Businesses, faiths, charities, sports and media organisations unite against antisemitism
Press release, Sunday 10 May 2026
Leading businesses, faith groups, charities, sporting bodies and media organisations have today published an open letter of support and commitment to the British Jewish community, committing themselves and their organisations to fight antisemitism.
It comes following the latest terror attack targeting Jewish people and a wider spate of attacks on Jewish targets.
The letter brings together the leading business organisations in the country including the Confederation of British Industry, the Federation of Small Businesses, the British Retail Consortium and the British Chambers of Commerce, it includes the country’s leading sporting bodies including the Football Association, the English Cricket Board and Rugby Football Union. It includes the editors and CEOs of media organisations including ITV, the Express, the Mirror, The Spectator, the Independent, The Guardian and the New Statesman. It includes faith leaders from the Church of England, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh and Zoroastrian Communities. It also includes civil society groups including the National Lottery Community Fund, the Local Government Association, the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, The Women’s Institute, The Royal Voluntary Service, The British Muslim Trust and the education sector including Universities UK, and leading academy chains such as Oasis and Star Academies.
To the British Jewish community, the letter makes a clear commitment:
“This country belongs to you as much as any of us. You are as British as all of us who call this country home. And we will do everything we can to protect you and your community from the extremists who threaten you.”
It states that:
“This is not a problem for Jewish people to have to respond to. This is a problem for all of us to fix.”
And commits to an inclusive vision of our country:
“Along with the vast majority of British people we share a vision of our country where people of different faiths, races and beliefs come together to build communities and a country that we can all be proud of.”
Brendan Cox, co-founder of the Together Coalition – which helped coordinate the letter said:
“This is an incredibly powerful statement of solidarity with the British Jewish community from every section of our society. But it’s more than that, it’s a commitment to action to fight antisemitism together. That’s what we urgently need.
Too often antisemitism is seen as a problem just for the Jewish community. It’s not. It’s a cancer in our society that undermines the kind of inclusive country that we all want to build. Extremists are trying to divide us, to target minorities on the basis of their race or religion and to turn community against community. We won’t let them.”
Julie Siddiqi, Co-chair of the UK Muslim Network and one of the signatories said:
‘Antisemitism is real, it’s growing and its totally unacceptable. We have a duty not just to condemn it – but to take it on wherever we find it including in our own communities. As British Muslims we know what it’s like to face hatred and violence because of our faith – that shared experience should make British Jews and British Muslims allies in tackling extremism.”
Responding to the letter:
Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis KBE said,
‘This letter is a powerful riposte to the hateful extremists who have targeted the Jewish community in recent weeks. It is heartening to see some of Britain’s best-known institutions from the world of business, sport, faith and civil society standing together against anti-Jewish hatred. My hope is that where these institutions have led, others will follow, in workplaces, boardrooms, classrooms and on social media, so that we can finally begin to tackle this scourge together.’
Adrian Cohen, acting President, Board of Deputies of British Jews, said,
“We are very heartened by the open letter of support. Allyship for our community is incredibly important and a necessary part of the fight back against the scourge of anti-Jewish hatred and its violent manifestations.”
Rabbi Charley Baginsky, Co-Lead of The Movement for Progressive Judaism, said:
“At a time when so many Jews in Britain feel anxious and exposed, this visible solidarity from across civic society, faith communities, sport, business and the media matters.
“Antisemitism is not only a threat to Jewish people, but an attack on the kind of open, democratic and pluralist society we all want to live in. Combating it must therefore be a shared responsibility across all parts of public life.”
Full Text letter:
The spectre of Jewish people being stabbed at random in the street, killed defending their synagogues and Jewish infrastructure being firebombed feel like a nightmare from another time. A throwback to grainy images of somewhere else, not delivered in technicolour from the streets of London in 2026.
The terror attack in Golders Green last week would have been bad enough if it were an isolated incident – but it wasn’t. It was the latest salvo in an accelerating campaign of hatred against Jewish people designed to hurt, kill and spread fear across a whole community. To ‘other’ Jewish people and tell them they don’t belong here.
This is not a problem for Jewish people to have to respond to. This is a problem for all of us to fix.
As leaders of British organisations – with different views on faith, politics, foreign policy and pretty much everything else – we come together today to send a message to our Jewish brothers and sisters. This country belongs to you as much as any of us. You are as British as all of us who call this country home. And we will do everything we can to protect you and your community from the extremists who threaten you.
That will take resolute action from the government of course – to tackle the extremists, the states who promote terror and the vile online environment that drives so much of this – but if it’s to be effective, we all need to play a part.
Along with the vast majority of British people we share a vision of our country where people of different faiths, races and beliefs come together to build communities and a country that we can all be proud of. That must be one where Jewish people feel safe. We will be allies and partners in that cause.
Signatories:
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Imam Qari Asim Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board |
Mark Bullingham CEO The Football Association |
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Gopaljeet Bhachu Chair of Harrow Interfaith |
Dr Deesha Chadha OBE Hindu Forum of Britain |
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Revd. Steve Chalke Founder of Oasis Charitable Trust |
Dame Julia Cleverdon DCVO CBE Chair The National Lottery Community Fund |
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Malcolm M Deboo President Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe |
Helen Dickinson CEO British Retail Consortium |
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Mustafa Field OBE Director |
Martha Lane Fox Entrepreneur |
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Councillor Louise Gittins Chair, Local Government Association |
Lady Jane Gibson OBE Chair /together |
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Michael Gove Editor The Spectator |
Richard Gould CEO England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) |
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Melissa Green CEO The National Federation of Women’s Institutes (NFWI) |
Katharine Viner Editor-in-Chief The Guardian |
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Geordie Gregg Editor-in-Chief The Independent |
Shevaun Haviland CBE Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce |
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The Rt Revd Dr Toby Howarth Bishop of Bradford |
Chloe Hubbard Editor-in-Chief The Mirror |
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Catherine Johnstone CEO Royal Voluntary Service |
Dame Sara Khan |
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Sunder Katwala CEO British Future |
Rajnish Kashyap Hindu Council UK |
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David Knott CEO The National Lottery Community Fund |
Kate Lee OBE CEO National Council of Voluntary Organisations |
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Imam Fathi Labidi Muslim World League |
The Premier League |
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Andrew Marr Editor at Large The New Statesman |
Geoff Maynard Editor-in-Chief The Express |
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Carolyn McCall CEO ITV |
Martin McTague OBE National Chair, Federation of Small Businesses |
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Ndidi Okezie OBE CEO Business in the Community |
Sir Hamid Patel CBE Chief Executive, Star Academies |
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Professor Malcolm Press CBE DL President Universities UK |
Matthew McGregor CEO 38 Degrees |
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Shabir Randeree Chair British Muslim Trust |
Julie Siddiqi Co-Chair UK Muslim Network |
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Jasvir Singh OBE City Sikhs Network |
Mandip Singh Gudwara Aid |
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Bill Sweeney CEO Rugby Football Union |
Rain Newton-Smith CEO Confederation of British Industry |
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Chris Sherwood CEO NSPCC |
Andrew Copson CEO Humanists UK |