The number of antisemitic incidents reported to the Community Security Trust (CST) has trebled following Hamas's attack on Israel.
CST said it has been inundated by reports of antisemitism since Hamas terrorists invaded Israel, and the community service anticipates the numbers to rise.
"The rate since Saturday is roughly triple what we would normally expect to see over that period, and it is likely to increase further as we process more reports," said CST director of policy Dave Rich.
From Saturday, October 7 to Tuesday, October 10, the CST recorded at least 89 antisemitic incidents across the UK. In comparison, they recorded 21 antisemitic incidents over the same four days in 2022.
Tensions have been high for Jewish communities around the country since the attacks on Israel began, and there has been a notable increased police presence in areas with a large Jewish population.
Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Andy Valentine said: “We are aware that this conflict has a far-reaching impact on communities around the world, and we extend our full support to those affected in London.”
“We are listening and working with communities and partners to ensure people feel safe and protected,” DAC Valentine said.
He added that the force intends to take a “zero tolerance approach to any activity which crosses the lines into criminality" displays of support for the attacks on Israel are concerned.
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People stand outside Jewish-owned restaurant Pita which had its glass door smashed overnight on October 9. (Photo: Getty)
On Monday, residents in Golders Green woke up to find pro-Palestine graffiti had been spray-painted on a railway bridge, an act that David Hirsch of the London Centre for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism branded Jew-hatred.
"In the context of the pogrom in Israel that killed a thousand Jews on Saturday, the slogan 'free Palestine', painted in public spaces in Golders Green in London, at the centre of the UK Jewish community, is an antisemitic slogan and it is incitement to violence," he said.
Vandals also broke into a Jewish-owned kosher restaurant in the area, though Scotland Yard has said it is not treating the robbery as a hate crime. Members of the Jewish community in Golders Green have reported feeling unsafe nevertheless.
Jewish schools in London have responded to the crisis in Israel by ramping up security measures, with JFS students being given permission to forgo wearing their blazers in public.
Due to the heightened security risk for Jewish communities, CST has asked for all its trained volunteers to assist in operations and encouraged those willing to help to sign up for volunteer training.
