A press release from the Board of Deputies of British Jews:
Board of Deputies President Jonathan Arkush has welcomed Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan’s decision to join mayors from across Europe and the United States in signing an AJC pledge to take action against antisemitism in their communities.
The Board of Deputies, Community Security Trust and the London Jewish Forum approached Mayor Khan to sign the pledge, which has been endorsed by more than 150 mayors from 30 European countries.
The pledge is part of the Mayors United Against Antisemitism initiative, developed by the American Jewish Committee (AJC) in July 2015 and launched in Europe later that year. The Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, was the first European Mayor to sign the pledge, followed by those from Frankfurt, Madrid, Milan and Copenhagen. More than 300 mayors from 50 American states also supported the project.
Jonathan Arkush, said: “Antisemitism is one of the greatest challenges facing Jews in London and across the country. Just two weeks into the job, Sadiq Khan has signed up to AJC’s campaign against antisemitism. Taken together with his attendance at the Yom HaShoah Holocaust commemoration event, this sets a very positive tone that we hope will be replicated throughout his mayoralty. We also thank Barnet and Camden Assembly Member Andrew Dismore for his particular role in championing this initiative in City Hall.”
Mayor Khan, said: “Sadly, for many Londoners, antisemitism is a very present problem. As a British Muslim, I am no stranger to discrimination and prejudice. That’s why, as Mayor for all Londoners, I am determined to fight racism in all its forms and will make challenging hate crime a priority. I am proud to sign the Mayors United Against Anti-Semitism pledge and I will encourage other Mayors across the country and Europe to do the same, to help send the message far and wide that anti-Semitism is totally unacceptable and can never be justified.”
David Harris, Chief Executive Officer of the American Jewish Committee, said: “The Mayor’s support for this initiative is special for three reasons. First, as Mayor, he has demonstrated continuity in opposition to all forms of antisemitism, as his predecessor Boris Johnson was also a signatory. Second, with all the recent concerns expressed about currents within Britain’s Labour Party regarding antisemitism, this is a particularly welcome and important development, since he is such a prominent member of the Labour Party. And third, Sadiq Khan is the first mayor of the Muslim faith of a major Western capital. Thus, his signature sends a very powerful message not only to the London Jewish community, but well beyond, about potential friendship, support and cooperation.”
Well done Sadiq Khan.
Comments
6 responses to “Sadiq Khan signs”
As a British Muslim, I am no stranger to discrimination and prejudice.
Well, Islam is just steeped in discrimination and prejudice, isn’t it?
As though working class Brits blow up buses and subways full of Muslims and gang rape 1000s of underage Muslim girls.
As though Islamabad will ever have a Jewish or Christian mayor…
Sidiq would autograph your butt if he though it’d score him some mileage.
This posting could equally be titled ” Sidiq Khan feigns _housetrained_”
Oh ffs John – have you sworn an oath to be as obnoxious as possible recently, or what? Of course British Muslims are subject to discrimination and prejudice.
Can you not even see that Sidiq Khan is setting an example to Islamabad (and Riyadh and Mogadishu and Kabul)? Can you not see that he’s repudiating exactly that kind of insularity and bigotry?
A brief fly-over of this guy’s history should tell you just how sincere his sudden conversion to civil mores actually is.
And the example he’s setting for the good burghers of Islamabad and Riyadh, places where *insularity* and *bigotry* are ordained by _gaaawd_, is one of Islamist triumphalism and nothing more.
He is celebrated in places like that precisely because he ‘beat the Jew’
And as for his sincerity in signing this document? In the words of Mandy Rice Davies: ‘ Well he would, wouldn’t he’.
Just stay tuned…
Then why are my liberal (secular, feminist) Muslim friends happy that he did this?
Ahmed Aboutaleb > Sadiq Khan
Oh yes, that guy.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/muslim-mayor-of-rotterdam-ahmed-aboutaleb-tells-extremists-who-dont-like-freedom-to-f-off-9975459.html