Acts of antisemitism in the UK have fallen sharply this year from the number of incidents in 2021, which hit a record high due to protests over the Gaza war.

The latest report from the Community Security Trust (CST) reveals there were 786 attacks on Jewish people between January and June this year, down from 1,371 for the same period in 2021.

But the charity, which monitors antisemitism and provides security for the Jewish community in Britain, warned against complacency, citing the pandemic and increased attention on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as possible reasons for the fall.

mark gardner

CST chief executive Mark Gardner, who received an MBE

CST also notes that this year’s figures are the joint fifth-highest on record for the first half of any year since the charity began recording antisemitic incidents in 1984.

A further 272 reports of potential incidents were received by CST in the first six months of 2022 but were not deemed to be antisemitic.

CST chief executive Mark Gardner said: “The January to June total has fallen, but that is of limited comfort, because last year was a record high due to the May 2021 war in the Middle East.

“Without that conflict or the influence of other factors like the pandemic, these latest figures show that the base level of anti-Jewish hatred remains far too widespread; and may even be worsening amongst younger people.”

The government’s independent adviser on antisemitism, Lord Mann, said: “CST’s latest incident report highlights why action to tackle antisemitism must remain a priority under our new Prime Minister. Though there has been a welcome drop from the historic high last year, we cannot allow the continued level of antisemitic incidents to go unchallenged.”

Deputy Chief Constable Mark Hamilton, who is the National Policing Lead for hate crime, said: “As ever, we are grateful for the valuable work CST does to support and protect Jewish communities, as well as others affected by hate crimes.

“Whilst the UK remains amongst the safest places in the world for Jewish people to live, even these reduced levels are unacceptable.”

The charity recorded 73 antisemitic incidents in the category of Assault in the first six months of 2022, down 20 per cent from the 91 incidents in this category from January to June 2021. But none were serious enough to warrant classifying as Extreme Violence, which would involve grievous bodily harm or a threat to life, the charity said.

The proportion of incidents that happened offline rather than online rose to 81 per cent of the half-year total, compared to 72 per cent in the first six months of 2021 and 58 per cent in the first half of 2020.

The fact that offline and violent incidents made up greater percentages of the overall total than in the past two years suggests that antisemitic activity is moving back from our screens onto the streets as Britain leaves Covid-19 restrictions behind, according to the CST report.

CST recorded only one incident of antisemitic “zoombombing”in the first half of 2022, involving the hijacking of, or intrusion into, online communal events to post or shout antisemitic abuse. This compares to 13 such incidents in the first half of 2021.
However, it noted 12 incidents that referenced or were in some way inspired by the war in Ukraine.

They included conspiracy theories accusing Jewish people of causing or bankrolling the war, attacks on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for his Jewish identity, and pro-Russian sentiment expressed in antisemitic terms, the report states.

There were 463 antisemitic incidents in Greater London, a decrease of 39 per cent from the 759 incidents recorded in the first half of 2021, said CST.

A total of 104 antisemitic incidents were recorded in Greater Manchester, a fall of 43 per cent from the comparable time period in 2021.