More than 5,500 antisemitic incidents have been recorded in the UK since Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October, a Jewish charity has said.
The Community Security Trust (CST) – which monitors antisemitism and provides security for the Jewish community – said the 5,583 antisemitic incidents from 7 October to 30 September was the highest it had reported in a 12-month period.
It said in a release the past year’s incidents were more than three times higher than that of the previous year period, which saw 1,830 incidents, a 204% increase.
The charity’s findings come ahead of the start of the Jewish New Year on Wednesday night and the anniversary of Hamas’ attack on Israel, where the terror group killed 1,200 people and captured more than 230 hostages.
It also comes as tensions soar in the Middle East after Iran fired nearly 200 missiles at Israel, after Israeli forces launched “limited, localised and targeted raids” against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
In a release, CST said most antisemitic incidents took the form of abusive behaviour, with 4,583 recorded incidents since last October.
The charity also reported 401 threats, 302 instances of assaults, 266 instances of damage and desecration, 30 antisemitic pieces of literature, and one incident of what it described as extreme violence.
Most of the instances were recorded in London, which saw 3,167 incidents according to the CST. Elsewhere, Manchester saw 729, West Yorkshire saw 642, Hertfordshire saw 162 and the West Midlands saw 105.
A majority of the reports came immediately after Hamas’s 7 October attack, the CST added, with 1,400 incidents that month. Since then, more than 200 instances have been recorded every month since.
Antisemitic incidents are directly reported to the charity, which has an information-sharing agreement with police forces, mostly by victims or community leaders.
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Meanwhile, the CST has also said it will mount its “largest ever High Holy Days security operation” as Rosh Hashanah begins on Wednesday.
“The High Holy Days are always a sensitive period for the Jewish community, and they now coincide with the anniversary of the horrific Hamas terror attack on October 7 and the increased conflict between Israel, Iran and (Hezbollah),” the charity said on social media.
“It is no surprise therefore that this would be seen as a time of increased risk for the community, with levels of anti-Jewish hatred still running unacceptably high.”
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The charity said it will work with police forces across the Jewish holiday period to “enable our community to observe and enjoy these important festivals together”.
The CST had also released a security notice after an Israel strike killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Saturday telling the British Jewish community to take extra security measures at synagogues and other buildings.
