The Times: Antisemitic incidents ‘rise by a fifth’ amid US-Israel war with Iran
Antisemitism in Britain is believed to have spiked after the United States and Israel’s war with Iran and a double stabbing of two Jewish men in London, according to a report.
Data from the Community Security Trust (CST) details 1,926 antisemitic incidents recorded across the country in January to June, up by a fifth on the first half of last year, when there were 1,598.
It is the second-highest total reported to the trust in the first six months of any year, exceeded only by the 2,019 incidents recorded in the first half of 2024.
The numbers have been described as “appalling” by Sarah Jones, the policing and crime minister, who said they showed “people living in fear just for being who they are”.
The first few months of 2026 saw a series of arson attacks at Jewish sites in London, including on four Jewish community ambulances, as well as a double stabbing in Golders Green, which was treated as an act of terrorism.
The April 29 stabbings, which left two men injured, preceded the highest daily antisemitic incident totals of the six-month period. A total of 71 incidents were recorded by CST in the three days after the stabbing.
The trust said some of the incidents “celebrated the violence and called for further injuries to Jewish people, or used the incident to promote antisemitic conspiracy theories and anti-Jewish abuse”.
www.thetimes.com/uk/religion/article/antisemitic-incidents-rise-by-a-fifth-amid-us-israel-war-with-iran-cgm6dswt2