Jewish representatives on Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) review panels have told the JC they have seen antisemitism explained away as a “political view”.
The local consultation groups are intended to improve the authorities’ handling of hate crimes.
However, this newspaper has spoken to several Jewish community members across the country who say they feel marginalised on what they fear are “pointless talking shops” on which cases of antisemitism are “justified”.
Last week, the JC reported multiple instances in which prosecutors faced criticism from the Jewish community over administrative failures and dropped charges.
Now it has emerged concerns are being raised from within the CPS’s voluntary oversight structures, but Jewish members say they have been dismissed.
One panel member, believed to be the only Jewish representative in their region, said they felt like they were “whistling into the wind” when challenging decisions relating to antisemitism.
In one meeting, anti-Jewish racism was discussed as a “political view”.
The panel had “rationalised antisemitism” and “minimised behaviour” about antisemitism, said the member, adding: “There was a lot of scene-setting about how contentious things would be because of Israel, when what had taken place was clearly antisemitic.”
Charging decisions were “justified by the global context,” the panel member added.
A Jewish panel member from another part of the country raised concern over lack of transparency in decision-making. When a case involving the community was dismissed, it was unclear whether the decision had been made by the police alone or in consultation with the CPS.
“There is a complete lack of transparency in who is making the decisions and why those decisions are coming down,” the member said, warning that this effectively gave perpetrators “carte blanche to attack the community”.
“There is not a good understanding around anti-Jewish racism, and much is viewed around political ideology, which it really shouldn’t.”
This was having a “chilling effect” on the community. “The Jewish community does not have the protection of the law any more and that is very worrying,” the member said, adding that the community was being “gaslit” by the authorities.
Despite having a “very good relationship” with the local police force and sitting on a CPS panel, the member claimed to “never hear from the CPS” from a communal perspective.
“It is important that the CPS engage better with communities up and down the country to explain why they charge, how they charge and why they are not charging.
“There has been very little engagement from the CPS with Jewish communities.”
In Solihull in the West Midlands, Rabbi Yehuda Pink sits on a CPS hate crime scrutiny panel covering Birmingham and the surrounding area. He said his confidence in the CPS was eroded after it took a year for prosecutors to reach a charging decision following an antisemitic phone call he and his wife received.
“We have experienced low-level antisemitic abuse for years,” Rabbi Pink said. “There have been so many occasions where number plates were recorded or perpetrators described, and the police acted quickly. But once it gets to the CPS, they say, ‘Oh, maybe it was somebody else.’”
The experience has left him feeling that “there is no point in reporting”.
Rabbi Pink said he had repeatedly raised these issues at CPS hate crime panel meetings. “There are lots of nodding heads, but nothing happens,” he said. “The CPS needs to take hate crime more seriously.”
Describing the panels as little more than “talking shops”, he added: “There are lots of solemn statements, but unless action is taken, they are pointless.”
Alex Hearn of Labour Against Antisemitism criticised the CPS for its “lack of transparency,” including the fact that "explanations for dropped or rejected cases [are] rarely provided in writing.
"The combination of few cases seeing the inside of a courtroom and the number of failed prosecutions points to systemic failures in addressing anti-Jewish racism. This suggests the problem extends beyond the CPS to include inadequate training across the police, prosecution service, and judiciary. The Jewish community faces a justice system that is failing to protect them adequately.”
Former Attorney General Sir Michael Ellis KC said: “Last week the JC exposed an appalling litany of failures when it comes to the prosecution of alleged antisemitic offences — now this is further proof that the CPS is failing in its duty to the Jewish community of this country.
"The CPS Inspectorate, their regulatory body, should be tasked to investigate these latest allegations.
"This government is presiding over a collapse in confidence and the failure of several national institutions to treat Jewish people equally and fairly, and the Crown Prosecution Service is in danger of being added to that shameful list.”
Responding to the JC report, a CPS spokesperson said: “We want the communities we serve to have confidence in our work and are prosecuting more hate crime than ever before.
“Across every area and nationally, scrutiny panels allow a range of members of the public to debate and discuss finalised cases, which can help prosecutors understand the impact of their decision making. “Every decision we make follows the law, which is set by Parliament.”
In the year to September 2025, the CPS prosecuted 11,140 defendants for racially flagged hate crimes, with a charge rate of 87.1 per cent.
The JC understands that the CPS has engaged with the government's hate crime review. The service is also in communication with national Jewish bodies, including the Board of Deputies, CST, and the Antisemitism Policy Trust, which attend the CPS External Consultation Group on Hate Crime.
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