London (illustration)
London (illustration)Flash 90

Police in the Hackney quarter of London are investigating an attack against a hareidi Jew that took place last week. One suspect has been arrested in the incident.

The Jewish resident of the quarter was attacked as he walked home from the neighborhood synagogue. He came across an individual who began calling him anti-Semitic names, and threatened to harm him. Quickly, the victim of the attack summoned for assistance, and police arrived within minutes, rescuing him from the thug who was still threatening him with physical harm.

This is the second such attack in a month in the neighborhood. Last month, two religious Jews were “treated” to a raft of curses and epithets as they attended a funeral. The two were threatened with broken necks, with the thug promising to “rub them out.”

Alarming findings on British anti-Semitism were revealed last Thursday in a new report showing that anti-Semitism incidents jumped by a whopping 53% in the first half of 2015 as compared to the same period last year.

The findings, released in a report by the Community Security Trust (CST) monitoring group, in part indicates a growth in reporting such incidents on the part of UK Jews, who are becoming more willing to step forward and take action against the hate crimes.

A full 473 anti-Semitic incidents were recorded from January to June, as opposed to just 309 in the first six months of 2014 - that figure was itself a 38% percent from the 223 incidents in the first half of 2013.

"The terrorist attacks on European Jews earlier this year, following the high levels of anti-Semitism in 2014, were a difficult and unsettling experience for our Jewish community," said CST Chief Executive David Delew. "We welcome the apparent increase in reporting of anti-Semitic incidents but regret the concern and anxiety about anti-Semitism that this reflects."

UK Home Secretary Theresa May commented on the report as well, saying, "anti-Semitism has absolutely no place in Britain, and we must do everything we can to eradicate it wherever we find it."

"It is encouraging that more people are coming forward as the under-reporting of hate crime is a real issue," said May. "This Government is determined to work in partnership with communities across the country and we will publish a counter-extremism strategy to  protect citizens and communities, promote our shared values and to defeat extremism in all its forms."

The secretary acknowledged: "I know that many Jewish people in this country are concerned about safety in their community, and we are listening. Those who seek to spread anti-Semitic hatred should know that the government will act against all those who seek to divide our country and sow discord.”