The Community Safety Trust, the CST, a security body for the UK Jewish community, recorded 1168 antisemitic incidents in 2014, more than double the 535 antisemitic incidents recorded in 2013 and the highest annual total ever recorded by CST.
As the report sets out, incidents happen not only in Jewish neighbourhoods or such Jewish institutions as synagogues, kosher restaurants and schools, but on trains, a case of a Star of David defaced with a swastika in a multi-faith prayer room at an airport, or graffiti at bus stops or in other public places.
The CST, a UK charity, points to ‘trigger events’ such as violence in Gaza that prompt a spike in such incidents – on the street and online – in the UK. Recorded incidences include verbal abuse (the most commonly reported), egg-throwing, anti-semitic singing and spitting, violence, and damage to Jewish property. The CST suggests that there’s ‘significant under-reporting of antisemitic incidents to both CST and the police’, particularly if verbal abuse is against children, or on social media. The report authors suggest we see their figures as signs of general trends rather than exact numbers of incidents, whether physical or hacked and defaced websites.
The report speaks of a long-term trend of rising antisemitic incident totals since 2000. “The incident data collected by CST since 1984 suggests that when trigger events occur frequently, as they did during the decade following 2000, successive spikes in antisemitic incident levels generate a gradual, long-term increase in the baseline level of antisemitic incidents recorded in the UK. This factor is particularly noticeable in London …”
CST suggests that the incidents reported to it in 2014 ‘represent the multifaceted nature of contemporary antisemitism’. The report also looks into the distinctions, and deciding on where the dividing lines lie, between antisemitic incidents and anti-Israel activity.
The report also covers ‘potential information collection’ and suspicious behaviour such as photography or videoing of Jewish buildings, or attempts to gain entry. The report says: “The recent tragic history of antisemitic terrorism against Jewish schools, shops and other buildings
in Paris, Toulouse, Mumbai, Kansas City and Brussels attests to the importance of this work. It is well known that terrorist groups often collect information about their targets before launching an attack.”
Visit www.cst.org.uk.
For the 41-page report in full visit – http://www.thecst.org.uk/docs/Incidents%20Report%202014.pdf
More than three-quarters of those 1168 antisemitic incidents recorded in 2014 came in Greater London and Greater Manchester, the two largest Jewish communities in the UK. Roughly, antisemitic incidents in Greater Manchester are more likely to involve random street racism – what might be called antisemitic hooliganism – against individual Jews; while ideologically motivated antisemitism – which normally takes the form of hate mail, abusive phone calls or antisemitic graffiti – tends to be concentrated in Greater London where most of the Jewish community’s leadership bodies and public figures are based.
Met response
In response to the CST report, the Met Police said that it knows that its Jewish communities are feeling anxious at this time. The Met said that it’s providing more patrols in key areas, remaining in regular dialogue with local synagogues and Jewish community leaders and closely monitoring the situation.
Commander Mak Chishty, hate crime lead for the Met, said: “We will not tolerate hate crime and will take positive action to investigate all allegations, support victims and arrest offenders. In light of recent events, victims of hate crime must be assured that they will be taken seriously by the police.
“No one should suffer in silence, so please report hate crime to us as soon as possible so we can act. We have five hundred specialist officers across London working in our Community Safety Units who are dedicated to investigating hate crime. You can also report to third-parties like the CST.”
