British Jews ‘facing more hatred and pressure than they have for decades'
A charity that monitors antisemitism in the UK recorded more than 3,500 incidents in 2024 as its chief executive said Jews face 'more hatred and pressure' than they have for decades.
The number of incidents recorded by the Community Security Trust in 2024 dropped 18% compared to the previous year, but it was still the second highest annual total recorded by the organisation since it and predecessor groups began collating figures in 1984.
The 4,296 recorded in 2023 was a record high, in the year that saw the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel and the subsequent military action in the region that continued throughout 2024.
The CST said that 2024 was a year of 'sustained levels of antisemitism' amid public attention on the conflict in Gaza, and pro-Palestine demonstrations in the UK.
It recorded more than 200 incidents in each month except December. Before October 2023 there had only been five separate months when this number was recorded, each time when Israel has been at war.
The incidents recorded in 2024 included 201 assaults – one of which was classed by the CST as extreme violence – and 157 instances of damage or desecration of Jewish property including 37 involving posters or memorials for victims of the October 7 Hamas attack.
There were 250 direct threats to people or property, 2,892 cases of abusive behaviour, 27 involving mass-produced antisemitic literature, and 223 where synagogues and their congregants were targeted.
The trust recorded 1,240 online antisemitic incidents in 2024, 260 school-related cases, and 145 linked to students and universities.
CST chief executive Mark Gardner said: 'CST is proud to have given strength and support to British Jews at a time when our community is facing more hatred and pressure than it has for many decades.
'We welcome the defiance and pride that our community has shown, despite everything it has been through.
'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.
'These hatreds are compounded by the stony silence with which Jewish concerns are met in far too many places of work, education and culture. It leaves Jews feeling ever more isolated and worried for the future.'
There were 1,847 antisemitic incidents recorded by the CST in Greater London, a drop of 24% from 2023, and 480 cases in Greater Manchester, a decrease of 13% compared to the previous year but still the second highest annual total for both areas.
Outside these cities, the police areas with the highest number of reports were West Yorkshire with 184, Hertfordshire with 117, Scotland with 74, Thames Valley with 65 and West Midlands with 63.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: 'Antisemitism has no place in this country – not now and not ever. 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.'
She said the Home Office has committed to providing the Jewish Community Protective Grant, that is administered by the CST, with £18 million per year.
The Government's adviser on antisemitism, Lord Mann, said the report 'should serve as a stark reminder to the country that antisemitism is still a pervasive scourge affecting all areas of our society'.
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