On Sunday last week I was a guest speaker at the opening of the newly refurbished Hillel House in Leeds, which provides kosher accommodation and a “home from home” for Jewish students at Leeds University. Hillel Houses can be found across many campuses in this country.

Leeds has the largest number of Jewish students at any university in the country. Its flagship Hillel House not only provides this home from home, but also provides a much needed haven for the many Jewish students who find themselves attacked on University campuses across the country by anti-Israel supporters, and worse, by anti-semites. Anti-semitic attacks on Jewish students nationally have gathered pace in recent years, often provoked by paid agitators funded in other countries and I have spoken publicly over the last few years, about the real need to protect Jewish students who find themselves suffering racist attacks which they have done nothing to provoke. It is a truly horrifying situation recognised in a Parliamentary report on the problem which acknowledges how serious and widespread it is.

On Sunday, in my speech I urged the Jewish community in Leeds to do all they could to help the beleaguered students in Leeds, whose time at University should be spent not only learning, becoming adults and befriending others no matter their race, religion or creed, but being able to do so, in peace, free from fear. I said that they and we are dealing with not only the demonisation of the right to exist of the State of Israel, but through that an attack on Judaism itself, which includes as one of its central beliefs and prayers the desire to re-establish the state of Israel and to return to the land from which Jews were exiled. The expulsion is a major part of our history and the wish to return is a theme that runs throughout our prayers and parts of the Old Testament. I suggested that this is being attacked as if the expulsion of the Jews and their prayers for return never existed, in an effort to rewrite history and redefine our religion. I emphasised that the situation has now worsened, because we are dealing with the demonisation of all those people who dare to stand up and support Israel, and even worse, the demonisation of those who stand up and say they are proud Jews.

I didn’t realise how prophetic my words would be.

My speech was well received but clearly it hit home to others.

Last night my blog, which is a blog dealing with family law matters in England and Wales and is used by many thousands of people who seek advice on family law, was hacked into and changed. It was a sophisticated attack. There was Middle Eastern style music left playing where my blog once was and the picture displayed a clear warning to me to stop.

They are wasting their time.

I will not be demonised for standing up for the Jewish students; or for being 100% English, but also Jewish by religion and therefore believing fervently in the right to exist of the State of Israel. They are all too much a part of me; they make me the admittedly complex person I am – and always will be.

I apologise to all my readers that my blog was off air for a while. Fortunately it was put back up again within a couple of hours.

But if anything shows that there clearly is a major problem in this country that these people (wherever they may be based, in this country or abroad) have not the slightest tolerance, care for or understanding of what democracy means, particularly the precious right to free speech in a free country; and all they know is how to operate through cowardice, intimidation, bullying and criminality: the destruction of my blog is evidence.

I am old enough and tough enough to deal with it. My heart goes out to all our children who face daily bullying through no fault of their own at their Universities.

My apologies to you all.

Normal service has been resumed.

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