Quote of the day 3rd November 2023

“The milestone of 1,000 antisemitic incidents since 7 October is a shocking indictment of the level of anti-Jewish hatred happening right now in our country. It is even more appalling when you remember that this wave of antisemitism began as a reaction to a terror attack on Israel that caused the largest loss of Jewish life since the Holocaust.”

Dave Rich, Director of the Community Security  trust, quoted in the Guardian today. The Trust said it had recorded the highest 28-day total of Anti-Semitic incidents in Britain since it started counting in 1984.

Since 7 October, 1,019 hate incidents have been recorded across the UK, the date Hamas launched a series of attacks on Israel that left 1,400 dead, and more than 200 people taken hostage.

The figures include 47 assaults, with other incidents including the targeting of children and schools.

In the same period last year there were 160 antisemitic incidents, meaning there had been a 537% increase, according to CST data.

The level of incidents triggered by the current crisis is higher than at other times when Israel has been involved in military action. Incidents reported to the CST include highly offensive remarks about Jewish people, covering schools, colleges and even a Holocaust library.

This is utterly unacceptable - and I would add tahat racist incidents directed at Muslims, Palestinians or any other group are equally unacceptable.

Everyone is responsible and accountable for their own actions. No member of any community in Britain should be assumed to be responsible or accountable for the actions of a foreign government or a foreign terrorist group. And nobody should use events in the middle east as an excuse to stir up hatred here in Britain.