Antisemitic Incidents in UK Shatter Prior Records, Numbering Nearly 2,000 in Six Months

JNS.org – The number of antisemitic incidents in the United Kingdom from January to June of this year shattered previous records with nearly 2,000 incidents recorded, including more than 120 assaults, according to the CST, Community Security Trust.

The report recorded that while there were 964 incidents of antisemitism recorded in the first six months of 2023, this year that number has more than doubled to 1,978. The previous high number of antisemitic incidents over a six-month period was 1,371, recorded in 2021.

The findings reflect the ongoing high volume of anti-Jewish hate since the Hamas terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, said CST.

“As documented in CST’s Antisemitic Incidents Report 2023, there was an instant increase in antisemitic incident levels in the UK following Hamas’ attack on Israel, before Israel had coordinated any large-scale military response in Gaza,” the CST report stated. “The subsequent war, and the widespread public focus it has drawn, have continued to impact the scale and content of antisemitism so far this year.”

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer responded to the CST report on X, writing: “The rise of antisemitic incidents in the U.K. is deeply concerning. Jewish people, and all those from faith communities, deserve to feel safe on our streets. I’d like to thank the CST for their action. We will work together to eradicate discrimination of any kind.”

The rise of antisemitic incidents in the UK is deeply concerning.

Jewish people, and all those from faith communities, deserve to feel safe on our streets.

I'd like to thank the CST for their action. We will work together to eradicate discrimination of any kind. https://t.co/4JzWFqQzLL

— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) August 8, 2024

Joani Reid, a member of the House of Parliament and chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group Against Antisemitism, tweeted: “If antisemitism is an indicator of the health of our democracy, this is a worrying sign indeed. These statistics underline not only the shocking and unacceptable level of anti-Jewish racism in the United Kingdom but the scale of the task ahead of us.

“We have a new government and a new parliament, we now need a renewed effort, from every party, to tackle this scourge,” she wrote.

According to the report, “anti-Jewish discourse” accounted for more than 1,000 of all incidents.

Assaults accounted for 121 of the incidents reported in the first half of 2024, a 41% increase from the same time last year. There were also 83 incidents of “damage and desecration” reported from January to June—the highest six-month total to date; it includes 26 incidents targeting homes or vehicles of Jewish individuals.

The report also noted a “significant” increase in hate on campus, with 96 incidents of antisemitism in the first half of 2024 where either the “victims or offenders were students or academics, or which involved student unions, societies or other representative bodies.” It is an increase of 465% over the same six-month period in 2023.

Of the nearly 100 incidents related to institutions of higher education, the report states that 44 took place on campus or university property, and 45 occurred online.

According to CST, the report makes clear that events in the Middle East trigger a surge of antisemitism in the United Kingdom and even when the number of antisemitic incidents slows down after the “initial surge,” they remain at a “higher level than prior to the trigger event.”

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