Surge in UK hate crime since Israel-Hamas war – media
One area in the UK has seen a 2000% increase in anti-Semitic incidents, according to a British media report A lone Jewish woman holds a placard saying “Not in our names, Jew for a free Palestine” at a pro-Palestinian demonstration calling for an end to Israeli attacks on Gaza. © Getty Images / Andy Soloman/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Data obtained from UK police forces has reflected a surge in anti-Semitic and Islamophobic hate crimes in some parts of Britain since Hamas’ October 7 attack and Israel’s subsequent retaliation, according to The Independent. A Freedom of Information request by the UK newspaper revealed that British Transport Police, whose operational remit includes more than 3,000 stations across the country, recorded 87 anti-Semitic offenses in the four weeks after Hamas’ cross-border assault, the publication said on Friday. There were eight such hate crimes noted from the same period a year prior, a rise of 987%. Similarly, the figures showed that Islamophobic hate crimes rose to 22 offenses during the same period, up from just two in the same month in 2022, an increase of 1000%. The Home Office told the paper that In October, a group representing British Jews said that an initial surge of anti-Semitism in some parts of the UK was even when compared to Read more Campaigners against the abuse of Muslims in the UK said that the data was according to The Independent on Friday. Iman Atta of the Tell Mama group said. Atta added. Greater Manchester Police, meanwhile, noted a 400% rise in anti-Semitic incidents from the year before in the month after October 7. Islamophobic crimes, though, dropped, the newspaper said. Police in Merseyside and West Yorkshire also saw similar rises. Authorities in Thames Valley recorded the most precipitous increase, the data seen by The Independent showed, with a 2000% increase in anti-Semitic incidents. Islamophobia rose by 42% in the same area. A spokesman for the Board of Deputies of British Jews told The Independent that the rise of anti-Semitic incidents across the UK had “caused enormous anxiety for Jewish people, particularly children and Jewish students or indeed anyone easily identified as Jewish by their dress.” The spokesman added, “We call on police to take strong action against anyone found to be perpetrating hate crimes.” Israeli officials have said that 1,139 people, mostly civilians, died in Hamas’ attack on October 7, while it is believed that the Palestinian militant group seized at least 236 hostages. The death toll in Gaza has surpassed 20,000, health officials in the besieged enclave have said.