Britain recorded thousands of antisemitic incidents after the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas in October, making 2023 the worst year for UK antisemitism since 1984, when Jewish advisory body CST began recording such data.
The number of antisemitic incidents across the country reached 4,103, more than twice the figure in 2022, amid a surge of threats, hate speech, violence and damage to Jewish institutions and property, the Community Security Trust said.
The CST, which advises Britain’s estimated 280,000 Jews on security matters, said two-thirds of those incidents occurred on or after October 7, when Hamas terrorists rampaged through southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking 253 hostage.
“The record total of antisemitic hate in 2023 is due entirely to the surge in incidents following the 7 October Hamas terrorist attack on Israel, and the scale of the increase is unprecedented,” it said in a statement.
The rise appeared, at least initially, to reflect a celebration of Hamas’ attacks rather than anger at Israel’s military response in Gaza, the CST said its data suggested. The conflict has left at least 28,000 Palestinians dead, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza, which does not provide a breakdown for combatant deaths or civilians killed by terrorists’ misfired rockets.
The CST recorded 266 cases of violent assaults last year, another all-time high, with half occurring in areas with significant Jewish communities, including north London and Manchester in northern England.
