OPINION: Latest antisemitism figures are a reason to be cheerful not fearful
Jewish News' historian Derek Taylor (who just turned 90!), says the CST's latest antisemitism figures for January to June offer much more in the way of hope than horror.
It was Disraeli who said there were three kinds of lies; lies, damn lies and statistics. We are fortunate, therefore, that the Community Security Trust are meticulous in producing statistics on antisemitic incidents, and their latest report, covering the first half of 2022, makes encouraging reading.
On the basis that there are 280,000 Jews in Britain, from January-June 2022, 279,214 Jews encountered no antisemitic incidents. 280,000 suffered no extreme violence, and 279,951 did not receive any threats. There were over 700 murders in all in England and Wales in the year up to July 2022 which did not affect Jews.
Some 279,370 Jews suffered no abusive behaviour and that includes verbal abuse, antisemitic graffiti, anti-semitic abuse via social media and one-off hate mail.
These are all CST figures.
There were six people, out of a population of 67,000,000, who considered we had some responsibility for Covid but naturally, there was no reason for the CST to report the seven people who think the world is square and there are fairies at the bottom of their gardens.
Of the 67 million, only 12 considered that we either got the Russians to start the war in the Ukraine or the Ukrainians to deserve it. Only 36 people out of 67 million were happy that Hitler perpetrated the Holocaust. 9% of the antisemitic incidents are down to minors.
There are about 13 million minors in the country, under 16, so 12,999,025 were not involved.
As usual the number of incidents involving institutions of higher education works out at about half an incident a year, per institution. The reputation of Bristol University has, of course, been severely tarnished, which surely can’t have pleased their academic faculty, who have owned up and even paid £500 compensation.
Now we are very fortunate to have the Community Security Trust looking after our buildings and our community, with the help of the police, but the extent of antisemitism in this country is, therefore, well publicised and is inclined to be over-publicised. We hear far less about the cooperation of multi-cultural communities and this is extensive.
Good news is inclined to be put on the back burner.
We hear practically nothing about the advice the Community Security Trust gives to other minority communities on how to protect their people and their buildings to the same extent as ours. It’s done through an organisation called SAFE which benefits from the 75 years in which the CST has been operating. Nobody knows more about hate crimes than Jews; our dreadful experiences in Europe saw its culmination in the Holocaust.
There were, however, 1,200,000 hate crimes in Britain recorded by the police from 2020-2021. Some of those who committed them are now in prison and that’s the best way of weaning potential criminals from their appalling behaviour.
At the same time, let’s recognise and give thanks for the determination of all our political parties to stamp out hatred in our democratic country. Let’s also keep a sense of proportion. In 2014, 1,617,989 Scots voted in a referendum to leave the United Kingdom. Compare that with the less than 1,000 antisemitic incidents in the first half of 2022.
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