Antisemitism campaigners in Devon and Cornwall have warned that rising hostility across the counties is leading some Jewish people to hide their identity in public.
More than 200 antisemitic hate crimes have been recorded across Devon and Cornwall in the past five years, with local campaigners warning many more incidents go unreported.
Tom Godwin, who runs Plymouth Jewish Community CIC, said many people in the region “have never met some Jewish, they’ve never understood what it means to be Jewish, to be connected to a people and a story.”
Speaking to ITV, he said: “Even if you're not religiously Jewish, you're born into a cultural set of norms. We are seeing a kind of erasure of Jewish identity, where people don't feel able to even wear their Magen David around their neck in public.
“People not feeling safe to share their Jewish identity, students taking their mezuzahs down, not congregating at Jewish events, and 92 per cent of the cases we've supported with have not [been] reported to the police.
“So, there's a bigger problem than people are aware of.”
Devon and Cornwall Police recorded 56 antisemitic offences in the year to 31 March 2026, up from 36 the previous year. Crimes included criminal damage, stalking and harassment, violence, burglary and public order offences. There are roughly 7,387 people identifying as Jewish in the South West region, according to a 2021 census. More recent estimates, including in reporting by ITV, put the figure as now being closer to 10,000.
According to Godwin, some Jewish people avoid Plymouth city centre on certain days for fear of “being verbally chastised in the street”.
“It's more insidious as well. I know that appearing on your programme will lead to a series of e-mails. We take steps to counter that,” he told ITV’s reporter Sam Blackledge.
Rabbi Mendy Singer, from Chabad of Bristol, told ITV West Country he regularly hears from members of the Jewish community that they feel afraid of going out wearing identifiable symbols of their Judaism, such as a Kippah or Star of David necklace.
He continued: "People are afraid to come to synagogues given recent attacks across the country and synagogues are needing security.
"We’re having to reconsider what practical physical measures can be implemented to reassure people."
A Devon and Cornwall Police spokesman said: “We know that hate crime goes unreported and it is highly likely that the rise we have seen reflects an increase in incidents, rather than solely confidence in reporting,” he said.
"We do not tolerate hate crime in any form and strongly encourage victims to come forward and report incidents to us, safe in the knowledge that we will take them seriously and thoroughly investigate any offences.
"Later this month our Plymouth police commander and the force lead for hate crime will be meeting with representatives of Plymouth Jewish Community CIC and Community Security Trust to explore ways in which we increase trust and encourage reporting within the Jewish community in Plymouth."
Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Commissioner Alison Hernandez urged victims to report incidents, saying it was “so important” that people affected by an incident of hate in their community reports it.
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