The response to our campaign for antisemitism education over the last few weeks has been extraordinary — thank you so much to every single one of you who has signed, shared, and written to your MP.
Please keep the pressure on:
✉️ Write to your MP using the template below if you haven't already — MPs are already receiving emails from constituents and it is working. Once you do this let me know at jonathancampaigns1@gmail.com
🏛️ Ask your MP to sign Early Day Motion 179 in support of mandatory antisemitism education in schools.
📲 Keep sharing the petition with friends, family, and on social media. Every signature counts; if every person who has signed it shared it with one other person, we could gain 80,000 signatures.
We now have almost 40,000 signatures, and the campaign is gaining real traction.
Since my last update, I have appeared on Good Morning Britain to discuss the campaign and why education is key to tackling antisemitism. You can watch that here. The campaign has also been featured in The Jewish Chronicle. These come alongside recent coverage in The Independent and my op-ed in Jewish News, helping bring this issue to a national audience.
This is just the beginning. The campaign is continuing to gather momentum, and there is much more to come 👀
The government must act. Antisemitism cannot become normalised. Education can change this.
TEMPLATE LETTER:
Dear (insert MP’s name),
I am writing to you because I believe that education about antisemitism should be made mandatory in schools.
A Jewish student, Jonathan Frisher, has started a petition in support of this cause, which has now gained almost 40,000 signatures. You can see the petition here: https://chng.it/DCLzkHZLkH
I also ask that you sign Early Day Motion 179, tabled by Connor Naismith MP, which congratulates Jonathan on his campaign and calls on the Government to give due consideration to the concerns raised in the petition.
Jonathan states: "At the synagogue I go to, the Rabbi asked the youth group how many of us had experienced antisemitism. Every single person put their hand up. Every single one of us has been discriminated against purely because we are Jewish."
Thousands of Jewish students across the country have had the same experiences of being discriminated against because of their religion and background, and it is time for the government to act. The recent attacks targeting the Jewish community show the worrying persistence of antisemitism, and the UK government should take a lead in combating anti-Jewish discrimination through education.
Jewish people make up 0.5% of the population, but are 9 more likely to be victims of hate crime than any other faith group per capita. By implementing compulsory education about antisemitism in schools, it would teach a generation of students about anti-Jewish discrimination and help ensure that it is rooted out of our country.
Whilst it is important to recognise that Holocaust education is mandatory, this does not go far enough. If this was enough, why do antisemitic incidents remain at record levels? The reality is that current education is not sufficiently tackling contemporary antisemitism, and the Government must take further action.
Importantly, this would not be a costly or radical change to the education system. The proposal is simply for a lesson on contemporary antisemitism to be incorporated into existing teaching, providing students with a greater understanding of anti-Jewish prejudice and helping to challenge misconceptions before they become entrenched.
As my local representative in Parliament, you have the power to call for change and give light to this campaign. Please use your voice to support efforts to introduce mandatory education about antisemitism in schools by raising this with ministers, and sign EDM 179 to demonstrate your support for the growing number of people calling for action.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely,
(Insert your name)