For the fifth time in six years, the UK is recording a record level of anti-Semitic acts. In 2021, the organization Community Security Trust (CST) recorded 2,255 such incidents, an increase of 34% compared to 2020 and 24% compared to the previous record, established in 2019. It is the worst track record since 1984, when the charity fighting anti-Semites began its statistical work, based on facts reported by victims, witnesses or organizations acting on their behalf and then verified by the CST.
Violent acts are also on the rise: the CSE counted 176 in the past year, an all-time high and a 76% increase compared to 2020. Three of them are classified by the organization in the category “extreme violence” which means that they caused serious bodily harm or posed a threat to the lives of the victims. As recently as early December, a 20-year-old man was attacked in the middle of the street in north London by an individual who allegedly said he wanted “to kill [s] he first Jew” and claimed to be in possession of a knife. The young man finally escaped without serious injury.
Among the acts recorded by the CST, 661 occurred in May, or 29% of the total for the calendar year. This peak corresponds to a new episode of violence between Israel and Palestine, at the end of which 14 Israelis and at least 256 Palestinians had lost their lives. According to the CST, more than a third of the events recorded in 2021 are linked to the conflict in the Middle East or criticism of Zionism. “When there is a triggering event [dans cette région]this consistently affects levels of hatred against Diaspora Jewry in the UK,” notes the report.
“This year it was reactions to the conflict in the Middle East that drove the increase in anti-Semitic acts, but there were other reasons in years past, explain to Release Dave Rich, CSE spokesman. Political and social life has become more and more divided, tense, and the Jews suffer because they are designated as scapegoats. Anti-Semitic stereotypes and conspiracy theories are very entrenched in British society.”
Both the government and the opposition have been outraged by the continued rise in anti-Semitism in the country. For Home Secretary Priti Patel, the numbers are “shocking” and constitute “a stark reminder that racism and anti-Semitism have not been eradicated” UK. “We must act urgently to tackle these despicable incidents wherever they occur, whether in schools, on our streets or online. Hate is unacceptable in all its forms, and it is our responsibility to eradicate it once and for all,” assured Labor MP Yvette Cooper, whose party itself has been accused in recent years of being complacent about anti-Semitism.
In France, the Jewish Community Protection Service (SPCJ), created by the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France (Crif) identified 589 anti-Semitic acts in 2021, up 75% compared to 2020. In addition to the peak observed At a time of the resurgence of the conflict in the Middle East, the organization has observed an increase in anti-Semitic acts among anti-health pass demonstrators this summer, including “anti-Semitic inscriptions designating Jews as the profiteers, even the instigators of the health crisis”.