The United Kingdom has never seen so many acts of anti-Semitism as in 2023, according to an organization protecting Jewish places. The organization sees this as a direct link to the ongoing war in Gaza.
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More than 4,000 incidents of an anti-Semitic nature were reported in 2023 in the United Kingdom by the Community Security Trust (CST), a Jewish community organization that protects religious events and sensitive places such as Jewish schools and synagogues. Two thirds of these anti-Semitic demonstrations occurred after October 7, the date of the Hamas attack and the start of the Israeli response in Gaza.
Today CST publishes the Antisemitic Incidents Report 2023, which shows that last year CST recorded 4,103 anti-Jewish hate incidents across the UK, by far the largest-ever total recorded in this country. pic.twitter.com/l1uBA3Hv6l
— CST (@CST_UK) February 15, 2024
Among the acts recorded by the CST: more than 3,300 insults and “ abusive behavior », 300 threats and as many attacks, and nearly 200 “ damage » like those of graffiti « Free Palestine “. Particularly worrying for the Trust, more and more incidents are occurring in educational settings, at schools or universities, and the proportion of minors among those accused is increasing.
Government promises intransigence in the face of anti-Jewish hatred
The Conservative government and the labor oppositionregularly accused of systemic anti-Semitism, condemned these trends and promised intransigence vis-à-vis anti-Jewish hatred, reports our correspondent in London, Emeline Vin. At the end of October, London police chief Mark Rowley reported a fourteen-fold increase in anti-Semitic acts and a nearly three-fold increase in anti-Muslim acts.
Last December, the association Tell MAMA, which records anti-Muslim incidents, reported a seven-fold increase in their number between October 7 and December 13, with 1,432 acts, compared to 195 over the same period the previous year. This is the largest increase ever recorded by the association in such a period of time.
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(and with AFP)