Government stepping up action to tackle anti-Semitism » Communities » 24dash.com

Action to tackle anti-Semitism in communities is being stepped up, Cohesion Minister Parmjit Dhanda said today.

The announcement coincides with the publication of the Government's one year on response to the All Party Parliamentary Inquiry into anti-Semitism.

In March 2007 Government responded to the All Party Parliamentary Inquiry into anti-Semitism report and undertook to report back to Parliament on progress in implementing its recommendations.

These actions included measures to improve the recording and reporting of anti-Semitic incidents; increasing the effectiveness of the criminal justice system in prosecuting hate crimes, promoting community cohesion and shared values; the creation of a cross government working task group and an increase in the work being done by schools on this issue.

The Government says it has made significant progress against the 35 recommendations made by the All Party Parliamentary Inquiry's constructive and comprehensive report, including:

• The Crown Prosecution Service's comprehensive review on the low number of antisemitic prosecutions and the subsequent commitment to develop an Action Plan, which sets out the work needed to build on the progress that has already been achieved.
• Ensuring that by April 2009 all police forces will collect data on all hate crime, including anti-Semitism.
• Agreeing that local authorities can use their devolved capital funding for investment in security at schools where this is a priority.
• Funding the European Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism (EISCA) to research the impact of antisemitic discourse.
• The launch of the Race for Justice Declaration - a cross-government strategy which aims to combat all forms of hate crime.
• A commitment to significantly increase the level of annual core funding provided to the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust for each of the next three years.

Cohesion Minister Parmjit Dhanda said: "We have made good progress against the recommendations but there is no room for complacency. We will continue to take practical, effective action to stamp out antisemitism whenever and wherever it occurs.

"We are committed to increasing the number of hate crimes brought to prosecution, tackling anti-Semitism on university campuses, and challenging hate crime and extremism on the internet.

"We have agreed to continue our support of the cross-departmental and Jewish stakeholder working group and will report back to parliament on further progress in 2010.

"I am delighted with the progress we have made and I' am very grateful to the APPG for initiating this important work."

John Mann MP, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group against anti-Semitism said: "I am delighted to see that real progress has been made over the past 12 months.

"The purpose of the Inquiry our group commissioned was to engage government and civil society as partners in the struggle against prejudice and discrimination and this report shows that we are advancing towards where we need to be with particularly good news relating to prosecutions, policing and international cooperation.

"Parliament will continue to watch with interest as these recommendations and innovations are implemented, especially in the most pressing spheres like antisemitism on campus.

"There is no room for complacency in this essential endeavour - we look to government and civil society to sustain this encouraging effort and anticipate government's next progress report by 2010."