With a worrying rise in anti-semitism worldwide and a growing tide of religious divide, I was proud to speak in support of a National Jewish History Month to be a feature of our calendar.
Echoing the words of a constituent put to me following the atrocities on October 7th, last year, "why do they keep picking on us?".
There are 16 million Jews in the world of whom about a quarter of a million call the United Kingdom home.
We recognise the noted individuals who have led, who have invented, who have contributed extraordinarily to the benefit of our nation and our world.
It is not just those who are notable but those who are noted. On what was almost a pilgrimage to Galipole to see the graves and names of people from Worthing and Arun who had died, I kept coming across memorials to Jews who had died in service to our nation.
I have gained from education. I have learnt more about my own family and the 100 or so relatives who were murdered during the Holocaust.
I want my children, my grandchildren, and so on, to understand how the Jewish community were treated in the UK in the past - it was not good, it was not easy. I also want them to know of how inclusive our society can be and to help to create a better future.
We have to remember our shared history. We must learn from the past and teach lessons to the future.
Colleagues and constituents will share my desire that we better recognise the contributions, tragedies and trepidation of our Jewish community throughout history and the present day here in the United Kingdom.
