Anti-Semitic incidents in London down by 23 percent in 2013

Greater London saw a 23 percent fall in recorded anti-Semitic incidents in 2013, new figures have shown.

The Community Security Trust today reveals that it recorded 246 incidents in the capital in the 12 months to December, compared to 318 in 2012.

The fall was greater than the 18 percent drop from 649 to 529 incidents across the UK, while Greater Manchester saw a tiny increase.  The 529 anti-Semitic incidents included 69 violent assaults, the same number as was recorded in 2012 and the lowest number recorded in a single year since 2003. The figures also included 49 cases of damage of Jewish property and 368 incidents of abusive behaviour including verbal abuse, graffiti, hate mail and abuse on social media.

CST spokesman Mark Gardner said:  “Any fall in the number of anti-Semitic incidents that take place is to be welcomed, but we are always wary of reading too much into short-term trends as we know that the picture can change considerably from year to year.”

He added: “Research suggests that about three in four antisemitic incidents go unreported. We encourage people to continue to report anti-Semitic incidents to CST and the Police, so that we can give them the help they need, and can support the efforts of law enforcement to catch offenders and further reduce anti-Semitic incidents.”

The highest annual total since the CST began recording incidents 30 years ago came in 2009 when 931 antisemitic incidents were logged. This year’s total did not include 465 cases reported to the charity but not deemed to be anti-Semitic.