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Last update - 15:41 03/08/2008
OPINION: U.K. better than most of Europe at reporting anti-Semitism
By Dave Rich
Tags: Britain, anti-Semitism 

The half-yearly figures for anti-Semitic incidents in Britain released Thursday by the Community Security Trust (CST) show yet another unwelcome rise, this time by 9 percent since last year.

This follows several years of increasing numbers of racist attacks against British Jews, and would appear to support the widely-held belief that Britain has a particular problem with anti-Semitism.

Where statistics are concerned, though, it is always worth looking a little deeper to understand what they really show.
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One reason why Britain repeatedly records more anti-Semitic incidents than most other European countries is simply because Britain, and the British Jewish community, is better at recording attacks on Jews. CST has been recording anti-Semitic incidents since 1984.

Our network of 3,000 volunteers and security officers in hundreds of Jewish buildings and organizations around the country work to ensure that Jewish people know who to contact if they suffer anti-Semitism. Having said that, many people who are victims of hate crimes do not always report it to CST or to the police.

Over the past year we have worked hard, in partnership with the Union of Jewish Students, to encourage Jewish students to tell us if they suffer from anti-Semitism. We have also improved our contacts with smaller, isolated Jewish communities beyond the main Jewish centeRs of London, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds and Glasgow.

So it should not be a surprise that the figures released Thursday show a rise in reports of incidents involving students, both on and off campus, and a rise in anti-Semitic incidents reported from smaller Jewish communities.

If better reporting goes some way to explaining today's rise, though, this is not much of a consolation; it just helps us to better understand the problem.

Nor does it explain the year-on-year rise in anti-Semitic incidents we have seen in Britain since the late 1990s. There has definitely been a step-change in the number of anti-Semitic attacks and they have become more violent at the same time.

In addition, anti-Semitic ideas and images that were previously confined to the political margins can now be found in mainstream discourse.

These developments have been recognized by many people beyond the Jewish community, of which the 2006 Parliamentary Inquiry into anti-Semitism provided a breakthrough moment. It agreed with many of the concerns of the Jewish community and challenged the government to take action: a challenge that the government has not shirked. The Inquiry process, its findings and the government's response are unique and provide a model for other countries to follow. They are just one reason why anti-Semitism should not, and does not, overshadow the positive experience of Jewish life in Britain.

Dave Rich is Deputy Director of Communications for CST, which provides security and defense services to the U.K. Jewish community and advises government and police on anti-Semitism and terrorism.

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  1.   I cant believe they don`t know why 02:49  |  VIPER 01/08/08
  2.   # 1. Viper - You are wrong - you should attack Jews 04:31  |  17 01/08/08
  3.   IF YOU ASK BIBI ABOUT THIS 04:57  |  indrajaya 01/08/08
  4.   what a headline! 06:02  |  curious george 01/08/08
  5.   To VIPER 07:22  |  GZLives 01/08/08
  6.   Anti-Semitism 08:16  |  Jean Van Daem 01/08/08
  7.   Anti-Israeli-policies... 09:47  |  Esther 01/08/08
  8.   Article not addressing any key points. 10:13  |  Michael 01/08/08
  9.   We know why and it`s because the BBC directs it that way 10:42  |  x-ray 01/08/08
  10.   17 10:43  |  Victoria 01/08/08
  11.   Viper speaks with forked tongue 11:13  |  Bald Eagle 01/08/08
  12.   How far are we responsible for our governments? 11:17  |  Michael 01/08/08
  13.   9 X-Ray. Plenty of Jews work for the BBC. 11:34  |  Michael 01/08/08
  14.   re: BBC 12:03  |  Victoria 01/08/08
  15.   1. VIPER: so you justify attacks on Jews anywhere 12:34  |  KUTW 01/08/08
  16.   14 How do you figure that Victoria? 12:38  |  Michael 01/08/08
  17.   2. indrajaya: BIBI and this 12:38  |  KUTW 01/08/08
  18.   6. Jean Van Daem: Anti-Semitism 12:46  |  KUTW 01/08/08
  19.   Just for the record... 13:47  |  Ronnie Wolman 01/08/08
  20.   CST: poor use of cash 13:56  |  Vernon Marriott 01/08/08
  21.   Michael Jews are found in many countries, in most professions 14:13  |  x-ray 01/08/08
  22.   #12 MICHAEL-SO ARE MUSLIMS RESPONSIBLE FOR BIN LADEN??? 14:38  |  miras 01/08/08
  23.   Re Michael "TINY Influence"-so little girl on 113 bus beaten up! 14:58  |  Alan SA 01/08/08
  24.   22 On some level, yes. 15:11  |  Michael 01/08/08
  25.   BRITAIN THE MOST ANTISEMATIC COUNTRY IN EUROPE. 15:26  |  miras 01/08/08
  26.   `U.K. better than most of Europe at reporting.... 15:38  |  John Mackie 01/08/08
  27.   #25 15:46  |  Harald 01/08/08
  28.   25 We`re against semates? What are they? 15:53  |  Michael 01/08/08
  29.   We expect no less from a muslim state 16:08  |  Arie 01/08/08
  30.   BRITAIN THE MOST ANTISEMITIC COUNTRY IN EUROPE!! 17:26  |  mira 01/08/08
  31.   BBC Bias 19:05  |  Victoria 01/08/08
  32.   BBC Bias 19:05  |  Victoria 01/08/08
  33.   reporting incidents 19:48  |  hollingsworth 01/08/08
  34.   Better than Most? Think about that statement...they are ALL bad 20:05  |  David 01/08/08
  35.   This is a load of bunk - Britain is a hotbed of anti-semitism 21:01  |  Matthew R. 01/08/08
  36.   BBC bias continued 21:34  |  Victoria 01/08/08
  37.   Mention "Israel` and that transforms 23:42  |  R`fael Moshe 01/08/08
  38.   #31 Victoria 00:38  |  Boycott 02/08/08
  39.   Matthew: Holier Than Thou 01:06  |  Ronnie Wolman 02/08/08
  40.   david # 29, why not go to Isrl where jews descrimiate against 01:43  |  American in NY 02/08/08
  41.   Victoria, miras, David 02:06  |  RW 02/08/08
  42.   Mr. Blair and Mr. Brown do not appease anti-Semitics in the UK, y 02:25  |  JB 02/08/08
  43.   Recording anti-semitic incidents only makes sence 06:59  |  Kris Lazar 02/08/08
  44.   To hollingsworth (#33) 07:34  |  Morris Valentine 02/08/08
  45.   To Mira (#30) 07:42  |  Morris Valentine 02/08/08
  46.   LOLZ 08:39  |  POP 02/08/08
  47.   why should this article cause such anti-Semitic back-lash? 10:19  |  Susanna/Shoshanna 02/08/08
  48.   #26 John Mackee-I guess u report yourself 10:31  |  Susanna/Shoshanna 02/08/08
  49.   Morris Valentine 10:36  |  x-ray 02/08/08
  50.   #47 Ofcourse Golda Meir also was from parliamentary system 10:44  |  Susann/Shoshana 02/08/08
  51.   #38 Boycott 10:59  |  Victoria 02/08/08
  52.   You mean Israel doesn`t attack Gazan citizens? 11:38  |  Palestinian Brit 02/08/08
  53.   Morris the canary.... 11:42  |  Palestinian Brit 02/08/08
  54.   Fact is 12:26  |  Chris Linthwaite 02/08/08
  55.   #52 which part do I need to explain again? 12:35  |  Victoria 02/08/08
  56.   PalBrit monitoring antisemitism 12:55  |  x-ray 02/08/08
  57.   Pal Brit the Canary 13:34  |  Victoria 02/08/08
  58.   Number 8, Michael: good point 16:26  |  Ben Alofs 02/08/08
  59.   Coincidence? 17:56  |  utagawa 02/08/08
  60.   Muslims are democratic in their treatment of non-Muslims 18:02  |  utagawa 02/08/08
  61.   Pal Brit 18:12  |  utagawa 02/08/08
  62.   Pal Brit 18:13  |  utagawa 02/08/08
  63.   To PB (#53) 19:07  |  Morris Valentine 02/08/08
  64.   To x-ray (#49)