In one case, red paint was thrown on a man on a London bus, while another victim reported that a member of staff at a Manchester takeaway had hurled cups and plates at customers and shouted “we do not serve Jews”. Elsewhere, a Jewish primary school pupil was told by a classmate: “I want to kill all the Jews”.
In Hertfordshire, girls walking home from their Jewish school were confronted by a man who declared: “What is this, a Jewish walkway? Free Palestine you c***s” and in Scotland, visibly Jewish students walking back to their dormitories were pelted with eggs.
“These are all instances of anti-Jewish racism, wherein offenders are targeting Jewish people, communities and institutions for their Jewishness. In many cases, these hateful comments, threats to life and physical attacks are laced with the language and symbols of pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel politics,” CST said.
“Even compared to periods of previous conflicts involving Israel, these statistics are unprecedentedly high. The last time a significant spike in antisemitism related to events in the Middle East was recorded occurred in May 2021.”
In the month from 8 May 2021, a total of 691 antisemitic incidents was recorded by CST, after which levels returned to what the charity would consider “normal” – around 100 incidents per month.
Now, however, “there is no sign that the volume of anti-Jewish hatred is subsiding to this ‘normal’,” the charity warned.
The Metropolitan Police recorded a 1,353 per cent spike in antisemitic offences in London from 1 October to 18 October compared to the same period in 2022, with some 218 anti-Jewish hate crimes recorded by the force during that time.
Met Police Commander Karen Findlay, said last week: “My message to our officers is clear – we will be taking positive action at every opportunity when we are alerted to crimes, particularly those which are inflammatory and fuelled by hate."
Rishi Sunak has said reports of surging antisemitism in the UK in the past month "sickened" him.
Speaking in Parliament on Tuesday, the prime minister said: "We will not stand for the hatred and antisemitism we have seen on our streets. It sickens me to think that British Jews are looking over their shoulder in this country, that children are going to school covering up their school badges for fear of attack.
"This Government will do whatever it takes to keep the Jewish community safe, just as we will do whatever it takes to keep every community safe."
