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New Forest East

LEVELLING UP, HOUSING AND COMMUNITIES – COMBINED RALLY AGAINST ISLAMOPHOBIA AND ANTISEMITISM - 04 December 2023

LEVELLING UP, HOUSING AND COMMUNITIES – COMBINED RALLY AGAINST ISLAMOPHOBIA AND ANTISEMITISM - 04 December 2023

Sir Julian Lewis: I thank the Secretary of State for his robust answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Brigg and Goole (Andrew Percy). Does he agree that the sight this weekend of bereaved family members from both the Muslim and Jewish communities joining together in a combined rally against Islamophobia and antisemitism was an inspiring sight that we should all hold in our hearts and honour? Does that not serve as a lesson to those people from one community or the other who preached hatred against others who are in fact innocent victims?

[The Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (Michael Gove): My right hon. Friend is absolutely correct. All of us approach any conflict with a sense of horror and foreboding for what it may mean for innocent civilians, and it is in that spirit that the vigil that he mentions was held. It was great to see people from across communities expressing solidarity. I had the opportunity last week to talk to leaders from various Muslim community groups across the United Kingdom, and I pay tribute to them for their work in challenging extremism of all kinds.]