Anti-Semitic, Islamophobic hate crimes soar in London
Attacks against Jews surge 93%, with 499 incidents recorded in the 12 months up to July; 816 anti-Muslim incidents reported
LONDON — Anti-Semitic and Islamophobic hate crimes in London have soared over the last year, official figures released on Monday showed, with global events apparently contributing to the rise.
Police recorded 499 anti-Semitic incidents in the 12 months leading to July, up more than 93 percent from 258 the previous year. At the same time, 816 Islamophobic offenses were recorded, marking a 70% surge.
London’s Metropolitan Police said “world events” may have contributed to the increase, while there was also a rise in incidents on holy days when Muslim and Jewish communities were more “visible.”
A willingness by victims to report such crimes and improved ability of police to identify them were also factors, Scotland Yard said.
“In light of recent world events, we know communities in London are feeling anxious,” a spokesman for the force said.
“Local Neighbourhood Policing Teams are providing a more targeted presence in key areas at key times, such as school routes, holy days and prayer times to give extra reassurance.”
Fiyaz Mughal, from Tell Mama, an organization which monitors Islamophobic incidents, said around 60 percent of victims of such offences are women wearing a hijab or headscarf.
“We also realised quite early on that women who wear niqab, the face veil, suffered more aggressive incidents — there was something about the face veil that in a way brought out the worst in the perpetrator,” he told the BBC.
Metropolitan Police Commander Mak Chishty moved to reassure Londoners that any reports of hate crime would be taken seriously.
“We have more than 900 specialist officers across London working in our community safety units who are dedicated to investigating hate crime,” he said.
The figures come after the Community Service Trust, a Jewish security charity, reported a 53 percent increase in anti-Semitic incidents across Britain between January and June, compared with the same period last year.
Some 473 anti-Semitic incidents were recorded during the first six months of 2015 compared to 309 in the first half of 2014, according to the charity which last year recorded a record high number of such incidents.
