UK: Record number of anti-Semitic hate incidents in first half of 2017

Via European Jewish Press:

767 anti-Semitic incidents have been recorded in Britain in the first six months of 2017, a rise of 30% from the same period last year , according to the latest report published by the Community Security Trust (CST), a charity that protects British Jews from anti-Semitism and related threats. 

This is the highest total CST has ever recorded for the January-June period of any year. 

 “CST has again recorded an unprecedented number of antisemitic incidents, with figures now almost twice as bad as five years ago. Some of this may be down to improved reporting, but it is sadly clear that the overall situation has deteriorated. Anti-Semitism is having an increasing impact on the lives of British Jews and the hatred and anger that lies behind it is spreading,” said CST  Chief Executive David Delew. 

A further 483 reports were received by CST in the first six months of 2017, but were not deemed to be antisemitic and are not included in this total.  

CST saw over 100 anti-Semitic incidents recorded for every month so far this year.“This continues an unprecedented pattern of monthly totals higher than 100 incidents for every month since April 2016. The average monthly incident totals recorded by CST are now roughly double the level they were at five years ago,’’ the report notes. 

“It is likely that the incident totals recorded by CST reflect a general, sustained rise in the number of anti-Semitic incidents in an average month. Jewish communal concern about anti-Semitism and consequent better reporting, in addition to increased reporting from commercial security guards, may contribute partly to the rise in recorded incidents. However, these factors alone do not explain the scale and breadth of the increase.’’ 

The most common single type of incident recorded by CST in the first half of 2017 involved verbal abuse randomly directed at visibly Jewish people in public. In at least 203 incidents, the victims were visibly Jewish.

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