Hate crime in Britain has reached the second-highest recorded levels in recent memory, a recent survey revealed by the Community Security Trust (CST), which monitors and combats anti-Semitism in the UK, after Operation Protective Edge in Gaza began on July 8.
Thousands of people have participated in anti-Israel protests, and the demonstrations have been accompanied by anti-Semitic violence. Over the past several weeks, for example, pro-Palestinian rioters vandalized a Birmingham Tesco storeout of rage over a refusal to boycott Israeli products; in a similar incident, hundreds of demonstrators rioted outside the Kedem store in Manchester, in a series of clashes which culminated in dozens of death threats being hurled at the store's owners.
But British Jews have begun to fight back, according to the grassroots Campaign Against Anti-Semitism - and will rally outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London.
“There is a wave of widespread antisemitism sweeping across Europe, and also here in Britain," Jonathan Sacerdoti, spokesman for the Campaign Against Antisemitism said. "British Jews are afraid. Citizens are looking to the police and government to enforce the law with zero tolerance against antisemites, as they do in other cases of racism. It is only through zero tolerance that the tide of antisemitism can be turned. This demand is backed by the full spectrum of Jewish organizations.”
Just three weeks old, the Campaign Against Antisemitism is comprised of ordinary British Jews frustrated by what many feel is the complacency of the British government to rising anti-Semitism.
The group has already drawn the backing of thousands of members of the Jewish community, and has gained the support of the full spectrum of Jewish communal organizations.
This is the latest in a series of actions British Jews have taken to combat anti-Semitism over the past several months, as hate crimes against Jews escalate.
Recent statistics prove that hate crimes against Jews have risen 383% worldwide since 2013, including a 436% hate crime hike in Europe. Hate crimes are so high that several Jewish organizations met earlier this month for an emergency hearing on the situation.