A large volume of anti-Semitic incidents perpetrated following Hamas’s terror attack on Israel have contributed to the UK experiencing its highest levels of anti-Semitism in 40 years, a charity has said.
A ‘Celebration’ of Hamas’s Terror Attack
“The speed at which antisemites mobilised in the UK following Hamas’ attack shows that, initially at least, the significant increase in anti-Jewish hate was, if anything, a celebration of Hamas’ massacre by people whose own hatred was emboldened and, in their minds, legitimised by the brutality enacted on civilians in southern Israel,” the report said, stating that 31 anti-Semitic incidents were reported to the charity on Oct. 7, 2023, the day of the terror attack itself.Of the total for the year, 1,774 (43 percent) of incidents were Israel or Palestine related, which the charity said was a 621 percent rise from the 246 such cases in 2022, when there was no significant trigger event in the Middle East. The next most frequent type involved offenders alluding to Hitler, the Nazis, or the Holocaust, which accounted for 955 incidents, followed by anti-Semitic conspiracy theories (319).
The charity said it had not included in the report’s statistics a further 2,185 incidents because they were not deemed to be anti-Semitic, including criminal activity affecting Jewish people and anti-Israel activity that did not include anti-Semitic motives or language.
Broken down by incident type, abusive behaviour accounted for 3,328 incidents, followed by 305 threats, 266 assaults, 182 instances of damage or desecration, and 22 incidents of mass-produced anti-Semitic literature. Thirty-one percent of incidents (1,282) occurred online.
In 2023, more than half (2,410) of the anti-Semitic incidents were reported in Greater London, followed by Greater Manchester (555), both homes to the largest Jewish populations in the UK.
In terms of sources of the incident reporting, the highest proportion were the police (1,177) followed by victims (1,154), witnesses (925), CST staff (287), the victims’ friends or relatives (273), and other sources.
Rise in Anti-Semitism ‘Utterly Deplorable’
Home Secretary James Cleverly commented on CST’s report in a statement, calling the rise in anti-Semitism “utterly deplorable.” Mr. Cleverly, who recently met with the CST, said the government had taken “strong steps” to confront anti-Semitism, including increasing funding for security at synagogues and Jewish schools and ensuring that “hate crime and expressions of support for the terrorist organisation Hamas are met with the full force of the law.”Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said in a statement: “The appalling and intolerable rise in anti-Semitism we have seen over recent months is a stain on our society and we must never relent in our work to root it out. We must not allow events unfolding internationally to play out in increased hatred and prejudice here in our communities.”
Ms. Cooper made the remarks after her party dropped two parliamentary candidates in as many days following reports of anti-Semitic and anti-Israel remarks made during a meeting of the Lancashire Labour Party in October.
Liahav Eitan said the incident occurred after he objected to the waving of a Palestinian flag at the end of Mr. Currie’s set.
Mr. Eitan told the BBC on Wednesday, “The past four months since the 7 October living in London as a Jewish Israeli, that’s not been an easy thing to do.”
“The city is pretty unwelcoming at the moment,” he said.