Politics fuelling high number of antisemitic incidents in UK, says watchdog

A high number of antisemitic incidents in the UK in the first six months of this year has been attributed to reactions to violence on the border of Gaza and Israel, and the continuing row in the Labour party over antisemitism.

New figures from the Community Security Trust (CST), which monitors antisemitism, showed 727 incidents between January and June 2018, a drop of 8% on the same period in 2017. However, it is the second highest figure recorded for similar periods.

Numbers spiked in April and May this year, “partly caused by reactions to political events in the UK and overseas, involving the Labour party and violence on the border of Israel and Gaza, in those months”, said the CST.

In April and May, scores of Palestinians were killed while protesting at the border between Israel and Gaza. On the worst day of violence, 62 Palestinians were killed by the Israeli army.

The CST said 77 antisemitic incidents in the first half of 2018 showed anti-Israel motivation alongside antisemitism, compared to 49 during the same period in 2017.

It also recorded 34 antisemitic incidents in the first six months of 2018 that included explicit reference to the Labour party.

Labour has continued to be embroiled in a bitter dispute over antisemitism and whether it should adopt an international definition. Many in the Jewish community have accused the party leadership of tolerating antisemitism. Former minister Margaret Hodge confronted the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, last week calling him a “racist and an antisemite”.

The CST said in its report that events in Gaza and the Labour party helped explain the spikes in antisemitic incidents in April and May, but they did not explain historically high monthly totals recorded since April 2016.

“Rather than being linked to specific trigger events, this sustained high level of antisemitic incidents suggests a longer-term phenomenon in which people with antisemitic attitudes appear to be more confident to express their views; while incident victims and reporters may be more motivated to report the antisemitism they experience or encounter,” the CST said.

Among the incidents between January and June this year were 59 assaults, three of which left people requiring hospital treatment. One involved the use of a knife and 13 involved stones, bricks, bottles or other objects being thrown.

Another 163 incidents involved social media. “In some cases, social media has been used as a tool for coordinated campaigns of antisemitic harassment, threats and abuse directed at Jewish public figures and other individuals,” the report said.

Three-quarters of all incidents recorded involved abusive behaviour, including antisemitic graffiti on non-Jewish property, one-off hate mail, antisemitic verbal abuse and social media incidents that did not involve direct threats.

David Delew, the CST’s chief executive, welcomed the drop in the number of incidents since the same period last year but added: “These are the second worst figures ever and continue a trend that has now lasted for over two years. This antisemitism is not a random event, it reflects the state of British politics and wider society.”