Last week, His Majesty King Charles III came to Golders Green to stand with a community that has been shaken – meeting the victims of a terrorist stabbing attack, the Shomrim volunteers who confronted the attacker, and the Hatzola first responders who treated the wounded.

Outside, a huge crowd had gathered; many recited the blessing said when you see a monarch in person and shouted, “Long live the King.”

It was a moment of real grace in a period of British Jewish history that has been anything but.

The Britain I grew up in felt safe for Jews. I now understand I took that for granted. In 2012, 11% of British Jews saw antisemitism as a very big problem.

Today that figure stands at 47%. With Hatzola ambulances firebombed, worshippers attacked on Yom Kippur and in Golders Green, and terrorist plots foiled, British Jews now look over their shoulders – and the same story is playing out across the Diaspora.

Words of condemnation are no longer sufficient. Governments must act – legislating against hate crime and funding community security, of course, but also addressing the ideological environment and root causes in which antisemitism is formed and normalised – not because it is politically convenient, but because the safety of a minority community is a test of a society’s character.

The King’s visit came a week before Shavuot. Shavuot recalls the giving of the Torah – but Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks zt”l taught that what was given at Sinai was a covenant, not a contract.

A contract binds through self-interest. That is the nature of the relationship between a Government and its citizens. A covenant, in contrast, binds through shared identity, shared values, and shared responsibility for one another.

The King’s visit was not legally required. He came because a community he cares about had been attacked, and he believed his presence mattered – which it did. It was a covenantal act – and it is that spirit we should not just see from our monarch, but demand from our institutions, our governments, and our leaders.

*Na’aseh v’nishma* – we will do, and we will understand. This Shavuot, Jews around the world receive that covenant again in genuinely difficult circumstances – in Britain, across the Diaspora, and in Israel. We pray that this year Shavuot is not just an internal call for Jewish renewal, but a clarion call that resonates across all of society to tackle the world’s oldest hatred.

Dan’s words remind us of the profound power of a covenant, one built on shared responsibility, deep-rooted identity, and standing together in the face of adversity.

Thank you for being the living embodiment of that covenant every single day through your leadership and dedication to our global community.

As we approach the holiday of Shavuot, we wish you a meaningful time of renewal, strength, and unity.

May we continue to hear each other, understand one another, and stand proud and safe together.

Wishing you all a peaceful Shabbat and a wonderful Chag Sameach!