00:00So in my former capacity I used to be a chair of the Medway Community Safety Partnership
00:06and portfolio for enforcement and we did some work with the Jewish Shaw, the synagogue in Chatham,
00:12one of the most historic synagogues in the country as it happens, to improve their security,
00:19to ensure that there's direct line of communication between them, the council and the police.
00:24And so there's always ongoing work around these issues, protecting religious sites,
00:31in particular the synagogue, which has been sadly subject to attacks previously.
00:37And so, yeah, I have had communication from Jewish residents, people who are connected with the synagogue,
00:43just to request and highlight where there are concerns that they might have.
00:48You know, it's clearly a scary time for some Jewish people.
00:51But when we asked Kent Police if they had any practical plans to safeguard the Jewish community here,
00:57they told us that they'd offered reassurance.
00:59Is reassurance really enough at the moment when the terror threat in this country is classified as severe?
01:06So Kent Police do have a policy around protecting sites of religious significance.
01:13So in Chatham, for instance, they're absolutely aware of the synagogue.
01:17We have been working with them in the past to provide additional security cameras to ensure that the police are
01:25aware,
01:25to drive past and also where there are security concerns to feedback on those.
01:31So clearly there's no targeted threat, as in specific targeted threat towards our synagogue in Chatham.
01:38But, you know, the police will take any evidence and or communication from the Home Office and will act accordingly.
01:48Today, Keir Starmer announced £1.5 million in funding to strengthen community cohesion.
01:54What do you think that actually means?
01:56And do you agree with his response to what's happened?
02:00So absolutely, clearly, with the incidents that we've seen in London and elsewhere in the country,
02:07including in Brighton and in areas of the southeast, I think it is important that we protect synagogues,
02:13in particular due to some of the rise in anti-Semitism that we've seen across the country.
02:18I think Keir is correct that that needs to be three pronged.
02:21First of all, supporting the police more in terms of giving additional resources where there are identifiable issues in those
02:28communities.
02:28Second of all, around looking at the prescription of or with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.
02:38This is the group which is active in Iran at the moment.
02:42And then thirdly, it's reassurance, as the Kent Police has just said.
02:45It's just making sure that the police, the council and others are working with religious sites,
02:50including synagogues, to ensure that they have appropriate security on site
02:54and that they have lines of communication directly with the police and the council,
02:59should they have any specific concerns.
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