Board of Deputies President Marie van der Zyl has released the following statement on the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
She said: “We are relieved to see that the ceasefire agreed between Israel and Hamas appears to be holding. As a community, we long for an end to bloodshed and for a lasting peace. Our thoughts are with all innocent people who have been killed or injured in the fighting.
“Over the last couple of weeks, Hamas has once again shown the danger it poses to regional and international security, inciting violence and launching thousands of rockets at Israeli civilians from the midst of civilian areas in Gaza.
“Yesterday, in meetings with the political leadership here in the UK, we called on both the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary to proscribe Hamas in full in this country.
“We have been alarmed to see the growth of vicious antisemitism here in the UK, with incidents of assault, a car ramming, calls for the rape of Jewish women, violence and threats at demonstrations, abuse of Jewish teachers, a tsunami of online abuse and damage to synagogues and other Jewish property and symbols. We saw similar scenes in other countries.
“This is simply unacceptable.
“We have been grateful for the support shown by the Government and Opposition, by many faith leaders and by the police, and we pay particular tribute to the tireless work of the Community Security Trust. Going forward we will redouble our efforts to challenge prejudice, improve education and build relationships to support community cohesion.”