ANTI-Semitism has been condemned as a “shameful sin on our society” after it was revealed that hate crimes against the Jewish community are on the rise.
Jewish charity the Community Security Trust (CST) reports anti-Semitic incidents have increased by seven per cent, with 2019 seeing an unprecedented 1,805 attacks — including five incidents in Trafford.
The CST says the frequency of these incidents indicates “a general atmosphere of intolerance and prejudice is maintaining the high incident totals, rather than a one-off specific ‘trigger’ event”.
Reports of online anti-Semitism, particularly on social media, was the largest single contributor to the record total of incidents last year. Although the CST added that “anti-Semitic incidents in the northern regions are more likely to involve random, spontaneous acts of racism in public”.
Robert Jenrick MP, the Government’s Communities Secretary, said: “There is no place for anti-Semitism in our society. It is a scourge on us all and the record high number of recorded incidents in 2019 is completely unacceptable.”
Nearly two-thirds of anti-Semitic incidents were recorded in Greater London and Greater Manchester, home to the UK’s two largest Jewish communities. However the CST recorded a fall of 11 per cent in anti-Semitic incidents in the region, from 251 in 2018 to 223 in 2019.
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