UK Sees Second Worst Year for Antisemitic Incidents in 2024
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain suffered its second worst year for antisemitism in 2024 with more than 3,500 incidents being recorded, reflecting sustained levels of hatred towards Jews, the Jewish body which advises communities on security said on Wednesday.
Levels of antisemitism across Britain rocketed to record levels in the wake of the October 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza.
While the number of incidents fell 18% compared to 2023, last year's figure of 3,528 was still far higher than annual levels recorded before the recent conflict in the Middle East, said the Community Security Trust (CST) charity which advises Britain’s estimated 280,000 Jews on security matters.
It said it showed there was enduring anti-Jewish hate.
"We welcome the defiance and pride that our community has shown, despite everything it has been through," Mark Gardner, the CST chief executive said. "Those who are complicit in this antisemitism range from social media giants to the Islamist and far Left extremists who celebrated the Hamas terror attacks."
Among the findings in its annual report, the CST said there had been 260 school-related cases of antisemitism, 223 instances of synagogues and their congregants being targeted, and 1,240 online anti-Jewish hate incidents.
In the wake of the Gaza crisis, the previous government said it would increase the sum given to the CST to help provide protection for Jewish institutions including schools and synagogues to 18 million pounds ($22.3 million), a figure ministers said would be maintained.
"Antisemitism has no place in this country - not now and not ever," interior minister Yvette Cooper said. "This report shows that antisemitic incidents in Britain remain unacceptably high, and we must redouble our efforts to root out the poison of antisemitism wherever it is found."
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(Reporting by Michael Holden; editing by Sarah Young)
