Successive governments have failed to tackle rising anti-Semitism since the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack on Israel, the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) said.
The CAA said that some 32,000 people attended the march it had organised in central London on Sunday, which went from the Royal Courts of Justice to Parliament Square.
Marchers were seen waving Israeli and British flags and carrying banners reading, “Act against hate, before it’s too late” and “Zero tolerance for antisemites.”
The group said that there had been “unprecedented levels of antisemitism and growing extremism in British society” and called on authorities to act on anti-Jewish hatred.
A spokesperson for the group highlighted the regular pro-Palestinian protests, which have taken place since Hamas attacked Israel, as being a particular source of anti-Jewish hatred, saying they have “unleashed a tidal wave of antisemitism that has left no part of our society unaffected.”
Government ‘Dragged Its Feet’
Addressing the crowd on Sunday, CAA Chief Executive Gideon Falter cited other incidents that have formed part of the worsening anti-Semitism in the UK, including protesters taking over university campuses and stifling debate, Jewish people being forced to hide their identity on public transport, and the physical abuse of Jewish school children.
Falter criticised both the current Labour and previous Conservative governments, saying they “have now dragged their feet on antisemitism since October 7.”
Falter continued: “The fight against antisemitism puts Jews on the front lines of the battle for the future of the West.
“It is a long front line with many flashpoints, but should any part of it fail, the entire defence fails.
“We owe it to future generations to raise our voices against this tide of extremism and bigotry, and reject appeasement so that we might bequeath them the bright future that once was ours.”
Responding to the CAA’s remarks, a government spokesperson said that anti-Semitism has “no place in our society and we are committed to tackling it in all its forms, working closely with policing and community partners to ensure the safety of Jewish communities.”
The spokesperson continued: “The right to peaceful protest is a cornerstone of our democracy, but this does not extend to hate or extremism.
“The distressing events in the Middle East should never be used as an excuse to propagate hate toward any nation, religion, or group.”
Anti-Semitism Tripled
Data from groups like the Community Security Trust (CST) have documented the rise in anti-Semitic incidents in the past year, with a large proportion being sparked by the Israel-Hamas conflict.
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.
Anti-Jewish Hate on Campus
On Monday, the CST released its latest report on anti-Semitism on campus, finding that there had been a 117 percent increase in incidents in the last two academic years.The charity said that there were a total of 325 university-related incidents: 53 in 2022/2023 and 272 in 2023/2024.
The spike last academic year “marked the highest total ever recorded for a single academic year” and “can primarily be attributed to the wave of anti-Jewish hatred following the 7 October Hamas terror attack in Israel and the subsequent ongoing war in the Middle East that has led to a sharp rise in antisemitic incidents nationwide,” the CST said.
The government’s independent adviser on anti-Semitism, Lord John Mann, said the CST’s report “paints a worrying picture of rising levels of antisemitism on university campuses.”
Mann said he made a number of recommendations for tackling anti-Jewish hatred on campus, “which are still live with government.”
“I will continue to work alongside CST and UJS [Union of Jewish Students] to ensure that Jewish students feel safe and able to live their lives at university, free from discrimination and hate,” he added.
