up to.

Northern Ireland going to the polls twice in under a year may seem remote from the political concerns of the UK Jewish community but the issues raised by the Jewish community manifesto point to concerns shared by the community as a whole.

There has been an upsurge of antisemitism in Northern Ireland in recent times. There was an attack on the disused Jewish section of Belfast’s City Cemetery towards the end of last year and last week the community raised the alarm following “vile and hateful” on-line antisemitic abuse directed against its Facebook page.

The manifesto points to the way extremist comment and actions on conflict in the Middle East can fan such abuse. One of Northern Ireland’s leading councils is currently investigating if there are legal ways to implement a discriminatory boycott resolution against Israel.