Crime figures released by the U.K. Police last week indicate that 10% of anti-Semitic crimes are violent in nature.
Anti-Semitic hate crimes which include physical assault, harassment, arson, and property damage are on the rise in the United Kingdom. This is the conclusion made by the statistical figures released by the U.K. Police on July 30, 2015. The reports were released in the light of the recent hate and terrorists attacks which happened across Europe.
In the official figures of the London Metropolitan Police, anti-Semitic crimes more than doubled this year. From just 193 incidents in the 2013-2014 period, it rose to 459 in the succeeding 2014-2015 period. The bulk of the reported incidents involved 276 complaints of harassment, while property and synagogue damages comes next at 115. The more serious crimes of violence or assault accounts to 10% of the total figure or 53 cases. Such numbers is alarming considering that majority of the Jewish population in U.K. are living in the city.
Aside from the country’s capital, there’s also a similar trend for other neighboring areas. Greater Manchester reported 172 incidents which more than doubles its previous year statistics of 82. Also included in the list are Merseyside, West Midlands, West Yorkshire, Hertfordshire, and Lincolnshire.
In a separate report made by the Community Security Trust (CST) a group that monitors anti-Semitism, the number of incidents reported for the first semester of 2015 was at 473.
Both the CST Chief Executive David Delew and the Communities Minister Baroness Williams agree that the steep climb in the crime statistics shows that the Jewish community is now more willing and able to speak out against the abuses they encounter. The Minister also said in a statement that: “Anti-Semitism and hate crimes of any sort are not only vile, wrong and totally unacceptable in our society, but they are also an affront to the British values that we hold dear”.
Home Secretary Theresa May on the other hand emphasized that “anti-Semitism has absolutely no place in Britain”. She adds that “Those who seek to spread anti-Semitic hatred should know that the Government will act against all those who seek to divide our country and sow discord”.
The President of the European Jewish Congress Moshe Kantor sees the released report as an indication that new legal measures have to be tackled not only in the U.K. but across Europe. Kantor supports and pushes the idea to make and categorize anti-Semitism as a form of crime in itself.
What is going on? Are we returning to the vileness of the 1930s? "Sharp rise in anti-semitic crimes in UK" http://t.co/QAmHDgcs2T #ignorance
— Lucinda Hawksley (@lucindahawksley) July 30, 2015