CST's Antisemitic Incidents Report January – June 2017, published today, shows that in the first six months of this year, CST recorded 767 antisemitic incidents, which was a 30% increase from the 589 incidents recorded during the same period in 2016. This total of 767 incidents is a record for the first six months of any year. A further 483 reports were received by CST in the first six months of 2017, but were not deemed to be antisemitic and are not included in this total. CST saw over 100 antisemitic incidents recorded for every month so far this year. This continues an unprecedented pattern of monthly totals higher than 100 incidents for every month since April 2016. The average monthly incident totals recorded by CST are now roughly double the level they were at five years ago.
It is likely that the incident totals recorded by CST reflect a general, sustained rise in the number of antisemitic incidents in an average month. Jewish communal concern about antisemitism and consequent better reporting, in addition to increased reporting from commercial security guards, may contribute partly to the rise in recorded incidents. However, these factors alone do not explain the scale and breadth of the increase.
The most common single type of incident recorded by CST in the first half of 2017 involved verbal abuse randomly directed at visibly Jewish people in public. In at least 203 incidents, the victims were visibly Jewish.
CST recorded 80 violent antisemitic assaults in the first six months of 2017, the highest number CST has ever recorded for the January to June period. None of these violent incidents were classified by CST as ‘Extreme Violence’, which would mean they involved potential grievous bodily harm (GBH) or threat to life.
Almost three-quarters of the 767 antisemitic incidents were recorded in Greater London and Greater Manchester, the two largest Jewish communities in the UK. CST recorded 425 antisemitic incidents in Greater London, a rise of 10% from the 387 incidents recorded in Greater London during the same period in 2016. In Greater Manchester, CST recorded 145 antisemitic incidents, an increase of 84% from the 79 incidents recorded there in the first six months of 2016. Beyond these two centres, CST recorded 197 antisemitic incidents in 66 locations around the UK, including 22 in Hertfordshire, 22 in Gateshead, 10 in Brighton & Hove, 9 in Leeds and 7 in Birmingham.
Most of the incidents reported that were categorized by offender were right-wing antisemitism:
Of the 767 antisemitic incidents reported to CST during the first six months of 2017, the offender or offenders used some form of political discourse in 220 incidents, or 29 per cent of the total. Of these, there were 148 incidents in which far right discourse was used; 55 in which reference was made to Israel, Zionism or the Middle East; and 17 in which Islamist discourse was used. In 45 incidents, more than one type of discourse was used.