Deputy prime minister addresses Hertsmere solidarity event for Israel

Oliver Dowden received rapturous applause as he told a packed-out Israel solidarity event that “Jewish lives matter” and that the UK stands strong with the country in the wake of the Hamas terror attacks because “it is morally the right thing to do”.

The deputy prime minister made the comments to hundreds of supporters waving Israeli flags inside Hertsmere Borough Council Civic offices in Borehamwood, at an event co-organised by Hertfordshire Jewish Forum, on Wednesday night.

Dowden, who is also Conservative MP for Hertsmere, spoke of how the brutalities carried out by Hamas were significant for people in the UK as well, because it was “an attack on every single one of us, on every value we hold dear.”

Inaction at this time, he said, was not an option for the UK and that there was “zero moral equivalence between Hamas and Israel.”

He warned: “As history shows, the Jewish people have sadly been the canaries in the coalmine. What happens in Israel, if we do not stand robust in the face of it, will surely happen to every single person here.”

Describing Israel as “a cherished state”, Dowden added that the UK “will not waiver in our support for [the country] to defend itself.”

He was also critical of the BBC’s recent reporting on the conflict, pointing out that all political parties are “united” in acknowledging the events of October 7 “were an act of terror by terrorists…and yet our own national broadcaster cannot say it.”

Similarly, Board of Deputies president Marie van der Zyl pledged to “not stop” until the BBC agrees to describe Hamas as “terrorists” rather than “militants” in its news reporting, ahead of a meeting tomorrow (Friday) with Tim Davie, the broadcaster’s director general.“We have been pushing the BBC strongly to call Hamas what they are – terrorists. I will not stop until they call them terrorists, not militants,” she said passionately.

“Every victim murdered and slaughtered deserves…that we call Hamas terrorists.”

Jeremy Newmark, leader of Hertsmere Borough Council, described the recent atrocities as “perverse” and revealed that a 21-year-old woman from Shoham, the Israeli town that Borehamwood is twinned with, was among those who had been kidnapped into Gaza.

He said strongly: “It follows that if Hamas does not stop the attacks and does not release the hostages – then it is Hamas who must be stopped.”

Other speakers on the night included Keith Black, chair of the Jewish Leadership Council, Daisy Cooper, MP for St Albans and Rebbetzin Eva Chapper of Borehamwood and Elstree United Synagogue.