{"id":62938,"date":"2015-10-16T09:54:55","date_gmt":"2015-10-16T09:54:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=151d6b89e4a0263d1c35fbdd52a04b76"},"modified":"2015-10-16T09:54:55","modified_gmt":"2015-10-16T09:54:55","slug":"speech-supporting-business-and-fighting-anti-semitism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=62938","title":{"rendered":"Speech: Supporting business and fighting anti-Semitism"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

At events like this, guest speakers traditionally kick things off by saying how delighted they are to have been invited, how it\u2019s a real pleasure to be here and so on. <\/p>\n

But I\u2019m not sure I can do that today. <\/p>\n

In fact I\u2019d go so far as to say I don\u2019t want to be here at all.<\/p>\n

Not because I don\u2019t like the company \u2013 Gerald Ronson and Lord Young make great table-mates! <\/p>\n

And it\u2019s not because I don\u2019t like the catering. <\/p>\n

In fact it\u2019s great to be invited to a formal lunch and be 100% sure that the menu won\u2019t include pork!<\/p>\n

No, the reason I don\u2019t want to be here is because the very fact that this fundraiser is taking place proves the Community Security Trust<\/a> (CST<\/abbr>) is still necessary. <\/p>\n

That violent hatred towards Jews is still a very real problem. <\/p>\n

That members of one of our oldest and most established religious minorities simply don\u2019t feel safe walking the streets of 21st century Britain.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know about you, but I find that both absolutely outrageous and extremely depressing. <\/p>\n

The first duty of any state is to protect its citizens, and if you don\u2019t feel you can go about your business without being at risk of attack, then successive governments have, quite simply, failed you.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s high time that change, which is why, in March, the Prime Minister promised more than \u00a310 million<\/a> to improve security at synagogues and Jewish schools across the country. <\/p>\n

And I was very pleased to see him pledge a further \u00a31.5 million towards the cost of enhancing security at community buildings. <\/p>\n

This includes new digital CCTV<\/abbr> systems that will feed directly into the CST<\/abbr>\u2019s state-of-the-art control room, enhancing their ability to respond quickly to threats.<\/p>\n

But increased security can only do so much. <\/p>\n

Fences and cameras and guards and patrols can help prevent violence and intimidation. And they can make it easier to identify, apprehend and punish the perpetrators. <\/p>\n

But, like I said, this shouldn\u2019t be necessary. In 2015, Britain\u2019s Jews shouldn\u2019t have to hide away behind high walls in order to feel safe. That they do, comes down to a problem that no amount of physical security can tackle.<\/p>\n

The fact that anti-Semitism has been allowed to become an established part of modern British life.<\/p>\n

Now, I\u2019m no stranger to prejudice. I grew up in the 1970s, when looking like I do and having a name like Sajid pretty much guaranteed a certain level of abuse. <\/p>\n

I\u2019ve encountered racists throughout my working life, both in business and in politics. And if you have a look online you\u2019ll find no shortage of people saying that because my parents were born in Pakistan, I must be some kind of Homeland-style Al-Qaeda sleeper agent!<\/p>\n

Of course, a similar number of people are just as convinced that I\u2019m an \u201cUncle Tom\u201d Zionist lapdog and a traitor to Islam!<\/p>\n

I take some solace from the fact that one side must be wrong!<\/p>\n

So I know how it feels to be on the receiving end of hatred.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s one big difference between what I\u2019ve experienced in the past, and what British and European Jews are facing today. Acceptability.<\/p>\n

Last month I spoke at the Holocaust Educational Trust\u2019s annual dinner, some of you may have been there. I talked about how, in modern Britain, anti-Semitism has many faces. Some explicit, like hate preachers and far-right groups. Some more oblique, like the Holocaust deniers or those who glibly equate modern politicians with the Nazis. <\/p>\n

And then there was the third group, the \u201cdinner party anti-Semites\u201d. The nice, respectable middle-class liberals who say they abhor prejudice of any kind, but are more than happy to tolerate, ignore or even indulge in anti-Jewish behaviour. <\/p>\n

I found the reaction to the speech quite interesting. Because on the night quite a few people popped up on the internet to say \u201cdon\u2019t be silly Sajid, of course that\u2019s not a thing. I go to lots of dinner parties and nobody ever abuses Jewish people.\u201d <\/p>\n

But then, in the days that followed, came a second wave of comment, from Britain\u2019s Jews. And it was almost unanimous in saying \u201cfinally, someone\u2019s put a name to what I\u2019ve been experiencing for years\u201d. <\/p>\n

Which rather proves my point. When I talk about dinner party anti-Semites, I\u2019m talking about people who would never dream of telling a Muslim that Islamophobia wasn\u2019t real. Who would be horrified if a man told a woman that sexism no longer existed. Who would, quite rightly, cry foul if a straight politician claimed that homophobia had been eradicated from society. <\/p>\n

But they don\u2019t just indulge in anti-Semitism, they deny that it\u2019s a problem. It\u2019s become such a normalised, accepted part of life that they\u2019ve become blind to its existence. <\/p>\n

The people I\u2019m talking about aren\u2019t going to be going around daubing \u201cJews Out\u201d on bus stops across London. They\u2019re not going to be smashing headstones in Jewish cemeteries, or slashing tyres in a synagogue car park.<\/p>\n

But in many ways they\u2019re just as responsible as the criminals who do. Because they create the climate in which such behaviour becomes the norm. In which people find it easy to look the other way.<\/p>\n

In which the kind of bile recorded in the CST<\/abbr>\u2019s Anti-Semitic Discourse Report<\/a> is dismissed as the complaints of over-sensitive, moaning Jews.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not acceptable, yet somehow it has become accepted. <\/p>\n

That\u2019s why I spoke out against anti-Semitism last month. That\u2019s why I\u2019m speaking out against it today (15 October 2015). And that\u2019s why I\u2019ll continue to speak out against anti-Semitism until Britain wakes up to this noxious weed that has taken root. <\/p>\n

I applaud the work of the CST<\/abbr>, but I don\u2019t want it to be necessary. I don\u2019t want to have to talk about funding for fences and cameras and security guards. <\/p>\n

I\u2019m the Secretary of State for Business \u2013 I want to be able to stand up in front of an audience of Jewish business leaders and talk about business. So that\u2019s exactly what I\u2019m going to turn to now.<\/p>\n

About the contribution that you make to the economy, and what the government is doing to support you. And, make no mistake, you have this government\u2019s support. <\/p>\n

Because, whether it\u2019s a multi-national corporation based in Canary Wharf, or a one-man start-up based at the kitchen table, business is a force for good. <\/p>\n

From providing the dignity of work and the security of a wage, to creating the prosperity that allows our nation to grow, nothing raises standards of living like free enterprise and competitive markets. <\/p>\n

From the family shop in Bristol to the trading floors of Singapore, I\u2019ve lived my whole life in, around, even above businesses of all shapes and sizes.<\/p>\n

I know all too well how the family mood can change with a day\u2019s takings. I\u2019ve seen for myself how companies need finance to realise their potential. I know how hard it can be to set up and to succeed in business. But I know that all of society benefits when someone take the courageous decision to strike out and start their own business. <\/p>\n

That\u2019s why I\u2019m unashamedly pro-business, and that\u2019s why I want to make Britain the best place in the world to start and grow a company. <\/p>\n

Not by picking winners or dictating strategy to private industries. But by listening to business leaders and giving them the support they need.<\/p>\n

With an Enterprise Bill that makes it easier to do business. With a bonfire of the red tape that stifles expansion. With a relentless focus on boosting productivity. And with international trade agreements that allow British companies of all sizes to export to markets near and far.<\/p>\n

This room is filled with seriously successful businessmen and women. I worked in banking long enough to know that if you\u2019ve reached the top of finance or real estate in London, you\u2019ve reached the top full stop! <\/p>\n

You know what it takes to be the best. You know how many obstacles you have to overcome. And you know the scale of the challenge that British businesses faced just over 5 years ago.<\/p>\n

The worst recession in almost a century. The biggest budget deficit since the Second World War. The world\u2019s largest bank bailout. A nation saddled with debt and an economy struggling to grow. <\/p>\n

When we came to power, we knew that Britain couldn\u2019t have a sustainable recovery without a thriving private sector. And that\u2019s why we\u2019ve been working tirelessly to support business leaders like you. <\/p>\n

We\u2019ve cut red tape and regulation, giving you the flexibility and freedom to run your companies the way you want to run them. We\u2019ve cut corporation tax, so you can invest more of your profits in continued success. We\u2019ve introduced a new employer National Insurance Contribution (NIC<\/abbr>) allowance, lifting 450,000 employers out of NICs<\/abbr> altogether. And we\u2019ve created a \u00a31.2 billion package to put a 2% cap on increases in your business rates. <\/p>\n

British Business Bank programmes are already supporting \u00a32.3 billion of finance to 40,000 smaller businesses. The Start-Up Loans programme has provided entrepreneurs with more than 30,000 loans worth well over \u00a3155 million. And UK Trade and Investment (UKTI<\/abbr>) is helping you access new markets overseas.<\/p>\n

The results? Employment is up, to record levels. Inflation is down. And the British economy is growing faster than any of our major rivals. <\/p>\n

But we\u2019re not about to put up our feet and say \u201cjob done\u201d. <\/p>\n

I know that times are still challenging that uncertainty and unpredictability still plague businesses of all shapes and sizes. There\u2019s still plenty more we can do as a government. <\/p>\n

So from next April (2016) we\u2019re abolishing employer national insurance contributions on apprentices under the age of 25. In January (2016) we\u2019ll permanently increase the Annual Investment Allowance. Not just doubling it, or event trebling it, but raising it by massive 700%, so you can spend more on the equipment you need to expand. We\u2019re rolling out Growth Hubs across the country, helping you access support where and when you need it most.<\/p>\n

And then there\u2019s the Enterprise Bill, which started its passage through Parliament last month. It will make further cuts to red tape, reform business rates, make it easier for small businesses to resolve disputes, and it will reward entrepreneurship, offering people opportunity at every stage of their lives.<\/p>\n

In short, this is a government that stands behind you, not in your way. There are some politicians who look at finance and real estate and see a problem to be tackled. Who look at business leaders at the top of their game and think \u201cthey must have done something wrong\u201d. <\/p>\n

You may not be surprised to hear that I\u2019m not one of those politicians! <\/p>\n

If you start from nothing and build something that provides employment and security for tens, hundreds, thousands of people you should be applauded, not condemned.<\/p>\n

If you create jobs, if you create wealth, you\u2019re not a class traitor or a parasite or an enemy of the people. You\u2019re a force for good.<\/p>\n

Simply by being successful in business you\u2019re already making a positive contribution to society. And by supporting the Community Security Trust you\u2019re taking that contribution to the next level, setting an example for business leaders across the country. <\/p>\n

So let me say thank you. Thank you for doing so much to drive the economic recovery. Thank you for creating jobs, taking on apprentices, delivering the growth that benefits us all. And above all, thank you for supporting the CST<\/abbr>.<\/p>\n

I know for a fact that, as long as the Trust\u2019s work is necessary, it will have generous friends in the world of business. And let me be very clear that, as long as the fight against anti-Semitism continues, you will also have a friend in me. <\/p>\n

Thank you.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sajid Javid talks about the work of the Community Security Trust and the government\u2019s support for business.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62938"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=62938"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62938\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=62938"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=62938"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=62938"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}