04 September 2006
Jews in Britain are facing a wave of anti-Semitic attacks in the wake of Israel’s military campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon, according to the London 'Times' newspaper. Synagogues have been daubed with graffiti, Jewish leaders have received hate-mail and ordinary people have been subjected to insults and vandalism. A cross-party parliamentary inquiry will report this week that anti-Semitic violence has become endemic in Britain, both on the streets and university campuses. The report calls for urgent action from the government, the police and educational establishments, according to the "Times".
Mark Gardner, of the Community Security Trust, said: “In July, when the conflict in Lebanon began, we received reports of 92 incidents, which was the third-worst month since records began in 1984.” In 2000 the monthly average was between 10 and 30 incidents. The former minister Denis MacShane, who chaired the parliamentary inquiry, told the newspaper: “These figures confirm the evidence given to us that anti-Semitic attacks are a very real problem.” The Board of Deputies of British Jews submitted evidence to the inquiry that anti-Semitism in Britain was at its worst level. In hate-mail to senior Jewish figures, ordinary Jewish people were being blamed for the deaths of Lebanese civilians. “There are also references to the Holocaust, saying that Hitler should have wiped out the Jews", Gardner said, adding, "The number of anti-Semitic attacks reflects the mood music around Jews and Israel.”
