The Community Security Trust (CST) has published a report finding a 10 per cent increase in reported antisemitism (892 incidents) in the first half of this year, as compared with the same period in 2018. This sets a new record for the highest number of antisemitic incidents in this time-frame. These are alarming news for anyone concerned about racism and hate, particularly as the statistics do not account for those incidents that have not been reported. According to a 2018 survey, around three-quarters of Jews in the UK who had faced antisemitism in the last five years did not report it.
Today CST released the Antisemitic Incidents Report January-June 2019. Follow #AntisemitismIn2019 for more information on the record high that CST has recorded https://t.co/Hgz77ITkkH pic.twitter.com/8p2HIgHGva
— CST (@CST_UK) August 1, 2019
The report also found a 46 per cent increase in antisemitic incidents on social media from 221 in the first six months of 2018 to 323 in the first half of 2019. This is suggested to be the likeliest cause of the overall rise in antisemitism for that period. However, even this may understate the issue, as social media incidents will normally involve a burst of possibly thousands of posts in a very short time-frame, but only be reported as one incident.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for Hate Crime, Assistant Chief Constable Mark Hamilton commented: “It can never be acceptable to abuse someone because of their ethnicity or religion, but we see that there are still far too many in our society who are prepared to act illegally, fuelled by global events, divisions in our own society or by bigoted ideologies.”
Essential that we continue to confront antisemitism and hatred wherever it occurs & apply the lessons from the Holocaust. So many families are touched in some way by the horror of where this can lead – including my own. @CohenJust @Telegraph https://t.co/QD1rK95O61
— James Brokenshire (@JBrokenshire) August 4, 2019
René Cassin has been campaigning against hate crime. For example, last year, we made a submission to the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Hate Crime. In the submission, we highlighted growing hate crime against Jewish and Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities and stated that community organisations can play an extremely important role in increasing community cohesion, by sharing their resources and expertise with other targeted communities, and standing in solidarity with one another to fight isolation and marginalisation. Cohesion is necessary to prevent further division. David Delew, CST Chief Executive is quoted in the CST report as saying, “It will take people of all communities and backgrounds standing together to turn this tide of hate around.”
We are currently working with the Traveller Movement to develop a new anti-hate crime project aimed at challenging abusive or inflammatory speech and countering this with acts of inclusivity and openness.
We will be launching the campaign in Parliament on Wednesday 16th October 5-7pm. More details to follow!