Antisemitic incidents in the United Kingdom decreased by 13 percent in the first six months of this year primarily because of the coronavirus lockdown, the British Jewish community’s security agency disclosed in a new report issued on Wednesday night.
The Community Security Trust (CST) recorded 789 antisemitic incidents nationwide in the first six months of 2020 — a 13 percent fall from the 911 incidents recorded in the first half of 2019.
However, the agency emphasized that the total was “still the third-highest number of incidents CST has ever recorded in the January to June period of any year” since it began systematic monitoring in 1984.
March and April recorded the lowest number of incidents — 98 and 102 respectively. “These months correlate with the period when coronavirus lockdown measures were most forcefully communicated and enforced: the instruction to close down religious premises, schools, restaurants, pubs and other venues was issued towards the end of March, while messaging was relaxed in May,” the report observed.
The pandemic “also influenced the way antisemitism manifested during this period,” the report noted.
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