Cooper warns of violent effects of hate in today’s society at Holocaust event

Britain is determined to tackle those who “spread the poison of antisemitism” online and in the streets, Yvette Cooper said as she confirmed the appointment of a new UK special envoy for post-Holocaust issues.

The Foreign Secretary, speaking ahead of Holocaust Memorial Day, said the “significant and important” commemoration is being marked at a time of “successive repugnant attacks on Jews” in the UK and around the world.

Ms Cooper spoke at an event co-hosted by the Foreign Office and the Embassy of Israel on Monday.

She warned of the “violent and corrosive effects” of prejudice, persecution and hate which she said are “all too present in our own society today”.

Referring to the Manchester synagogue attack and the Bondi killings in Sydney in December, she said: “We mark Holocaust Memorial Day at a time of successive repugnant attacks on Jews here in the UK and overseas.

“Jews killed for being Jews. In the 21st century.”

She confirmed Labour MP Jon Pearce had been appointed UK special envoy for post-Holocaust issues, saying he will “give advice and push forward UK policy, including promoting Holocaust education, remembrance and research here and around the world”.

Ms Cooper also paid tribute to Holocaust survivor Mala Tribich, who is now aged 95, for her “strength and bravery” in sharing her story at the event.

Ms Tribich was greeted with a round of applause and standing ovation after her speech.

The survivor, who was born in Poland and came to the UK after the war, told those gathered: “In a climate of rising anti-Jewish hatred, with attacks on Jewish communities here in the UK and abroad, it continues to be of crucial importance to understand the very real threat of antisemitism.”

Ms Cooper noted that each year fewer survivors remain to share their first-hand accounts, but insisted that does not bring an end to remembrance, instead it “simply places it firmly in our hands, so that we carry and reinforce it through education, dialogue and action”.

The Foreign Secretary reiterated the UK Government’s solidarity with Jews in Britain.

She said: “ I want to say clearly on behalf of this Government.

“That we stand with the Jewish community today and every day.

“Unresolving in our resolve to tackle those who spread the poison of antisemitism online and on our streets. Unrelenting in our determination to stand against antisemitism.”

The latest official statistics, published in October and covering England and Wales, showed that Jewish people had a higher rate of religious hate crimes targeted towards them than any other faith group when all police forces were taken into account.

In the year to March 2025, there were 106 religious hate crimes per 10,000 population targeted at Jewish people, the Home Office data showed.

Separately, the Community Security Trust (CST), which monitors antisemitism in the UK, recorded 1,521 antisemitic incidents across the UK in the first half of 2025.

This was the second highest total ever reported to the organisation in the first six months of any year, but it was down by a quarter from the record high of 2,019 incidents recorded between January and June 2024.

Reports to the CST of antisemitism reached a record high in 2023 at 4,296 – the year that saw the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel and the subsequent military action in the region.

Ms Cooper told those gathered at Monday’s event, which also included musical performances and a minute of silence, she was “so pleased” Parliament had last week passed the Holocaust Memorial Act.

She described that as a “vital step” towards establishing the national Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre” at Victoria Tower Gardens.

The chosen site immediately adjacent to the Palace of Westminster, has been controversial, with disquiet over the loss of green space in central London, the design of the scheme and security implications.

But Ms Cooper said: “A location so close to Parliament is fitting because we must never forget that the road to the Holocaust began in a democracy.”

Holocaust Memorial Day takes place on Tuesday this year, with the theme of “bridging generations”, aimed at highlighting the role that younger people will play in preserving memories of the Holocaust in the future.