englEmilie Botbol
JNS, Nov. 7, 2023
“There is clearly reason for concern. Seeing people celebrating the massacre in London neighborhoods, calling for ‘jihad’ or ‘intifada’ at demonstrations and viciously tearing down posters of the hostages kidnapped by Hamas is sickening.”
In a speech before the British Parliament on Tuesday, King Charles vowed that Britain would address “the barbaric acts of terrorism against the people of Israel, facilitating humanitarian support into Gaza and supporting the cause of peace and stability in the Middle East.” He also stressed that the country was “committed” to tackling antisemitism, amid a major uptick in anti-Jewish attacks and sentiment as the fighting between Israel and Hamas in the wake of the Palestinian terror group’s Oct. 7 massacre enters its second month.
As of Nov. 3, the London Metropolitan Police had arrested 133 people for crimes related to the Israel-Hamas war. Since Oct. 7, the Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit has received more than 1,800 public referrals about potential online terrorist or criminal activity relating to the conflict. Police said hate crimes against Jewish communities in London were exponentially higher than at this time last year, having risen fourteen-fold. The Met recorded 408 alleged antisemitic offenses in October, compared with 28 in the same period in 2022.
In response, the Board of Deputies of British Jews (BoD) held meetings with senior government ministers, including Michael Gove and Robert Jenrick, who attended pro-Israel demonstrations. BoD President Marie van der Zyl told JNS that the rise of antisemitism in the United Kingdom is nothing new. “It is perhaps no surprise that the Jewish community has experienced such a huge rise in hate attacks since the terrorist attacks” of Oct. 7, she said.
“We deserve to feel secure on the streets of our country. And while terrorism is openly and publicly espoused with seeming impunity, we cannot be confident of the safety of Jewish children in schools, students on campus and anyone else who can be easily identified as Jewish,” she added.
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