Conservative Party Leader Kemi Badenoch warns that “rewarding terrorists overseas emboldens extremists on our own soil”.

Conservative Party Leader Rt. Hon. Kemi Badenoch MP has warned that “rewarding terrorists overseas emboldens the extremists who are on our own soil”, as she addressed a Chanukah reception hosted by CFI Honorary President Lord Polak CBE in the House of Lords on Monday.

The event was attended by over 60 guests and Conservative parliamentarians, including Israel’s Chargé d’Affaires to the UK, Daniela Grudsky-Ekstein.

The Leader of the Opposition noted that Jewish families in Britain were once again marking Chanukah “with heavy hearts” following the terror attack in Bondi Beach. 

She described the “heartbreaking scenes from Sydney” where people were murdered “simply for being Jewish.” “These were targeted attacks. They were driven by that same ancient hatred that has resurfaced with frightening confidence in too many parts of the world,” she said. The Conservative Leader underlined that “here at home we know that pain too. The attack at Heaton Park in Manchester was an act of terror and it brought fear and anguish to a community that is already living with a disturbing rise in antisemitism.”

She pledged that, under her leadership, the Conservative Party would treat the threat of antisemitism “with the seriousness that it deserves – and that means action.” She stressed that expressions of solidarity alone were insufficient, arguing that “political leaders must have the courage and the moral conviction to do what is necessary to keep us all safe.”