The Mayor of London has said he is “really worried” about the legacy that the Israel-Hamas conflict will leave on young people.
Sadiq Khan said he was concerned about “another generation having animus in their heart” and the “potential for more people to be radicalised” amid the conflict in the Middle East.
He added that he was also worried about a “rise of extremism” resulting from the hostilities.
The mayor was speaking after he attended workshops at County Hall in the capital on Friday morning from community projects that work to tackle discrimination and extremism.
It was a real honour to meet young people and project leaders working on the Future Leaders programme today. Funded through my £3m Shared Endeavour Fund, this scheme does fantastic work empowering young Londoners to both identify and challenge hate crime in all its forms. pic.twitter.com/h1U5fuJOKn
— Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan (@MayorofLondon) November 3, 2023
Mr Khan told the PA news agency: “I’m really worried about the legacy of the disturbances in the Middle East – not just another generation having animus in their heart against the other, but also the potential for more people to be radicalised and the rise of extremism.”
He added: “Unfortunately, we have seen since the disturbances in the Middle East with Hamas’s outrageous actions in Israel, but also subsequently the actions in Gaza – an increase in hate crime in London.
“We know from previous disturbances in the Middle East that it does lead to an increase in antisemitism in London.”
Mr Khan said there had also been a “massive increase” in Islamophobia.
The Mayor said that it was “incredibly important” for people to report hate crime, adding that City Hall was investing “time, effort and resources in tackling hate and intolerance”.
Andy Fearn, co-executive director at Protection Approaches – which works to train Londoners to challenge prejudice and extremism, said: “What we’re seeing at the moment is not only an increase in Islamophobia and antisemitism – there’s also fear that comes with that across Jewish and Muslim communities.”
He added that Protection Approaches, which is a grantee of the Mayor’s Shared Endeavour Fund, was working to help young people challenge hateful behaviour in “safe and meaningful ways” by becoming “active bystanders”.
The Shared Endeavour Fund offers grants for organisations that support initiatives in London challenging racism, intolerance, hate, extremism and terrorism.
Other organisations that attended the workshops included Future Leaders, Stand Up! Education Against Discrimination, and Shout Out UK.
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