UK government increases security funding for Jewish community

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announces 54 million pounds ($68 million) of new funding to protect Jewish communities against antisemitism over the next four years.

Earlier this month, the Jewish advisory body, the Community Security Trust (CST), said Britain recorded thousands of antisemitic incidents after the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas in October, making 2023 the worst year for UK antisemitism since its records began in 1984.

“It is shocking, and wrong, the prejudice, the racism we have seen in recent months,” Sunak says in a speech to the CST’s annual dinner, according to extracts released by his office.

“It is hatred, pure and simple. An assault on the Jewish people. We will fight this antisemitism with everything we’ve got.”

The government had already given the CST, which advises Britain’s estimated 280,000 Jews on security matters, 18 million pounds (some $23 million) for 2024-25, taking the total funding up to 2028 to 70 million pounds ($88.6 million).

The funding will be used to increase security at a range of Jewish buildings across the country, including schools and synagogues, the government said, providing measures such as security guards, closed-circuit TV (CCTV), and alarm systems.