Commonwealth Jewish Council

Meeting with His Excellency Professor Stephen Montefort High Commissioner of the Republic of Malta

Brilliant News: Malta Steps Up!

I was privileged to meet this week with the fairly recently accredited High Commissioner of the Republic of Malta to London and the Commonwealth, HE Professor Stephen Montefort. What a breath of fresh air he is. We had tried repeatedly to meet with his predecessor but to no avail.

Formerly a medical doctor in Malta, Dr. Montefort and I were able to swap notes about members of the Maltese Jewish community he had had as patients (don’t worry – he divulged no details!) and we enthused together about the long history of Jews in this lovely island and the way that the nation has not only accommodated its Jews over the centuries but, during the dramatic recent rise in antisemitism, he was unable to identify any significant incident in which antisemitism had been a problem in his homeland. Long may that continue. At the same time, we discussed the long history of philanthropy and civic contribution of Jews to Maltese society over the years. Of course, the Maltese Jewish community is very small as a percentage of the population, as is the case just about everywhere else in the world, but they have contributed beyond their numbers (which is also the case just about everywhere else in the world too).

Given so positive a record, it was especially puzzling to us at the Commonwealth Jewish Council that Malta had appeared to drag its feet in getting involved with the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) and had apparently so far failed to adopt its widely acclaimed Working Definition of antisemitism, something that is a widespread norm throughout the European Union and seemed an entirely uncontroversial thing for his government to have done.

And here’s the brilliant, good news…

Malta has adopted it!

They announced doing so the evening before HE Montefort and I met. In fact not only was Malta present at the recent celebration of the Stockholm Declaration 25th anniversary which recalled the founding of what would become IHRA and the start of all the good which it has done, but at that gathering, Malta announced that it would indeed adopt the Working Definition, to go with its decision not long ago to at last join IHRA as an observer, with the hope and intention of becoming a full member in due course.

The Commonwealth Jewish Council had long dreamt of, and lobbied for, a time when all Commonwealth countries have adopted the Working Definition – after all, you can’t really claim to oppose something if you can’t actually describe what it is! Reluctance to adopt such a definition - or not having a very good reason why not - is bound to raise the accusation that such a country doesn’t really care and is just paying lip-service to caring.

But Malta has made a dramatic step forward on this front. And of course it’s not only about Jews. As we all know, Jews and the way we are treated has so often been the ‘canary in the coalmine’. What happens to Jews will tell you what else is about to happen in a society. One which is indifferent - or worse - to the fate of its Jews will soon turn sour, collapse into tyranny and turn its intolerance on another group and then the next.

Malta has shown what we had always hoped and suspected. It’s on the side of the good guys, and it absolutely is determined to demonstrate that.

Of course, Malta continues to have issues that need addressing and, like every other nation, it’s not perfect, but right now this is good news and we intend to celebrate it and shout it from the rooftops!

Clive A Lawton OBE JP

CEO - CJC

21st February 2025

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The Commonwealth Jewish Council supports and protects Jewish communities within the Commonwealth and advances Commonwealth interests with campaigns, projects and shared Jewish values.