LibDempositive

8/9/2019 LibDempositive

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/libdempositive 1/5

A lot of people in Hendon are contacting me to say that they are voting Liberal

Democrat this time, including many people in our community. With all the publicity

that my party has received over the less positive aspects of its relationship with the

Anglo-Jewish community, here is a list of some rather more positive achievements

1. Nick Clegg opposes UK participation in anti-Semitic UN conference

In March 2009, Nick Clegg became the only party leader to call on the UK

Government to boycott the next month’s Durban II Conference. The first Durban

Conference in 2001 heard a large amount of anti-Semitic speeches and statements and

there was no reason to believe that the 2009 conference, taking place in Geneva,

would be different. The US, Australia, Germany, Canada, Israel, Italy, the

Netherlands and New Zealand all boycotted the conference in advance, but the UK

sent a delegation. On 20 April 2009, Nick Clegg said: “Alarm bells in Downing

Street should have started ringing when it was announced that President Ahmadinejad

was to address the conference.

“The previous anti-racism conference in Durban descended into the most horrific anti-

Semitic and one-sided rant against Israel. The resulting open expressions of racism

undermined the very goals the conference sought to achieve. Countries like the USA,

Australia, Germany and the Netherlands have all sensibly stayed away from Geneva,

and we should have too. Following President Ahmadinejad’s crass and unfair speech

this morning, Gordon Brown should send a signal that this deplorable anti-Semitism

is never acceptable and recall our delegation.”

In his 2009 address to the conference, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

accused Israel of being racist and created on the “pretext of Jewish suffering” from

the Second World War.

2. Nick Clegg gives annual lecture to the European Institute for the Study of

Contemporary Anti-Semitism (EISCA)

On 15 June 2009, Nick Clegg spoke out about how to combat the rise in anti-Semitic

attacks in the EISCA annual lecture at Parliament. EISCA’s advisory board includes

Liberal Democrats Fiyaz Mughal (a columnist for Jewish News) and Lord Dholakia (a

former party president). The Times reported on the content of his speech at:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article6498148.ece

In an article in the Jewish Chronicle on 11 June 2009 to accompany his lecture, Nick

wrote that the BNP’s success is due to public anger, not to proportional

representation.

He said that: “…while voting for the Far Right would have been unthinkable for many

people just a matter of months ago, it is now a seemingly acceptable, seemingly

rational choice...So, with greater urgency than ever, it is up to mainstream politicians

to drain the deepening swamp of support manipulated by dangerous fringe parties.

Central to that is a fundamental clean-up of our political system; one which regains

the trust of the British people and which hands back power.



5. Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary Chris Huhne condemned the

significant rise in anti-Semitic attacks as reported by the Community Security Trust

(CST) in July 2009. Mr Huhne has been among the most prominent British

politicians in the fight against anti-Semitism, having been a member of the All-PartyParliamentary Committee Against Anti-Semitism that reported in 2006.

Chris Huhne said: "Britain is setting a shameful new record in anti-Semitic incidents

this year, which are running at double the annual rate of the previous record. It is

completely abhorrent that anyone should be intimidated on the grounds of their race,

colour, gender, sexuality or creed. We must stand firm against intolerance shown to

any minority if we are to preserve a civilised society. It is absurd that home-grown

bigots should hold British Jews responsible for the actions of a foreign government.

We cannot have overseas conflicts echoed on Britain's streets."

6. Chris Huhne’s speech at launch of Jewish anti-BNP campaign

On 30 April 2009, Chris Huhne was among the speakers at the Young Jewish Political

Network’s launch of the “Your Voice or Theirs” campaign. The campaign aimed to

maximise turnout in June’s local and European elections, to make it harder for the far-

right British National Party (BNP) to win many seats. The campaign is credited with

helping to prevent the election of more than two BNP MEPs, with none being elected

from London. At the launch event, Mr Huhne made a well-received speech and

participated in a lengthy debate and question-and-answer session; I was present,

having helped arrange for Mr Huhne to be there.

7. Lib Dem Shadow Foreign Secretary visits Israel

Ed Davey, Liberal Democrat Shadow Foreign Secretary, wrote the following article

for Jewish News after his 2008 fact-finding visit, on which he was briefed by a range

of senior Israeli figures: http://www.totallyjewish.com/news/special_reports/?

content_id=10747

8. Lib Dem policy on faith schools

At its Spring Conference in March 2009, the party voted in favour of allowing state-

funded faith schools to continue selecting pupils by faith. The Conference rejected

calls to ban new state faith schools. Welcoming the vote, Jon Benjamin, Chief

Executive of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, told the Jewish Chronicle: “It is

significant that, following a full debate and significant lobbying by those who want to

undermine the essential nature of faith schools, the Liberal Democrats have

nevertheless voted to support parents’ rights to choose.” The BBC’s report of the

debate (in which I spoke) can be found here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7930628.stm

9. Liberal Democrat Policy on Middle East



Liberal Democrats have always been committed to Israel’s right to thrive in peace and

security, alongside a viable Palestinian state, as part of a negotiated two-state solution.

If you want to know what my party thinks re:- foreign policy, then here is the most

recent party conference speech of our Shadow Foreign Secretary, Ed Davey:

http://www.libdems.org.uk/news_detail.aspx?title=Speech

%3A_Edward_Davey_delivers_his_speech_to_Liberal_Democrat_Conference&pPK

=98180c8e-0a03-4cc1-8a83-7e2769bd086e

10. Liberal Democrat opposition to the academic boycott of Israel

The Liberal Democrats have been steadfastly opposed to all calls for an academic

boycott of Israel. Alone among the three main British parties, the Liberal Democrats

passed a party conference motion (written by me, and passed overwhelmingly)

condemning the boycott, as reported by the Jerusalem Post on 17 September 2007:

http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=75518

11. Sarah Ludford MEP re-elected to European Parliament

Sarah Ludford, one of Israel’s most consistent friends in the European Parliament,

was re-elected as the Lib Dem MEP for London in June’s European election. Sarah,

who in 2007 received an award from the Israeli Ambassador for supporting Israel, has

always been a prominent voice on issues of concern to the Jewish community. Her

website reports many instances of this, including this example:

http://www.sarahludfordmep.org.uk/news/001164/antisemitism_calls_for_vigorous_r

efutation_as_well_as_prosecution.html

12. Tom Brake MP at launch of “Towards a London Jewish Manifesto”

Tom Brake MP, the Lib Dems’ spokesperson on London, spoke at the all-party launch

of the London Jewish Forum’s “Towards a London Jewish Manifesto” at City Hall on

Wednesday 8 July 2009. In his speech, Mr Brake referred to rising anti-Semitism,

committing the party to fight racism and hate crime.

13. Liberal Democrat Friends of Israel

Liberal Democrat Friends of Israel (LDFI) is a group of party members committed to

voicing Israel’s side of the argument in all Lib Dem debates. Led by its president, the

former Lib Dem Deputy Leader the Right Honourable Sir Alan Beith MP, LDFI

campaigns for the party’s policy of a two-state solution that would allow Israel to

thrive in peace and security alongside a viable Palestinian state. LDFI members’

activities include writing for party publications, speaking in party conference debates,

and proposing their own motions and amendments for such debates. LDFI also meets

often with Lib Dem parliamentarians, including the party leadership. At each year’s

party conference, LDFI runs a well-attended fringe meeting and a week-long stallgiving out information about Israel. LDFI also advises the Lib Dem leadership on



issues of domestic Jewish concern, including anti-Semitism, faith schools and

shechita (Jewish religious slaughter of animals for meat; the Liberal Democrats have

always supported British Jews' right to shechitah).

LibDempositive

Documents

Transcript of LibDempositive