Antisemitic incidents in the UK have more than tripled since Hamas’s attack on Israel, says a charity which helps Jewish people in the UK. The Community Security Trust (CST) recorded 89 “anti-Jewish hate” incidents from 7 to 10 October. That marked a 324% rise in the 21 antisemitic incidents recorded over the same period last year, it said. Security minister Tom Tugendhat said he was “very concerned” at reports of an increase in antisemitism. The CST says six of the 89 incidents recorded were assaults, three referred to damage to Jewish property and 66 were related to abusive behavior, 22 of which happened online.
In examples of incidents given by the group:
- A Jewish person walking to a synagogue in London on Sunday morning was called a “dirty Jew” by a stranger, who said “no wonder you’re all getting raped”
- Also in London, a car slowed down outside a synagogue before the occupants of the vehicle shouted “Kill Jews” and “Death to Israel” while waving a Palestinian flag
He compared the ideology of Hamas to that of the Nazis in the 1930s and 40s. “What the Nazis were doing is exactly what Hamas is doing today,” he told Sky News. “It is preaching a blood libel, preaching a hatred for Jews and preaching a hatred that extends around the world.” Earlier this week, Home Secretary Suella Braverman wrote to police chiefs to step up patrols to prevent antisemitic disorder after the attacks on Israel. Jewish schools in London and Manchester have stepped up security as concerns grow about a possible rise in antisemitism directed at children. Some pupils have been told blazers are optional in public places so they cannot be easily identified as Jewish.
