UK sees a massive 581% rise in antisemitic incidents since Israel-Hamas war

There have been 320 antisemitic incidents reported in the UK since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7. According to the most recent figures, the Community Security Trust (CST), which speaks for British Jews on racial and policing problems, said it had documented events it deemed to be “anti-Jewish hate” over the course of 10 days. According to the charity, just 47 instances were reported over this same period in 2022, a rise of 581%. According to the CST, about 36 of the events included universities throughout the UK, while 17 were directed towards Jewish institutions, students and teachers at non-Jewish schools, or students traveling to or from their place of instruction. The UK has made it clear that it opposes anyone who supports Hamas. On Monday, PM Rishi Sunak reiterated to the public that waving a Palestinian flag on UK soil is punishable by a 14-year prison sentence. In the wake of the attack on Israel, home secretary Suella Braverman urged officers to use the “full force of the law” against displays of support for Hamas or attempts to intimidate the UK’s Jewish community. The Cabinet minister set out examples of protest that she said could amount to public order offences, including targeting Jewish neighbourhoods, waving pro-Palestinian or pro-Hamas symbols, and chanting slogans that could be interpreted as anti-Israeli. Since Hamas, which the UK has designated as a terrorist organization, launched a deadly incursion on Saturday, scores of people have died in the Israel-Hamas conflict. Israel has also put the 25-mile Gaza Strip under siege and bombarded it with retaliatory airstrikes.