“Whilst I welcome the fact that there has been a 27% decrease, it is unacceptable that the underlying baseline of what is considered normal pre-pandemic is still the fifth-highest total ever recorded,” said Lord John Mann, an adviser on antisemitism to the British government.
There were fewer antisemitic incidents in the United Kingdom in 2022 than in 2021 but the number remains very high and concerning, according to the report published last week by the Community Security Trust (CST).
CST’s Antisemitic Incidents Report 2022,shows 1,652 anti-Jewish hate incidents recorded nationwide in 2022. This is the fifth-highest annual total ever reported to CST, and a 27% decrease from the 2,261 antisemitic incidents in 2021, which was a record high sparked by antisemitic reactions to the conflict in the Middle East that year. CST recorded 1,684 incidents in 2020, 1,813 in 2019 and 1,690 in 2018. CST has been recording antisemitic incidents since 1984.
An additional 615 reports of potential incidents were received by CST in 2022 but were not deemed to be antisemitic and are not included in this total of 1,652 incidents. Many of these 615 potential incidents involved suspicious activity or possible hostile reconnaissance at Jewish locations; criminal activity affecting Jewish people and buildings; and anti-Israel activity that did not include antisemitic language, motivation or targeting.
The fall in reported incidents serves to illustrate the unprecedented volume of anti-Jewish hate recorded by CST in May and June 2021, during and following the escalation of violence between Israel and Hamas. In 2022, there was no similar external circumstance to have such an impact on the content or scale of antisemitic incidents in the UK. While the relative drop was predictable, the overall figure remains significant. Over 100 cases of antisemitism were reported each month, and the average monthly total was 138 incidents. For comparison, barring May and June – when incident figures were affected by the war-related surge in reports – the average monthly total in 2021 was 116 incidents. Without any relevant trigger event, the 1,652 instances of anti-Jewish hate recorded in 2022 can be considered a ‘new normal’ for antisemitism in the country, far exceeding what was typically observed prior to 2016.
The overwhelming majority of 2022’s incidents (900) occurred in Greater London. There were 210 in the Greater Manchester region. Nearly every U.K. region reported at least some antisemitism.
“Whilst I welcome the fact that there has been a 27% decrease, it is unacceptable that the underlying baseline of what is considered normal pre-pandemic is still the fifth-highest total ever recorded,” said Lord John Mann, an adviser on antisemitism to the British government.
The report findings are a reminder to stay vigilant, Mann added. “The Jewish community should be able to live their lives free from hatred, abuse and violence both online and offline, and these figures demonstrate the vital need for antisemitism education in schools,” he said.
A trend that the report identified as “concerning” was the 141 incidents of hate targeting Jewish minors. The report also found that offenders under 18 committed nearly 160 reported acts of Jew-hatred.