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Terrorism and Community Relations

: Absolutely. My hon. Friend makes an extremely important point, which deserves wide circulation. If Islamophobic attacks are happening they must be dealt with very severely, but I do not feel that that is the general picture. Others may take a different view, but that is my feeling. However, the Committee heard a lot of evidence in the same vein as that from Mr. Gable about attacks on members of the Jewish community. That included worrying evidence about the problem of anti-Semitism on university campuses. We also heard quite a lot of worrying evidence of problems with anti-Semitism in other European countries. Our concerns are reflected in the report's conclusions. In paragraph 9, we express concerns about anti-Semitic incidents on campuses. I welcome the Government's response to that point and the fact that they deplore anti-Semitism on campuses. I ask the Minister to take a personal interest in the initiatives being undertaken by Universities UK, which the Government's response mentions, to ensure that they come to fruition. There is certainly no place for any form of racism or anti-Semitism on our university campuses. While I am welcoming parts of the Government's response, I warmly welcome their commitment to the continuation of holocaust memorial day, and their recognition that the day reinforces the message that racism and prejudice can have catastrophic consequences, and that there are still important lessons to be learned. Since our evidence-taking and our report it has, sadly, become evident that the problems that I described are still with us; in fact, more evidence of them has emerged. I have already referred to the Community Security Trust, which, as hon. Members will know, was established by the Jewish community. Today it is a well-respected organisation that gives advice and help to organisations in other communities. Sadly, last year it recorded 532 anti-Semitic incidents; that is a 42 per cent. rise since 2003. When I say ““incidents””, I am referring to specific incidents, many of which included violence and damage. The Community Security Trust recorded that of those 532 incidents, 124 showed anti-Israel or anti-Zionist motivation, and 84 showed a far-right motivation. In this country there are two strands of anti-Semitism at work, as we have found is also the case in other European countries. One strand draws political inspiration from events in the middle east, and is in many cases fuelled by propaganda emanating from the middle east. The other is a form of anti-Semitism that harks back to the extremism and far-right fascist ideology of the last century. Both of them are to be deplored, and certainly need to be dealt with vigorously; the full force of the law should be applied to them. I am aware of at least three very unpleasant attacks on Jewish cemeteries so far this year in different parts of the country. These problems are still with us, and we still need to address them. There are no grounds for complacency about the tensions and problems that affect any of the communities in Britain today. I go back to the point on which I started: we should not allow ourselves to become too gloomy or despondent about this subject. There is a lot of vibrancy in this country, and much of it is due to the different cultures in Britain. I understand that while we are debating these issues, Diwali celebrations are taking place in another part of the House. Diwali is an event of great richness, and I draw much pleasure from attending Diwali and other celebrations, which are very colourful, with members of the Hindu community in my constituency. There is a great deal to learn from the Hindu community and others; we can learn from different faiths and cultures. That is a richness on which we can all draw, and which we can all share. Although there are tensions, this is a tolerant country. We have a strong tradition of religious and cultural tolerance stretching back to at least the 19th century. People in this country enjoy drawing on that rich tradition. Let us hope that it will continue to prevail over the problems of today, as it did over problems that we encountered in the past.