RELIGIOUS hate crimes across Britain have soared in the wake of the Hamas-Israel conflict, “deeply worrying” police figures reveal today.
Freedom of information requests to forces showed a sharp rise in the number of reported anti-semitic and Islamophobic offences since the Hamas attack in Israel on October 7 and the Israeli invasion of Gaza, which has killed more than 21,000 people.
Based on responses from 31 forces across the UK, the data pointed to a jump in anti-semitic offences recorded by forces mostly concentrated in cities or across built-up areas, while the pattern for Islamophobic offences was more varied.
The British Transport Police had one of the largest increases, recording 87 anti-semitic offences in the month after October 7, up from eight in the same period in 2022 and 11 in 2021, as well as a jump in Islamophobic offences with 22 this year, compared to two in 2022 and eight in 2021.
It comes amid criticism from anti-racist and anti-fascist campaigners against the government for sowing division in communities and branding pro-Palestine protests “hate marches.”
Stand up to Racism co-convener Sabby Dhalu said: “The rise in anti-semitic and Islamophobic hate crimes is deeply worrying.
“Wars in the Middle East should not lead to division and hatred in Britain.
“All of us have a duty to root out anti-semitism, Islamophobia and all forms of racism and hatred.”
Islamophobia monitoring organisation Tell Mama said that “levels of anti-Muslim hatred and discrimination are deeply worrying, impacting trust in authorities and their sense of identity and belonging.”
The Muslim Council of Britain added: “Despite the extremely low reporting rate from Muslim communities, the huge increase in Islamophobic hate crimes recorded with the police reflects what we are seeing from third-party reporting groups.
“The government’s laissez-faire attitude to Islamophobia contrasts strongly with its no-tolerance approach to anti-semitism.
“We are hopeful this will now change.”
The Jewish charity the Community Security Trust described the figures as “shocking” and said they made clear “the extent of the unacceptable rise in anti-Jewish hatred” across the country since October 7.
The Home Office said: “There is no place for hate in our society and we condemn the recent rise in reported anti-semitic and anti-Muslim hatred.”
