“We are pleased to be able to partner with The Jerusalem Post and host this conference at our stadium to further highlight the importance of tackling the rise of antisemitism we have seen across the world,” said Bruce Buck, chairman of the Chelsea Club.
During the event, Israeli and British politicians, as well as Jewish community leaders and prominent sports personalities, will discuss the challenges of rising antisemitism, as well as diplomatic, security and communal issues important to both Great Britain and Israel.
Among the confirmed speakers are Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz; Israeli Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan; Israeli Minister of Economy Eli Cohen; Lt.-Gen. (ret.) and Blue and White MK Gabi Ashkenazi; Israeli Ambassador to the UK Mark Regev; Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis; U.S. US Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism Elan Carr; Independent advisor on antisemitism to the UK Government Lord John Mann; and CFI Chairman MP Stephen Crabb.
The conference is also expected to feature representatives from Chelsea Football club, as well as the captain of the Israeli National Women’s Football team, Karin Sendel.
The conference comes on the backdrop of a report released earlier this month that found the UK witnessed an annual record for antisemitic incidents in 2019, making it the fourth consecutive year that the record has been broken, while incidents of antisemitic physical assault also surpassed previous records.
The Community Security Trust (CST), a Jewish community security organization that works in cooperation with the UK police, reported that there were 1,805 antisemitic incidents in Britain in 2019, an almost 7% rise in antisemitic incidents over the 1,690 incidents in 2018.
Chelsea Football, under the leadership of Roman Abramovich, launched its “Say No to Antisemitism” campaign in 2018, which aims to tackle racism and discrimination on the field and in the stands. Since then, the club has run several programs to help achieve its goals, including becoming the first sports team in the world to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition on antisemitism.
“Football has an unrivaled ability to do good in society, and we must harness this power to tackle all forms of discrimination in the stands and our communities,” Buck said. “There can be no place in our game or our societies for antisemitism or any form of discrimination and we are proud to encourage those around us to join this vital cause.”
Yaakov Katz, editor-in-chief of the Post, echoed Buck’s sentiments and added that the media company is “excited to partner with Chelsea FC” at a time when “Israeli-British relations are flourishing.”