Robert Halfon MP - Judaism

Robert Halfon MP

MP for Harlow

I am a proud Jewish Member of Parliament. My faith influences me because Jewish tradition is focused around education, work ethic, compassion and support for the state of Israel. Being Jewish I have always learnt about the Holocaust which forms the backdrop of Jewish historical learning. The rise of antisemitism always sadly brings you back to that tragic history.

However, I am very proud to be a Jewish MP in the greatest Parliament in the world. It is a tribute to our country that the son of an immigrant can become an MP on merit and be a former Minister, have attended Cabinet and now be Chair of the Education Committee.

An interesting story about faith is that one day, in the middle of nowhere in South Africa, my car fell in a ditch after a wrong turn. It was pretty scary and possibly dangerous. Out of the blue, after 15 minutes a tow truck happened to drive past and tow the car out of the ditch at 2am. The chances of a tow truck turning up at the right moment and stopping was all quite remarkable. Most people would say that this was a coincidence, but I had said my prayers that night.