British Anti-Semitic Incidents Soar by 53%
Image by getty images
The number of recorded anti-Semitic incidents in Britain soared in the first six months of this year compared with 2014, probably due to a surge in reporting among fearful Jews, a report by a Jewish community body said on Thursday.
There were 473 recorded incidents between January and June this year including two classified as “extreme violence,” said the Community Security Trust (CST), which advises Britain’s estimated 260,000 Jews on security.
That represented a 53 percent rise compared to the same period last year, said the CST which has recorded anti-Semitic incidents since 1984.
Across Europe, Jews have warned of a growing undercurrent of anti-Semitism, fueled by anger at Israeli policy in the Middle East and social tensions over immigration and increasing economic hardship under austerity policies that have helped far-right movements gain popularity.
Those fears were exacerbated in January when an Islamist militant gunman killed four people in a Jewish supermarket in Paris, followed a month later by an attack on Copenhagen’s main synagogue.
In February, the CST said the number of incidents in Britain had risen to a record level in 2014, echoing a worldwide trend found by a study for Tel Aviv University’s Kantor Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry.
“The terrorist attacks on European Jews earlier this year, following the high levels of anti-Semitism in 2014, were a difficult and unsettling experience for our Jewish community,” said CST Chief Executive David Delew.
“We welcome the apparent increase in reporting of anti-Semitic incidents but regret the concern and anxiety about anti-Semitism that this reflects.”
The CST put 2014’s record number of incidents down to a reaction to the 50-day conflict in Gaza that ended last August, but said this year’s rise was likely to reflect a willingness to report cases because of heightened concerns.
It said it had received a further 333 reports but deemed these not to be anti-Semitic.
Earlier this year, a group of senior lawmakers said urgent action was needed to address the rise in anti-Semitism, while a survey suggested a quarter of Jews had considered leaving Britain and more than half felt they had no long term future in Europe.
Following the deadly Paris attack, British police stepped up patrols at synagogues and other Jewish venues, and the government has promised it would act against anti-Semitism.
“I know that many Jewish people in this country are concerned about safety in their community, and we are listening,” said Home Secretary (interior minister) Theresa May.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!
