Antisemitism in the UK rose to a 40-year high last year, according to a charity, with incidents increasing by almost 150 per cent compared to 2022.
A new report from the Community Security Trust (CST), which aims to protect Jews in the UK, has found there were 4,103 incidents in 2023, most of which have occurred since October 7.
That’s the highest number the charity has seen since its records began in 1984, a spike of 147% on incidents recorded in 2022.
2023′s numbers were also almost double the number of incidents recorded in 2021, where there were 2,261 incidents – the last record-breaking year.
Across the whole of 2023, there were 3,328 incidents recorded of abusive behaviour, 305 threats, 266 assaults, 182 damage and desecration, and 22 literature-related.
The CST said these anti-Jewish incidents were “inspired” by recent attack by Hamas Palestinian militants.
On October 7, Hamas killed around 1,200 people on Israeli soil and took 240 others hostage.
The report found almost 2,700 of the reported events date back to that date or shortly afterwards.
The charity says this detail “indicates that it was celebration of Hamas’ attack, rather than anger towards Israel’s military response in Gaza, that prompted the unprecedented levels of antisemitism across the country”.
There was a peak of 80 incidents on October 11, with 1,330 incidents recorded in total across the whole month.
Numbers fell towards the end of the year – in November, there were 931 incidents, and in December, there were 477.
But, they were still much higher than in previous years, or even earlier in the year – prior to October, there were fewer than 200 attacks each month for 2023.
CST also found there was at least one antisemitic incident in every police region in the UK for the first time.
Home secretary James Cleverly said this rise in “antisemitic hatred and abuse” is “utterly deplorable”.
“We know the Jewish community need to continue to see that tackling antisemitism is a priority for us. I will do everything in my power to ensure they are safe, and just as importantly feel safe,” he said.
The report also noted a “worrying trend” in the education sector, as incidents in schools and universities rose by more than 200%, and children were involved in perpetuating 369 incidents.
Many Jewish schools in the UK have increased security since October 7, and the government announced £7m extra funding to help schools and universities crack down on antisemitism.
Higher education minister Robert Halfon said this insight is “deeply concerning” and it is “unacceptable” to see it taking place in education.
He added: “I have contacted all vice-chancellors – reaching out to many personally – to ask them step up and crack down on antisemitism on university campuses.
“The government has been clear that hate crime on any kind will not be tolerated and anyone found to have committed it will face the full force of the law.”
“British Jews are strong and resilient, but the explosion in hatred against our community is an absolute disgrace,” CST chief executive Mark Gardner said, commenting on the report.
He added: “This is a challenge for everyone and we condemn the stony silence from those sections of society that eagerly call out racism in every other case, except when it comes to Jew hate.”
In retaliation to Hamas’ massacre, Israel declared war on the militants in Gaza in early October.
According to the local Hamas-run health authorities, more than 28,000 people have died in the Palestinian territory since following a bombardment and siege of the area.
Tell MAMA, a charity which measures anti-Muslim attacks, reported there as a 600% rise in Islamophobic incidents in the month after October 7.
By December, Tell MAMA found there had gone up to a seven-fold increase in Islamophobic attacks since the war in Gaza began, with 1,350 anti-Muslim incidents recorded in the two months after October 7.