Anti-Semitic incidents hit record high

A record number of anti-Semitic incidents took place in Britain last year, mainly sparked by Israel's Gaza offensive against Hamas militants, a Jewish advisory body said yesterday.

The Community Security Trust, an organisation which advises Britain's estimated 300,000 Jews on safety issues, said it had been notified of 924 incidents last year.

That was the highest number since it began collating figures in 1984, and a 55 per cent increase on the previous record figure registered in 2006.

"These record figures show that anti-Semitism is an increasingly significant problem for British Jews," said CST spokesman Mark Gardner.

"The trend must be reversed and we call on decent people to speak out against anti-Semitism in all its forms."

The CST said the rise was largely due to "unprecedented levels of anti-Semitism" during and after Israel's offensive against Hamas militants in December 2008. Almost a quarter of the incidents included some reference to the conflict.

Of the 924 incidents, 124 were rated as violent, the highest annual number the CST has recorded. Three of these involved a threat to life or grievous bodily harm, including an attempt to set fire to a rabbi's house.

Victims of abuse and assaults included Jewish academics, students, schoolchildren and teachers. Most incidents took place in London and Manchester, home to the two biggest Jewish communities in Britain.