Anti-Semitic Incidents Triple in a Year Since Hamas Terror Attack on Israel, Says Charity

People hold up placards and Union flags as they gather for a demonstration organised by the Campaign Against Antisemitism outside the head office of the Labour Party in London, on April 8, 2018. Tolga Akmen/AFP/Getty Images

The number of anti-Semitic incidents in the UK have more than tripled in a year since the Hamas terror attacks on Israel, the Community Security Trust (CST) has said.

The CST said it recorded 5,583 incidents in the UK between Oct. 7, 2023 and Sept. 30, 2024, the highest total ever recorded in a 12-month period.

The charity said in a post on social media platform X that when conflict occurs in Israel, there is usually a spike in anti-Jewish hatred. However, they said that Oct. 7 was “unprecedented,” with incidents “flooding in before Israel’s military retaliation.”

“Antisemitism immediately surged following the attack, with over 1,400 incidents reported in October alone. Over 200 incidents have been reported every month since then,” it added.

Compared to the same period previously—October 2022 to September 2023—there were 1,830 incidents, a 204 percent increase.

The charity broke down the incidents by category, with the vast majority being abusive behaviour (4,583), while others involved threats (401), assault (302), damage and desecration (266), and anti-Semitic literature (30). The charity also reported one incident of extreme violence.

Most incidents occurred in London, with 3,167 recorded in the nation’s capital. This was followed by Manchester (729), West Yorkshire (642), Hertfordshire (162), and the West Midlands (105).

Mandatory Holocaust Lessons

The festival of Rosh Hashanah—Jewish new year—began on Wednesday. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer sent a message to British Jews, noting that while this is meant to be a time of celebration, the war in the Middle East continues to cast a shadow over the community.

Starmer said in a statement: “So often, Rosh Hashanah is a joyous occasion. But this year, we approach it with anguish too. Our hearts are heavy with the memory of the brutal acts of October 7th. As we remember those who lost their lives, I pledge to do all we can to bring home the hostages.”

Amid the rise of anti-Semitism in the UK, the prime minister promised to make lessons on the Holocaust mandatory across all schools in England, even in schools which do not follow the national curriculum.

The prime minister said his administration will also allocate £2.2 million to the Lessons From Auschwitz project, an experience-based course for pupils. It includes a day trip to Poland to visit Nazi concentration camps, talking to Holocaust survivors, and group work.

Starmer made the announcement while speaking at the Holocaust Education Trust appeal dinner on Sept. 17, where he said the pledge was part of the government’s commitment to fight the “resurgence of anti-Semitism” in Britain.

“We will not shy away from this. We will not be silent,” Starmer told attendees.

He continued: “We will not look the other way. We will call out anti-Semitism for what it is—hatred, pure and simple—and we will fight this with everything that we’ve got, just as I fought to bring my party back from the abyss of anti-Semitism.

“I promise you, I will do the same in leading the country.”

Iran Attacks Israel

Israel has been fighting a war against multiple Iran proxies in the last year, including Hezbollah, which began firing rockets into northern Israel from southern Lebanon a day after Hamas’s Oct. 7 terror attack.

The conflict steadily intensified over the past year, with the Jewish state vowing to push back Hezbollah from its border. Israel also conducted strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen last month.

The international community—including the UK—has called for a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah and in the Gaza Strip, with Starmer telling the U.N. last week he feared the region was “potentially at a brink point.”

Tensions in the region escalated further when Iran fired nearly 200 ballistic missiles at Israel on Tuesday.

In a televised address, Starmer condemned Iran and expressed support for Israel, saying, “We recognise her right to self defence in the face of this aggression.”