Responding to turmoil in Parliament yesterday, Theresa Villiers MP has expressed deep concerns about the security threats to MPs and to the Jewish community. She said in the House of Commons this morning:
“The most worrying thing about yesterday is that Members were being intimidated for what they say and how they vote, because of fears about their physical safety and that of their staff and family.
Added to that, we have a climate of hard-line support that has seen antisemitism on the streets of our capital city. My constituents from the Jewish community feel intimidated about coming into the centre of London, so may we have a debate on how to address this intolerable situation? We cannot go on like this.”
The Chipping Barnet MP has made a series of interventions in Parliament over recent weeks condemning antisemitism and supporting the right of Israel to defend itself.
Speaking after this morning’s debate, she said “I am hugely worried about the antisemitic displays at recent mass protests. That includes the projection last night on to Parliament of the genocidal slogan ‘from the river to the sea’.”
“No one should have to hide who they are to protect their own safety. The police must use the full force of the law against perpetrators of anti-Jewish hate crime. Enough is enough.”
Ms Villiers took part in last night’s debate on Gaza, rejecting calls by Labour and the SNP for an immediate unilateral ceasefire. In her speech she said:
“Every single one of us in the Chamber wants the fighting to stop and the conflict to come to an end. The loss of civilian life is always a tragedy, no matter the justification for the military intervention that leads to it. So our Government must use all diplomatic means possible to try to secure another humanitarian pause in the fighting, to get hostages out, and more aid supplies in.
However, I am afraid that demanding an immediate ceasefire amounts to asking Israel to lay down its arms unilaterally while its hostages remain in peril and while Hamas retains power in Gaza. Hamas official Ghazi Hamad has said that they will repeat the 7 October attack ‘again and again’…
Unless Hamas are defeated militarily and removed from power, there is nothing to stop them rebuilding their capacity to commit heinous acts of terrorism.
I appreciate that those calling for an unconditional ceasefire now are sincere and well intentioned, but I feel that such a call means abandoning support for Israel in its time of greatest need, when it is exercising its right to self-defence. We must not forget the 7 October attacks in which 1,000 people lost their lives, involving sickening levels of violence and abuse: murder and mutilation; the killing of babies, children and the elderly; decapitation; and rape and sexual abuse of the most horrific kind.
When I visited Israel in January, I had the chance to speak directly to people suffering the torture of knowing their loved ones remain in the hands of this violent Islamist death cult. We must not forget the hostages still held in Gaza, who may well be being raped or tortured right now. No pause or ceasefire can be workable, sustainable or permanent unless it comes after the release of all hostages, the defeat and removal of Hamas from power, and an end to the terror group’s capacity to repeat their 7 October atrocity.”
Digital imprint: Theresa Villiers MP, 163 High Street, Barnet, EN5 2AA
