Anti-Jewish hate crimes ‘half as likely to be prosecuted’ as those against Muslims

The figures, obtained under freedom of information laws and covering 35 of the 43 police forces in England and Wales, show that Muslim victims were 76 per cent more likely to see their alleged perpetrator prosecuted than Jewish victims of hate crimes.

In total, 4,478 religious hate crimes targeting Muslim victims were reported, compared with 2,873 targeting Jewish victims.

Although the number of reports involving Muslim victims was larger, offences targeting Jews were significantly higher when measured per head of population.

According to the 2021 Census, Muslims make up 6.5 per cent of the population of England and Wales, whereas Jews comprise 0.4 to 0.5 per cent.

Separate statistics published by the Home Office show that Jewish people are almost ten times more likely than Muslims to be victims of religious hate crime. There were 106 religious hate crimes per 10,000 population targeting Jewish people in England and Wales in the year to March 2025, compared with 12 per 10,000 targeting Muslims, according to the data.

A hate crime is defined in UK law as “any criminal offence which is perceived, by the victim or any other person, to be motivated by hostility or prejudice towards someone based on a personal characteristic.”

Of the different categories of hate crimes, Jews and Muslims were most likely to experience racially or religiously aggravated public fear, alarm or distress, with 1,208 of these cases recorded against the Jewish community and 1,896 recorded against the Muslim community over the period stated.

Just 6.7 per cent of those cases involving Jewish victims resulted in a charge or summons, compared with 9.2 per cent of cases involving Muslim victims.

In alleged cases of assault with intent to cause serious harm, the Jewish community experienced six such incidents, none of which resulted in a charge or summons. Thirteen such cases were recorded against the Muslim community, of which 22.2 per cent resulted in a charge or summons.

The figures raise “serious questions about consistency in the criminal justice response to hate crime", the Community Security Trust said.

“Jewish communities experience disproportionately high levels of antisemitic incidents, yet offences targeting Jewish victims appear significantly less likely to result in prosecution,” a spokesperson for the group said.

"Every victim of hate crime deserves the same level of protection and justice, so it is vital that the reasons behind this disparity are examined to ensure that all communities have confidence that offences against them will be pursued consistently."

David Toube, head of legal at the Jewish Leadership Council, said the findings reflected the community’s experience, adding that there have been “too many occasions where Jewish victims have been let down by the criminal justice system.”

He added: “These failures create a permissive environment for hatred, in which serious offences are minimised, miscategorised or simply overlooked. This disparity needs to be addressed if the Jewish community is to trust that the law will work to protect us.”

Fiyaz Mughal, founder of Tell Mama (Measuring Anti-Muslim Attacks) – an organisation that supports victims of anti-Muslim crime – suggested a new definition of anti-Muslim hatred would cause the discrepancy between charging rates to become more pronounced, by leading police forces to “focus even more on crimes against Muslims at the expense of others”.

Mugal said: "You would think that with the introduction of the anti-Muslim hostility definition that existing laws were not sufficient, but this data suggests that it clearly is.

"Although the new definition is non-statutory, my fear is it's much promoted introduction could lead to our authorities to focus even more on crimes against Muslims at the expense of others. Antisemitism and its effective prosecution must also receive consistent and adequate focus,” Mughal said.

Former attorney general Sir Michael Ellis said authorities “are still failing to take enough action against the perpetrators” of antisemitism.

"Allowing more than two years of hate to go largely unchecked inevitably leads to violence, just as we saw with the Manchester synagogue attack.

"The government are promising a multitude of inquiries, reviews, and taskforces to look at tackling antisemitism, but the easiest thing they could do is set up a dedicated antisemitism unit in the CPS [Crime Prosecution Service] to make sure offences are properly prosecuted.”

The CPS said that reports of crimes versus prosecutions could not be compared because to prosecute a case it has to receive a file of evidence – and it does receive this for every report of a hate crime.

In the year to September 2025, the CPS prosecuted 11,140 defendants for racially flagged hate crimes that were referred to it, with a charge rate of 87.1 per cent, and a conviction rate of 85.2 per cent.

Every antisemitic hate crime referred to the CPS for a charging decision or early advice is considered, and the service will work with police forces to identify what more can be done to meet the threshold for charging if it is not initially met.

Responding to a story about the data first reported in the Times, a government spokesperson said: “There is no space in our communities for threatening, abusive, or harassing behaviour, and we expect anyone stirring up religious hatred to face the full force of the law.

“The Home Secretary has recently announced record funding to protect faith communities, including a record £73.4 million in funding in 2026 to 2027 for protective security at Jewish, Muslim, and other faith sites. An independent review of public order and hate crime legislation will also be carried out to assess whether it adequately protects communities from intimidation and hate.”