British Prime Minister David Cameron
pledged millions of dollars in new funds to Jewish schools and synagogues to be
used for security.
Cameron,
speaking Wednesday at the annual dinner of the Community Security Trust,
Britain’s Jewish security watchdog group, pledged about $14.9 million in new
money for security “this year and every year, for as long as necessary.”
The
money is to pay for guards and other security measures for private Jewish
schools and for synagogue security, as well as for a control center for the
operations of the Community Security Trust.
Jewish
state schools already receive about $3 million in funds for security.
Cameron
in his speech praised
the Jewish community for its “enormous” contribution to Britain, and vowed that
his government would give “everything we have got” to protect Jews.
“If
the Jewish community does not feel secure then our whole national fabric is
diminished. It is not just about the enormous contribution you all make to our
society — it is more profound than that. It is a measure of the vigor of
our institutions and the health of our democracy that the Jewish community
feels safe to live and flourish here,” he said.
“At
a time when once again the Jewish communities of Europe feel vulnerable and
when antisemitism is at record levels here in Britain I will not stand by,” Cameron
added.
Cameron
also congratulated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on his reelection, saying,
“With me you will always have a British prime minister whose belief in Israel
is unbreakable and whose commitment to Israel’s security will always be rock
solid.”
