Surge in anti-semitic hate incidents on public transport

ANTI-SEMITIC hate crimes on public transport have increased 11-fold since the start of the Israel-hamas conflict, new figures show.

The number of offences shot up after the Oct 7 Hamas attacks on Israel. Cases of Islamophobia are also rising.

The Board of Deputies of British Jews said the rise in anti-semitism has “caused enormous anxiety for Jewish people, particularly children and students on campus or indeed anyone easily identified as Jewish by their dress”.

Campaigners against Islamophobia said communities of “all ages and gender” were being attacked.

A Freedom of Information request was sent to all 46 police forces, with 31 providing full responses.

The figures showed British Transport Police had seen one of the largest increases in hate crimes with 87 anti-semitic offences in the month after Oct 7, up from eight in the same period last year and 11 in 2021. It also found a jump in Islamophobic offences, with 22 this year, up from two in 2022.

Greater Manchester Police also recorded a large rise, with 74 anti-semitic offences in the same period, compared with 15 in 2022 and 14 in 2021.

The Community Security Trust, a charity that protects Jewish people from abuse, described the figures as “shocking” and said they made clear “the extent of the unacceptable rise in anti-jewish hatred across the country since the Hamas terror attack on Oct 7”.

A Home Office spokesman said: “There is no place for hate in our society. We condemn the rise in reported anti-semitic and anti-muslim hatred.”