UK reports religious hate crimes rose at record rate, with Oct. 7 kindling the flame

Interior Ministry’s annual figures for England and Wales mark highest number of religious hate crimes in over a decade; crimes against Jews double to nearly 3,282

Religious hate crime in England and Wales rose by a record 25 percent in the last year, fueled by a spike following the Hamas terror group’s October 7 attack on Israel that started the Gaza war, government data showed Thursday.

The highest annual figure of religious hate crimes in over a decade was due to a rise in offenses “against Jewish people and to a lesser extent Muslims” since the October 7 Hamas-led massacre in southern Israel last year, the British interior ministry said.

Overall, there were 140,561 hate crimes — defined as an offense based on a person’s race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or transgender identity — recorded by the police in the 12 months to March.

Most — 98,799 or 70 percent — were racially motivated.

Both the overall and race hate crime figures are down 5% on the previous 12 months.

But religious hate crimes surged from 8,370 in 2022-23 to nearly 10,500 — the highest annual figure since data collection began in 2012.

Illustrative: Pro-Israeli counter demonstrators shout as pro-Palestinian activists take part in a ‘March for Palestine’ in central London on October 5, 2024. (JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP)

Hate crimes against Jewish people more than doubled to 3,282 while there were also 3,866 hate crimes against Muslims.

“The appalling levels of antisemitic and Islamophobic hate crimes outlined in today’s figures are a stain on our society,” said UK Interior Minister Yvette Cooper.

She promised to tackle “this toxic hatred wherever it is found,” adding: “We must not allow events unfolding in the Middle East to play out in increased hatred and tension here on our streets.

“Those who push this poison — offline or online — must face the full force of the law.”

The latest data was released just days after both pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian marches and rallies took place across the country marking the first anniversary of Hamas’s rampage in southern Israel and protesting the subsequent war in Gaza.

British faith leaders, including from Jewish and Muslim communities, have called for the public to reject “prejudice and hatred in all its forms.”

Pro-Israel supporters remonstrate with pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel activists at a counter demonstration following a National Day of Action for Palestine march, in London on September 7, 2024. (Justin Tallis/AFP)

Police in England and Wales recorded a fall in hate crimes on the basis of sexual orientation, disability, and against transgender people.

“When conflict rages in Israel, anti-Jewish hate rises in the UK,” CST writes on X, alongside a breakdown of its figures.

Earlier this month, the Community Security Trust (CST), which monitors antisemitism in Britain, said on X, “When conflict rages in Israel, anti-Jewish hate rises in the UK.”

CST added that “incidents started flooding in before Israel’s military retaliation” for the October 7 attacks, calling the situation “unprecedented.”

The ongoing war in Gaza erupted after the October 7 massacre, which saw some 3,000 Hamas-led terrorists burst across the border into Israel by land, air and sea, killing some 1,200 people and seizing 251 hostages, mostly civilians, amid acts of brutality and sexual assault.