Anti-Semitism in the United Kingdom has more than doubled over the past year, according to figures gathered by the Community Security Trust. (CST)
When the incidents were broken down by category, the highest spike was seen in abusive behavior, which nearly tripled since 2004, but which more than doubled from 2013 to 2014 – a total of 884 incidents last year alone.
In fact, incidents of damage and desecration nearly doubled; the number of assaults were up by 25 percent and the number of threats (92) increased by 142 percent. The highest spike was in anti-Semitic literature, which was six times higher in 2014 than in 2013.
The greatest rise in incidents recorded by the CST in its annual report occurred in London (583) and Manchester (309) in northern England. Included were 81 violent assaults. One case involved a baseball bat and a glass.
Odd, and sad: in 2013, the same organization recorded its lowest number of anti-Semitic incidents for eight years commented David Conn, a commentator for The Guardian.
Home Secretary (interior minister) Theresa May called the statistics “deeply concerning,” according to Reuters.
Prime Minister David Cameron had already told parliament last Wednesday, “We need to do everything we can to help this community feel safe and secure in our country… I would hate it for British Jews not to feel that they have a home here in Britain – safe, secure and a vital part of our community.”
Really? Seriously? How perfectly splendid. But perhaps Cameron should give this a teensy bit more consideration: after all, even his fellow MP Ed Miliband is being targeted. Where does it end?
It is no surprise to any thinking individual that a survey last month found that 25 percent of Britain’s Jews have spent the past two years mulling the prospect of leaving the UK for good. The survey, conducted online by the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism, found that 56 percent of Jewish people in the UK believe anti-Semitism now “echoes the 1930s.” More to the point, 58 percent said they believe Jews have “no long-term future in Europe.”
As a matter of fact, students at a small Jewish elementary school in London were drilled on how to respond in case of a terror attack.
Perhaps that’s not a bad idea. Last week a far-right neo-Nazi group announced plans to hold a march under the banner, “Liberate Stamford Hill” next month to protest “Jewification of Great Britain.” Stamford Hill is an area of London that is home to the highest concentration of Orthodox Jews in the country.
The group, which also calls itself “Liberate Stamford Hill” has planned its rally for March 22 at 2pm local time in the Stamford Hill district. For obvious reasons, the CST has expressed concern.
