Data obtained from UK police forces has reflected a surge in anti-Semitic and Islamophobic hate crimes in some parts of Britain since Hamas’ October 7 attack and Israel’s subsequent retaliation, according to The Independent.
A Freedom of Information request by the UK newspaper revealed that British Transport Police, whose operational remit includes more than 3,000 stations across the country, recorded 87 anti-Semitic offenses in the four weeks after Hamas’ cross-border assault, the publication said on Friday. There were eight such hate crimes noted from the same period a year prior, a rise of 987%.
Similarly, the figures showed that Islamophobic hate crimes rose to 22 offenses during the same period, up from just two in the same month in 2022, an increase of 1000%.
The Home Office told the paper that “we expect the police to fully investigate all hate crimes and work with the CPS (Crown Prosecution Service) to make sure the cowards who commit these abhorrent crimes feel the full force of the law.”
In October, a group representing British Jews said that an initial surge of anti-Semitism in some parts of the UK was “unprecedentedly high” even when compared to “previous conflicts involving Israel.”
Campaigners against the abuse of Muslims in the UK said that the data was “deeply worrying,” according to The Independent on Friday. “We should never allow such hatred and intolerance to take root in our communities,” Iman Atta of the Tell Mama group said.
“Please look out for each other, whether Muslim or Jewish. We must stand together against intolerance, hate, and racism,” Atta added.
Greater Manchester Police, meanwhile, noted a 400% rise in anti-Semitic incidents from the year before in the month after October 7. Islamophobic crimes, though, dropped, the newspaper said. Police in Merseyside and West Yorkshire also saw similar rises.
Authorities in Thames Valley recorded the most precipitous increase, the data seen by The Independent showed, with a 2000% increase in anti-Semitic incidents. Islamophobia rose by 42% in the same area.
A spokesman for the Board of Deputies of British Jews told The Independent that the rise of anti-Semitic incidents across the UK had “caused enormous anxiety for Jewish people, particularly children and Jewish students or indeed anyone easily identified as Jewish by their dress.”
The spokesman added, “We call on police to take strong action against anyone found to be perpetrating hate crimes.”
Israeli officials have said that 1,139 people, mostly civilians, died in Hamas’ attack on October 7, while it is believed that the Palestinian militant group seized at least 236 hostages.
The death toll in Gaza has surpassed 20,000, health officials in the besieged enclave have said.
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