British Jews warned of ‘revenge' attacks after missile strikes on Iran
The crisis has left Jewish leaders in the UK concerned about potential attacks closer to home.
Synagogues have been placed on alert, while Israeli embassies around the world were closed due to increased threats.
Jonathan Turner, chief executive of UK Lawyers for Israel, told The Telegraph: 'Israel's actions are extremely justified, especially when you have a country like Iran which repeatedly states the mantra 'death to Israel' and is developing nuclear weapons and trying to cover it up.
'We are aware that a number of colleagues in the UK and other countries have been targets of intended or potential attack by Iranian agents that were foiled by security services. We are very grateful to the police and security services for all they do to keep ourselves and our colleagues safe.'
Protesters waived Iranian flags in London on Saturday, with crowds chanting 'Stop bombing Gaza, stop bombing Iran'.
The Foreign Office has advised against all but essential travel to Israel, and said: 'The situation could escalate quickly and could pose significant risks, including missile fire.'
The Community Security Trust (CST), which works to protect UK Jews from terrorism and anti-Semitism, said that the 'deep threat from Iran is central to our planning and our operations', but also warned security measures have been at a high level for more than 18 months since the Oct 7 attacks on Israel by Hamas.
They added: 'CST strongly requests that our community be vigilant and follows the strict security measures that are in place at communal buildings, events and areas.'
Meanwhile, Israel's National Security Council (NSC) warned Israelis abroad to 'avoid displaying Jewish or Israeli symbols in public spaces'.
They added that it was likely that 'terrorist elements will seek to carry out acts of revenge against Israeli and Jewish targets around the world, including civilians'.
Israel's foreign ministry also recommended that all Israeli citizens who are overseas fill out a form detailing their whereabouts.
Phil Rosenberg, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, called on the UK Government to 'maintain its active support for Israel's defence against the murderous Iranian regime'.
He added: 'We express our deep solidarity with the Israeli people at this time, and pray for their safety and security.
'We affirm Israel's right to defend itself against threats in the region. There can be no doubt about Iran's intentions to acquire nuclear weapons capability.
'This poses a grave and intolerable threat to Israel, but also to the security and stability of the region and the world.'
The Jewish Leadership Council (JLC) said its thoughts were with all those awaiting incoming fire from Iran.
A spokesman added: 'We were grateful that successive UK governments provided life-saving support to help defend Israel from Iranian attacks, and we call on the UK to support its ally in the fight against a common threat.'
They warned the Iranian regime poses a 'lethal threat, not only to Israelis and Jews worldwide but to British people here in the UK... such a regime must never be allowed to possess nuclear weapons'.
The warnings come as the CST recorded 3,528 anti-Semitic incidents in the UK last year, the second-highest annual total ever reported to it, after a peak the previous year.
Rhetoric related to the ongoing Middle East conflict featured in 1,844 (52 per cent) of anti-Semitic incidents reported to the CST in 2024.
In at least 355 of the incidents, the phrase 'Free Palestine' was said to have been used in an anti-Semitic way, by being targeted 'at Jewish people or institutions in a hostile manner simply because they were Jewish'.
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New Statesman
24 minutes ago
- New Statesman
The mutation of jihad
Photo by Wakil Kohsar/AFP We fear the wrong terror. This week marked the 20th anniversary of the 7/7 bombings. But the spectacular terror of international jihad has significantly abated. In 2022, the UK downgraded its terrorism threat level from 'severe' to 'substantial', and MI5 director Ken McCallum observed in 2024 that terrorist threats had diminished during his time at the service. Attacks claimed by Islamic State group (IS) have fallen from almost 4,000 in 2018 to around 600 so far this year. And they are less likely to be of immediate concern to Western countries. Almost 90% of the group's violence now takes place in remote parts of Africa. A report published this week highlighted a newer danger: hostile governments are equipping themselves to execute professional attacks on British soil. The study by Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee, which Keir Starmer saw before publication, investigated Iran. It counted at least 15 attempted murders or abductions of British nationals or UK-based citizens since 2022, and designated the Iran one of the biggest threats to the UK, next to Russia and China. But it should not be news that the threat of state-sponsored, professional killings has been increasing in recent years should not be news. In 2024, MI5 admitted a 48 per cent rise in state-instigated assassination attempts on UK soil. But the only such incident to gain real cut-through was the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in 2018. Jihad is changing its face. In recent years, jihadist and Islamist groups that have embraced more pragmatic, local agendas have tended to flourish. Meanwhile, supporters of more extreme jihadist ideologies – groups like IS and al-Qaeda which once posed significant threats to the West – are foundering. In 2001, al-Qaeda executed the grandest and most famous assault the West had ever seen on its own land. The 2017 attacks on Westminster Bridge and London Bridge represented a transition to less complicated methods, such as stabbings and driving vans into crowds. IS was encouraging followers to use whatever equipment they can get their hands on. Now, commenters on GeoNews, the main al-Qaeda chat room, are wont to take a despairing tone; in late April this year, one commenter reflected 'Jihadism goes nowhere, it didn't achieve anything… it's like digging in water… The best that can happen is like [what happened in] Syria'. Since the December 2024 overthrow of the al-Assad government, Syria has been ruled by Ahmed al-Sharaa, better known by his military name Abu Mohammed al-Jolani. Al-Sharaa's regime has dismayed Islamist hardliners by distancing itself from typical jihadist and Islamist demands, such as rigorous application of Sharia law. Instead it has loudly touted its respect for religious minorities, with a programme more reminiscent of the Ottoman Empire's 'millet' ('personal law') decentralisations, which gave religious communities a degree of local autonomy. Al-Sharaa has even shaken the investment tin to the US and other Western powers. And, perhaps most controversially, his government is signalling openness to normalising ties with Israel, its arch-foe. Unburdened of US sanctions, Syria's economy is expected to begin the slow path to recovery. Al-Sharaa has generally prioritised winning international credibility as a competent and pragmatic leader over governing by strict Islamic principles. He has proposed plans to privatise state-controlled infrastructure and made overtures to foreign investors. Government officials have stated intentions to model Syria's future on service-based economies like Singapore. It is a surprising posture. Historian Djene Rhys Bajalan has coined the term 'Salafi Neoliberalism' to describe the strange new synthesis of 'malls and mosques'. Other media outlets have described it as 'Islamist technocracy', pointing to the equal centrality of technocratic institutions and conservative social mores. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe Before Syria, there was Afghanistan. Despite being spurned by the international community for its deeply regressive social policies, hardcore jihadists had condemned the Taliban's rule in Afghanistan after its 2021 takeover as too lax. IS's local wing and its affiliated media regularly scorn the Taliban, holding that the group has abandoned jihad, failed to implement Sharia and allied itself with enemy foreign powers. Accepting national borders and engaging in diplomacy is considered anathema to IS's vision of global jihad. Taken as evidence of ideological compromise was the Taliban's removal from Russia's list of terrorist organisations. And this week, on 9 July, Afghanistan posted an extraordinary tourism advert online, which opens with a shot of five turbaned men behind three kneeling hostages. The leader says 'we have one message for America', then pulls off the hood of the central hostage, revealing a beaming Westerner who shouts, 'Welcome to Afghanistan!' Of course, all sorts of propaganda will be used in service of attracting tourism; but this is nonetheless a sea change from the autarkic Taliban regime of the 1990s. Affiliates of al-Qaeda now appear poised to make a definitive break with the transnational jihadist model most infamously espoused by Islamic State (IS). Al-Qaeda affiliates in Yemen (AQAP) and Somalia (Al-Shabaab) have showed signs of being willing to collaborate with the Iran-backed Houthis, traditionally an ideological foe. In Yemen in April, a former al-Qaeda member rebranded innocuously as the Movement for Change and Liberation, a new, locally focused party. The affiliate in West Africa's Sahel region, JNIM, is perhaps the most likely to split from al-Qaeda's central structure next: media branding changes, such as the removal of JNIM's logo, suggest a split from the wider North African branch, AQIM. In February, one al-Qaeda supporter wondered in the GeoNews chatroom why 'JNIM want to separate from [al-Qaeda]?… It's sad'. JNIM's drift away from al-Qaeda may allow it to more openly collaborate with other non-jihadist militant groups such as Tuareg separatists. JNIM has also reportedly signalled willingness to combine forces with non-jihadist armed groups in the Sahel, such as the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), against common enemies in the region (predominantly the governments of Mali and Burkina Faso). Burkina Faso's military junta plainly considers the Taliban and JNIM entirely separate entities, meeting with the former in May while engaged in a bloody war with the latter. What is left of IS itself has blamed the West for the move away from jihadism and toward more palatable alternatives in order to undermine them and lure Muslims from the 'true' path. One high-profile IS supporter posted on Facebook, '[the US] gave Afghanistan to Taliban… and Syria to [al-Sharaa's] HTS which converted to secularism'. Devoted IS supporters see more pragmatic Islamist movements like HTS as enforcers of the West's war on terrorism who are beholden to Western interests, rather than being committed to applying Shariah by the letter. Al-Naba, IS's weekly newspaper, has recently struck a downbeat tone. An early July editorial worried about low morale and a wavering commitment to global jihad. Several other recent editorials have all but admitted that the group is on the backfoot, especially in its Middle Eastern heartlands, where its attacks have dropped significantly in recent years. Transnational jihadism – an ideology that has demonstrated remarkable tenacity throughout the first quarter of the 21st century – may be about to turn a corner. As US power retreats, those who might have been attracted to confronting American imperialism are concerned by other questions. International terrorist imperatives are being subordinated to domestic, material issues. At least for now, the success of the local appears to be global jihadism's loss. [See also: Netanyahu bends the knee for Trump] Related
Telegraph
34 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Revealed: the full, devastating impact of Labour's VAT raid on private schools
Last summer Sir Keir Starmer made two promises to schoolchildren. The first was a father's promise that his son's education would not be disrupted if he became prime minister. The second was a commitment to levy 20pc VAT on private school fees 'as soon as it can be done' if Labour won the general election. He kept both promises. But while one child was able to complete their schooling unaffected by the new Labour Government, for thousands of private school children it has been a different story. At least 44 private schools have announced their closure as a result of the VAT raid, disrupting the education of almost 6,000 children. Many have entered the state sector, eroding the revenue the Government hopes to raise. All have had their lives upended as a result of Labour's education tax. Six months on since the policy was formally introduced on January 1, critics say all of their worst fears have become reality. Plans to hire 6,500 new state school teachers with the revenue raised from the levy have been watered down. School fees appear to have risen higher than Treasury officials expected, leading to a greater exodus of pupils into the state sector. All of this has raised doubts about whether the policy will really raise the promised £1.7bn by 2030. As head teachers and parents come to the end of the first school year where VAT has been applied to fees, Telegraph Money has assessed the impact of the tax raid so far. Exodus of 16,000 pupils Labour ministers have remained resolute that the VAT levy would not lead to an exodus of private school pupils into the state sector. The Treasury's impact assessment in October 2024 forecast 3,000 pupils would leave across the school year, but this prediction seems to have been a gross underestimate. Last month, the Department for Education revealed that private school pupil numbers fell by more than 11,000 in England following Labour's VAT raid on fees. The comparison looked at overall pupil numbers in January compared with the same point last year. The net exodus of 11,000 pupils – equivalent to one in 50 pupils – masks the true severity because of a slight increase in pupils joining specialist schools. In mainstream independent schools, around 16,000 pupils left. If these pupils were paying average day school fees of £22,146 a year, it equates to a £70m loss in revenue for the Treasury. This estimate would grow significantly if those same pupils joined state schools, which cost the Government around £8,000 a year per child in funding. Tim Barrow, 42, a small business owner from Hertfordshire, is one parent who has decided to remove two of his children from private schools as a result of the VAT raid. He says: 'All this policy has done is target middle-income families, those who have made considerable sacrifices to provide the best education for their children. Those who, frankly, have no margin left to play with. 'And in our situation, it has resulted in two additional places at our local primary school now occupied by my boys. It didn't need to happen. Two other families have lost access to those places and the Government receives no additional tax revenue for my two children.' At least 44 schools close their doors Across the country, private schools have been forced to close as a result of the levy, with many also citing the rises in National Insurance and minimum wage in April as contributing factors. The Telegraph has identified 44 schools that have closed or are set to close as a result of the VAT levy. Dozens more have closed in the past six months but these schools have not attributed their closures to the tax policy. Closures have predominantly taken place at schools charging lower fees, where parents are more price sensitive. St Joseph's Preparatory School, a Catholic school in Stoke-on-Trent that charged £10,245 per year, was forced to close on December 31. Its former headmistress Roisin Maguire said the policy has priced out 'working class' families from private education. She says: 'I'd love to have taken Bridget Phillipson into St Joseph's and said this is a school with one of the lowest fees, these parents are the people who work extra shifts at the hospital in order to afford this because their child has high needs. '[Ms Phillipson] has in her mind Eton and Harrow when she thinks of independent schools, but that's not the picture on the ground of schools who are affected by this.' Historic VAT claims While smaller, more affordable schools have closed, some schools such as Eton and Harrow, counter-intuitively, can make large retrospective claims. These schools are able to recover historic VAT they paid on capital expenditure including buildings and land acquisition over the past 10 years. The Telegraph previously estimated Eton would be able to reclaim around £4.8m from the Treasury based on the school's annual financial statements over the past four years. Prior to the introduction of VAT on fees, schools would not have been able to claim back costs. Labour MP Rachael Maskell accused her own party of creating further inequalities as a result, but it's a point that the majority of the public seem unaware of. A poll last week for stockbroker AJ Bell found 45pc of the public supported adding VAT to private school fees compared to 23pc who opposed the measure. A further 31pc were undecided. Tom Dawson, headmaster at Sunningdale School, a small boys prep school in Surrey, admits there remains a sense of negativity towards the sector from the wider public. 'There is a misconception that they are only available to the super wealthy. That isn't the case, or at least that wasn't the case [before the introduction of VAT].' He says the impact of the policy is already having a 'devastating effect'. He adds: 'We have had schools local to us close down, so our pupil roll for September is very healthy. Where there is less provision, the schools that are able to survive are picking up pupils for the moment. 'But I think we are [only] seeing the first wave and I think it's going to carry on hurting.' The '6,500 new teachers' claim All of this pain is justified, according to the Government, because it will help fund 6,500 new state school teachers in key subjects, according to Labour's manifesto. However, that claim, which appeared prominently on posters and leaflets, is unlikely to bear out. The first crack in the armour came after The Telegraph revealed the funds had not been ring-fenced to support state schools, despite Rachel Reeves saying 'every penny' would be spent on state schools. Since then, Sir Keir has said the money will be used to fund housebuilding targets, raising further doubts about what the policy is for. What is clear is that the target has been rephrased so that these teachers will no longer necessarily be 'new' or teach 'key subjects' and the pledge will omit primary school teachers. Emma Hollis, the chief executive of the National Association of School-Based Teacher Trainers (NASBTT), said the change 'fundamentally shifts the goalposts'. Nicky Hardy, the chairman of governors at a Catholic state school in Reading, says: 'Despite the policy being presented as a way to level the playing field between sectors, there is growing uncertainty about where the VAT revenue is actually going. 'Recent signals suggest the funds are now being redirected into wider public services, such as housing, rather than directly reinvested in education. If the intention was to improve outcomes for children in state schools, we are yet to see any evidence of that.' MPs from all parties have also criticised the pledge, with Parliament's public accounts committee claiming the Government 'lacks a coherent plan' on how it is going to recruit the teachers. Doubts over how much the tax raid will raise Six months on from its introduction, the biggest question mark hanging over Labour's VAT raid is whether it truly will raise £1.7bn. Between January and April, the policy was forecast to raise £450m but whether this target has been reached won't be known until later in the year. There are warning signs that the Treasury will struggle to reach its ambitious target. Its assumption that the policy will raise £1.5bn next year, rising to £1.7bn by 2029-30 is largely dependent on how many pupils move to the state sector. Students fleeing private schools hits the Treasury twice, both in terms of the loss of VAT revenue and the money it then has to spend on an additional state school space. The Treasury has calculated that 35,000 pupils will leave private schools over the course of the parliament, based on an assumption that school fees would rise by 10pc on average as a result of the VAT levy. Analysis by The Telegraph found fees rose by 14pc in January and they are set to rise further this coming September, with fees up 17pc compared with a year ago. Dawson is one of many head teachers who think the sums don't add up. 'I really don't feel the numbers add up at all,' he says. 'The costs that are going to be placed on state schools in my opinion are going to wipe out any gain [the Treasury] think it's going to make. It's not going to lead to increased investment in the state sector because the money isn't there. 'I think it's a policy decision more than an economic decision.' A government spokesman said: 'Ending tax breaks for private schools will raise £1.8bn a year by 2029-30 and help to recruit and retain an additional 6,500 teachers and raise school standards, supporting the 94pc of children in state schools to achieve and thrive.' 'This is a loss. Girls are thriving here' The stage at Queen Margaret's school in York was alive with music and laughter last week as girls danced and sang, writes Natasha Leake. Their performance of 'The Fun Song', the school's long-standing inter-house competition, was more than just a joyful display – it was a poignant farewell. Just days later, the top all-girls boarding school closed its doors forever. It came following a sudden announcement in June that financial pressures, exacerbated by Labour's introduction of VAT on school fees, had forced its closure. 'I sat at the back, and I just had one of those moments of real sadness,' says head teacher Nicola Dudley, two days before the school closed forever on July 5. 'Looking at the girls on stage, they were brilliant. They were having so much fun… They were singing and dancing their hearts out without any inhibitions. And I think that is just the nature of a small all-girls school. I thought, this is a loss; these girls really are thriving here.' Dudley is speaking on the same day that sports day takes place at the school for the last time. After her appointment in September 2024, just 10 months ago, she had hoped to guide the school with renewed energy and passion for all-girls education, which she herself had experienced growing up. 'There is a real feeling of sadness,' she says. 'It's grieving for the loss of a community that's meant so much to so many people, and that's really hard.' Founded in 1901, Queen Margaret's school is set in the idyllic countryside of Escrick Park in Yorkshire. Next year would have marked its 125th anniversary. Described in the Good Schools Guide as 'small but perfectly formed', Queen Margaret's had weathered two world wars, three relocations and 14 head teachers, but could not survive the latest round of financial challenges. 'We, like many independent schools, have been unable to withstand mounting financial pressures following the introduction of VAT on school fees,' the governing body said in their June statement. They also pointed to school numbers falling so much they were 'below the viable level required to keep the school open beyond the current academic year'. One teacher at the school, who asked not to be named, thinks the girls will never find the level of teaching which existed at Queen Margaret's again. 'I remember one student wanted to learn how to play the bagpipes, so the music department got a bagpipes tutor in,' he says, adding: 'We had two Ukrainian girls on full scholarships because of the war in Ukraine.' And for the local economy, the impact of the school's closure is devastating. 'It is easily the biggest employer in this village,' he adds. 'It's like a village disappearing, because of all the gardeners, all the cleaners, all the chefs, all the teachers.' Following the June 13 announcement of the school's closure, waves of disbelief permeated the school community. 'It was a big shock to the teachers, definitely to the girls,' the teacher reflects. 'They were absolutely devastated… a lot of them were crying because they have made lots of friends… nobody likes change, they have to find a new school within weeks.' Further afield, Old Margretian WhatsApp group chats have been buzzing furiously, as alumni have been gathering to discuss the school's closure but also to reminisce about better times. Annabel Sampson, now features editor at Tatler magazine, attended the school from 2000 to 2008. 'It was such a happy, hilarious time,' she remembers. 'An all-girls boarding school in the middle of Yorkshire; we were all so wild and free... it was all about who had the scruffiest ponytail. Everyone was authentically themselves, and that was really celebrated.' Would she ever have imagined it would close one day? 'Definitely not,' she says. 'If someone had said that in 20 years the school would close, you would have said 'that's a joke'. Plus, while I was there new facilities were being developed – a new theatre, and a chapel, so it felt forward-looking.' Back in the head teacher's office, Dudley reflects on the school's closure. No one seems to know what will happen to the school buildings, which will stand empty after it closes and the administrators arrive. 'I find it easiest not to think about what might happen to it because I just want to imagine it as it is,' says Dudley. 'Once people leave the school, the heart has gone.'
Telegraph
35 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Angela Rayner has been backed into a corner by the union that made her
What is the point of Angela Rayner? Until now, the answer has been that she is the bridge between the Government and the unions, but if the unions turn against her, then there is no point to her at all. The unions know this, and by suspending her membership with a view to expulsion, Unite, the largest affiliated union to the Labour Party, is ruthlessly exploiting Ms Rayner's position to force her – and the Government – into a corner. By threatening to 'discuss our relationship with Labour', Unite has signalled a coming battle for the soul of the Labour Party. If the unions desert Labour, it will not only lose millions of pounds in donations, but also the historic link with the working classes, whose union membership makes them indirect donors to, and supporters of, Labour. At a time when increasing numbers of those working-class voters are turning to Reform UK, Unite knows that Labour, and in particular its in-house union cheerleader Ms Rayner – a former convenor for another union giant, Unison – simply cannot afford to break that link. What, then, does Unite, and by extension other major union backers, want from Ms Rayner? On the most basic level, Unite wants the Government to force Labour-run Birmingham city council to reverse cuts to the pay of refuse workers, who have been on strike since March. This, after all, was the reason given by Sharon Graham, Unite's general secretary, for suspending Ms Rayner's membership (Ms Rayner claims her membership had already lapsed, but given that Unite's actions are about sending a message, it hardly matters). Ms Graham, who is one of the most Left-wing union bosses, said: 'Angela Rayner has had every opportunity to intervene and resolve this dispute, but has instead backed a rogue council that has smeared its workers fighting huge pay cuts.' She is furious with the Government for refusing to meet its representatives face-to-face since the day the strike started four months ago. Unite, of course, does not just represent Birmingham's binmen, but also 1.2 million members in transport, construction, manufacturing, hospitality, healthcare and education. After Labour awarded lavish above-inflation pay rises to 3.5 million public sector workers with no requirement for increased productivity, any unionised industry that has not been similarly showered with money now expects to have its turn. Junior doctors will strike later this month, while London Underground drivers are threatening to follow suit if Transport for London does not increase their pay to more than £76,000. Civil servants at Ofgem, the energy regulator, have also threatened to strike over pay. A summer of discontent is looming. Unite, though, wants more than just money (usually from the taxpayer) for its members. It wants to drag Labour further to the Left, using the threat of disaffiliation to club Ms Rayner (who has eyes on the leadership) and Sir Keir Starmer into submission. One Labour MP said: 'Unite felt deeply betrayed by Angela, and it thinks the Labour government needs to bring itself back to its primary duty of representing working-class people. 'There is deep dissatisfaction that the Labour Party has moved away from its roots.' Unite very deliberately made reference to Ms Rayner's Employment Rights Bill, which is yet to become law, and which is designed to give unions greater power and make it easier to call strikes. The Bill is Ms Rayner's calling card to the left, but Unite has accused her of making a mockery of her own forthcoming legislation by failing to stand up for the Birmingham binmen, whom she advised to accept the pay deal that has been offered. Unite's threat to abandon Labour would also neutralise a clause hidden within the Bill that is designed to increase union donations to the party. The Bill will change the law so that instead of having to opt into a union's political fund, new members will automatically pay into the fund unless they specifically opt out. Unite was Labour's single biggest donor in the first quarter of 2025, giving the party £414,000, more than 17 per cent of its total donations of £2.4 million. Perhaps more significantly, it was the most generous union backer of individual MPs in 2024, giving a combined £553,900 to 86 MPs, an average of £6,400 each. Ms Rayner received £10,000. So Unite has financial influence over individual MPs as well as the party itself. If Unite abandoned Labour, it would not only mean a huge financial hit, but also votes potentially lost from union members whose ties to Labour would be broken. Worse still for Labour, it might encourage other disgruntled unions to do the same. The timing of Unite's move, coming days after Jeremy Corbyn announced a new political party to the Left of Labour, may not be a coincidence. Should Corbyn's embryonic party get off the ground, it could, in theory, become an alternative recipient of union funds. Few Labour MPs expect Unite to carry out its threat to uncouple itself from Labour, something it has threatened to do several times before. There are those who think Ms Rayner might believe a public fight with the unions will help her to broaden her appeal in the Labour ranks beyond her one-dimensional appeal to the Left as a female John Prescott. Ms Rayner is gambling on a belief that Ms Graham is bluffing, but if she is wrong, her leadership ambitions and Labour's lucrative deal with the unions might end up on a Birmingham-style rubbish heap.
