The Community Security Trust (CST) have released their annual “Antisemitic Incidents Report” for 2017 and the findings show a continued increase in hate crime against Jews in Britain.
The data shows that in total there were 1,382 incidents of antisemitism in 2017. This was the highest tally the organisation has registered for a calendar year since it began gathering the data in 1984.
The report stated that “the high incident levels throughout 2017 continued the pattern of 2016 in which high incident numbers were sustained by a combination of factors, including an increase in all forms of recorded hate crime and publicity regarding alleged anti-Semitism in the Labour Party.”
In 2017 CST recorded 1,382 antisemitic incidents – the highest annual total CST has ever recorded #Antisemitism2017 https://t.co/F5QpBCJX9o pic.twitter.com/lRBfLJhoUv
— CST (@CST_UK) February 1, 2018
The most common single type of incident in 2017 involved verbal abuse randomly directed at Jewish people in public. Worryingly, last year saw a a 34% increase in assaults on Jewish people.
In 2017 there was a 34% increase in the number of #antisemitic assaults recorded by CST. None were classified as ‘Extreme Violence’ #Antisemitism2017 https://t.co/F5QpBCJX9o pic.twitter.com/mTJnUln8Ma
— CST (@CST_UK) February 1, 2018
“CST recorded 145 incidents of Assault in 2017, compared to 108 in 2016, an increase of 34 per cent. This is the highest number of incidents in this category that CST has ever recorded, surpassing the 121 assaults in 2009,” the report said.
“Eighty-five of the 145 incidents of Assault recorded in 2017 were random attacks on Jewish people in public places, of which 72 targeted people who were visibly Jewish, usually due to their religious or traditional clothing. Eight assaults targeted synagogue congregants on their way to or from prayers, five assaults targeted congregants or staff outside synagogues, 16 targeted Jewish schoolchildren away from school and three targeted Jewish schoolchildren on their way to or from school.”
The report also found that while increases in anti-Semitic incidents in the past have been attributable to reactions to specific trigger events that cause identifiable, short-term spikes in incident levels, this was not the case in 2017.
“Instead, it appears that the factors that led to a general, sustained high level of anti-Semitic incidents in 2016 have continued throughout much of 2017,” it said.
Three-quarters of all the anti-Semitic incidents were recorded in Greater London and Greater Manchester, where the two largest Jewish communities in the UK are located.
CST chief executive David Delew said: “Hatred is rising and Jewish people are suffering as a result. This should concern everybody because it shows anger and division that threaten all of society.
“We have the support of Government and Police, but prosecutions need to be more visible and more frequent.”
To read the full CST report, click here.
