A recent parliamentary report said Britain must take urgent action to address a “disturbing rise” in anti-Semitism recorded last year, including providing public funds for security at synagogues, giving better education on the Holocaust and introducing a clearer definition of the term “anti-Semitism” that would reduce the prominence of hate crimes at public demonstrations against Israel.
The All-Party Parliamentary Inquiry Into Antisemitism was commissioned after an increase in anti-Semitic incidents during the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza last summer.
‘’There is a considerable anxiety amongst British Jewry about their place in Britain. We have sought to reassure them through our report by addressing their security and other related concerns.,’’ said Labour MP John Mann, who heads the All-Party Parliamentary Inquiry Into Anti-Semitism.
He added: ‘’We have proposed increased funding for security measures at synagogues, clearer guidance for police, prosecutors and judges and have made recommendations about the policing of political protests which were a staging ground for some of the anti-Semitism perpetrated during the summer.’’
The report said government funds provided to Jewish schools for security should be increased and extended to support safety measures at U.K. synagogues.
Improved legal tools to combat cyber hate crimes were called for in the report, which said the words “Hitler” and “Holocaust” were among the 35 most used on Twitter on the subject of Jews during the summer.
“Anti-Semitism continues to linger in British society as it does across Europe and beyond,” the report said, making reference to incidents in Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Ireland. “The frameworks that are in place to tackle this societal infection are strong but could be tightened.”
‘’Anti-Semitism is not just a problem for the Jewish community but for us all. The second All-Party Inquiry report reinforces the obligation of non-Jews, working on a cross-party basis to take a lead. This approach needs to be emulated on a local level and across Europe,’’ John Mann said.
“The threat against the Jewish community is real and anxiety remains high following recent events in France and elsewhere,” said Britain’s Chief Rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis. “Today’s report could not come at a more opportune time.”
“Britain is proud to be a multi-ethnic, multi-faith democracy,” British Prime Minister David Cameron said. “While I am Prime Minister I promise we will fight antisemitism with everything we have got.”
According to the Community Secureity Trust (CST), a Jewish security charity which runs an incident hotline, the number of anti-Semitic incidents in Britain has reached the highest level ever recorded, with reports of violence, property damage, abuse and threats against members of Britain’s Jewish population more than doubling in 2014.
CST recorded 1,168 antisemitic incidents against Britain’s 291,000 Jews in 2014, against 535 in 2013 and 25% up on the previous record in 2009.
CST said in 2014 there were 81 violent assaults, 81 incidents of damage and desecration of Jewish property, and 884 cases of abusive behaviour, more than double the number in 2013, several hundred of which involved social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. CST’s logs include a letter sent to a Jewish organisation which read: “Gaza is the Auschwitz. The inmates are fighting back. The Jew wears the jackboot and armband now.”