Board of Deputies Community Briefing 23rd January 2020 copy

and Dawn Butler still think that they know better
than the Jewish community how to fight this vile
prejudice. No other minority would be treated in this
way, and
There has been wide coverage in the media,
including reports in The Times, Daily Mirror, The
Independent and Mail Online.
Condemnation for 'inherently offensive' teaching
materials
Board of Deputies Vice President Edwin Shuker has condemned the pro-Iranian Islamic Human Rights
Commission, which has circulated teaching materials which compares the actions of the Israeli government
to that of the Nazis, timed to coincide next week's Holocaust Memorial Day.
Edwin said: The fact that these malicious and offensive materials were distributed to schools is rightly
concerning. So-called ‘Genocide Memorial Day’ is inherently offensive - it is a brazen attempt to undermine
Holocaust Memorial Day and minimise Jewish suffering in the Holocaust.
“Both the cynical timing of the event on the third Sunday in January and the antisemitic comparisons
between Nazi crimes and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict demonstrate the ulterior motives of ‘Genocide
Memorial Day’.
“Given the history of the Islamic Human Rights Commission, which organises the annual hate fest called Al
Quds Day, their atrocious behaviour is unsurprising, but we would hope that other organisations would be
conscious of the pernicious nature of this organisation.
“When we discovered this, the Board of Deputies complained to the Times Educational Supplement
website who had carried the resource. We are grateful that they have now removed it. We sincerely hope
that no schools will use the malicious IHRC resource.
“Ahead of Holocaust Memorial Day this year, we would instead direct them to the Holocaust Memorial Day
Trust to provide educational materials.”
Read the JC report here.
Board of Deputies leads communal delegation to meet
Brexit Secretary
The Board of Deputies this week led a communal delegation to meet Steve Barclay, the Secretary of State
for Exiting the European Union.
The group held a positive and constructive conversation about kosher meat, UK-Israel trade, sanctions on
terrorist organisations, workforce supply to the security and social care sectors, and ensuring that the UK
retains its reputation as an inclusive society after Brexit.
Following the meeting, Board of Deputies Vice President Amanda Bowman said: “We were very pleased to
meet the Secretary of State to discuss the key issues arising for the Jewish community from Brexit.
Representatives from the Board of Deputies, Jewish Leadership Council and Shechita UK were able to
thank Mr Barclay for the Government’s action on a range of issues and ask for additional work on a few
additional matters leading up to and following Brexit. We were very pleased to hear of the Brexit Secretary’s
strong commitment to working with us to realise the opportunities and eliminate the challenges posed by
Brexit.”
Mr Barclay tweeted: “Positive meeting with @BoardofDeputies with Gillian Merron, and @jlc_uk today. We
look forward to working with the Jewish community to make Brexit a success for all parts of our country.”
Read a full report here.