CST’s Antisemitic Incidents Report 2014,
published today, shows a record number of antisemitic hate incidents were
recorded in the UK last year.
CST recorded 1,168
antisemitic incidents across the country during 2014, more than double the 535
incidents recorded in 2013 and the highest annual total CST has ever recorded.
A further 498 reports were received by CST, but were not deemed to be antisemitic
and are not included in this total.
The full report can be
downloaded from the CST website here and
the Executive Summary can be read here.
CST has recorded
antisemitic incidents in the UK since 1984. The previous highest annual total
in that period came in 2009, when 931 antisemitic incidents were recorded by
CST.
Antisemitic reactions to the conflict in Israel and Gaza that took
place in July and August 2014 were the single biggest factor in the 2014 record
high. CST recorded 314 antisemitic incidents in the UK in July 2014, the
highest monthly total ever recorded, and 228 incidents in August, the
third-highest monthly total CST has recorded.
However, CST had already recorded a 38 per cent increase in
incidents in the first six months of 2014 compared to the same period in 2013,
and it is likely that 2014 would still have shown an increase in recorded
antisemitic incidents even without the impact of reactions to the conflict in
Israel and Gaza.
The increase in antisemitic incidents in 2014 was recorded
throughout the UK. Incidents increased by 137 per cent in Greater London and by
79 per cent in Greater Manchester. Beyond these two cities, CST received
reports of antisemitic incidents from 89 different locations around the UK.
The 1,168 recorded antisemitic incidents included 81 violent
antisemitic assaults, an increase of 17 per cent from the 69 antisemitic
assaults recorded in 2013 and the highest number since 2011. One of these
incidents was classified by CST as ‘Extreme Violence’, meaning it involved
potential grievous bodily harm (GBH) or threat to life.
There were 81 incidents of
Damage & Desecration of Jewish property in 2014; 884 incidents of Abusive
Behaviour, including verbal abuse, antisemitic graffiti, antisemitic abuse via
social media and one-off cases of hate mail; 92 direct antisemitic threats; and
30 cases of mass-mailed antisemitic leaflets or emails. All of these were
increases on the 2013 totals.
The
most common single type of incident in 2014 involved verbal abuse randomly
directed at visibly Jewish people in public. In 397 incidents, the victims were
ordinary Jewish people, male or female, attacked or abused while going about
their daily business in public places. In at least 190 of these incidents, the
victims were visibly Jewish, usually due to their religious or traditional
clothing, school uniform or jewellery bearing Jewish symbols.
CST
recorded 233 antisemitic incidents that involved the use of social media to
transmit antisemitic threats or abuse, compared to 88 such incidents in 2013.
Incidents involving the use of social media are only recorded by CST if they
have been reported by a member of the public who fulfils the role of a victim
or witness; if the comment shows evidence of antisemitic content, motivation or
targeting; and if the offender is based in the United Kingdom or has directly
targeted a UK-based victim. CST is committed to working with social media
companies to find ways to reduce the impact of online hate.
