CST: RISE IN HATE CRIME

CONCERNS RAISED by high-profile terror attacks on Jews in Europe have led to increased reporting of antisemitic incidents in Britain, the Community Security Trust has said.

Releasing new figures revealing an increase in Jew hatred in the first half of the year, the charity said heightened awareness and greater “concern and anxiety ” about attacks on Jewish communities had l ed to more cases being recorded.

CST was alerted to dozens of cases in the weeks after the attack on the Hyper Cacher supermarket in Paris in January, which left four Jews dead, and the shooting of a volunteer security guard outside a synagogue in Copenhagen the following month.

Home Secretary Theresa May welcomed the fact that more antisemitic incidents were being reported.

She said: “It is encouraging that more people are coming forward as the under-reporting of hate crime is a real issue.

“I know that many Jewish people in this country are concerned about safety in their community, and we are listening. Those who seek to spread antisemitic hatred should know that the government will act against all those who seek to divide our country and sow discord.”

Between January and the end of June, 473 antisemitic incidents were recorded by CST — a 53 per cent increase on the same period in 2014, when there were 309 incidents.

The figure was also more than double that for the first six months of 2013, when there were 223 reported cases.

CST said it was unlikely there had been a spike in antisemitism during the past six months, but attributed the rise to “more reporting”.

Chief executive David Delew said: “The terrorist attacks on European Jews earlier this year, following the high levels of antisemitism in 2014, were a difficult and unsettling experi- ence for our Jewish community.

“We welcome the apparent increase in reporting of antisemitic incidents but regret the concern and anxiety about antisemitism that this reflects. We will continue to work with police, government and other partners to reduce antisemitism and to protect our Jewish community.”

CST’s report, published on Thursday, showed the number of violent attacks on Jews had doubled compared to the same period last year. Of the 44 violent antisemitic incidents, two were in the “extreme” category and were life-threatening.