21 May 2007
Representatives from the Board of Deputies of British Jews have met with the UK ‘Foreign Secretary’ [Minister of Foreign Affairs], Margaret Beckett. The meeting discussed the threat posed by Iran’s nuclear program and its destabilizing influence throughout the Middle East. Members of the delegation also brought up the recent publication of the booklet ‘Darfur: A Jewish Response’ by the Pears Foundation in cooperation with the Board of Deputies, and the particular resonance the Darfur crisis has with the Jewish community. Jewish leaders expressed their hope that the British government would continue to urge the international community to intervene in Darfur and support sanctions against Sudan. Beckett confirmed that she had raised these concerns during discussions on Darfur at a recent UN Security Council meeting.
The delegation also expressed concern about the amount of anti-Semitic material, including Holocaust denial and blood libels, appearing in mainstream media in Ukraine and Arab countries, much of which is available in Europe via satellite broadcasts.
