The largest U.K. police forces confirmed that antisemitic and Islamophobic crimes are alarmingly increasing. Ever since the Israel-Hamas war officially began after the Oct. 7 terrorist attack, many people have been fighting each other.
Some are supporting Israelis and others are siding with Palestinians. In the United States, government officials and law enforcement authorities warned about the rising antisemitic crimes.
Metropolitan Police officers arrest British far-right activist Tommy Robinson during a demonstration in central London on November 26, 2023, to protest against antisemitism.
It turns out that the United Kingdom is also facing this same issue. Here are the latest details that British police departments revealed.
UK Police Forces Reveal Rising Antisemitic Hate Crimes
According to The Guardian's latest report, numerous U.K. police forces recorded drastic increases in antisemitic hate crimes as well as Islamophobic offenses.
One of the police forces that confirmed this alarming situation is the Greater Manchester police, which announced that it recorded over 74 antisemitic offenses in just a month after the deadly Hamas attack on Oct. 7.
This is definitely higher compared to the same period in 2022 when there were only 15 antisemitic crimes; around 14 in the same month in 2021. The West Yorkshire police also shared the rising antisemitic crimes it recorded.
The law enforcement department said that there were 53 antisemitic hate crimes in October; in October 2022, there were only 10 records and 14 in October 2021.
Aside from the Greater Manchester and the West Yorkshire police forces, here are other law enforcement departments that confirmed the rise of antisemitic hate crimes and Islamophobic offenses in their areas:
- West Midlands police: recorded 22 antisemitic offenses from Oct. 7 to Nov. 7 (only one in 2022 and eight in 2021 on the same month). Recorded 25 Islamophobic offenses.
- The British Transport police: recorded 87 antisemitic hate crimes (only eight in 2022 and 11 in 2021). Recorded 22 Islamophobic crimes.
- West Yorkshire police: recorded around 50 Islamophobic offenses.
- Greater Manchester police: recorded 34 Islamophobic crimes.
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UK's Increasing Antisemitic, Islamophobic Crimes are Alarming
Members of the Jewish community in Glasgow gathered in Buchanan Street where they held a vigil in memory of those killed in Israel by Hamas militants, on October 11, 2023, in Glasgow, Scotland. More than 1,200 people were killed in Israel on Saturday when Hamas militants invaded from Gaza and attacked Israeli communities nearby.
Tell Mama's Director Iman Attac said that the rising antisemitic and Islamophobic hate crimes in the United Kingdom are deeply worrying.
"We should never allow such hatred and intolerance to take root in our communities and at this time," she said via BBC News.
Atta urged people in the U.K.—whether they are Jewish or Muslim or not—to look out for each other. She added that the British people must stand together against hate, racism, and intolerance.
A spokesperson for the Home Office (the British government's ministerial department) said that they are expecting the police forces to fully investigate all hate crimes.
The official added that they must work with the CPS to make sure the "cowards" who commit these abhorrent crimes would feel the full force of the law.
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