In UK, Hamas-Israel Ceasefire Hasn’t Slowed The Spike In Antisemitic Incidents

LONDON (JTA) — Acts of antisemitism in the United Kingdom continued to rise this week, despite the ceasefire in hostilities between Israel and Hamas that had triggered the outbreak there and beyond.

Over the past 17 days, at least 267 incidents of antisemitism have been reported – an increase of over 500% compared to the previous 17 days, the Community Security Trust security group told The Jewish News of London. CST said 151 of the incidents have come after May 20, when the ceasefire was announced.

In Borehamwood, a town north of London, the mezuzahs of two Jewish families were vandalized and destroyed on Monday, The Jewish News reported.
Prior to the ceasefire in Londonderry, a city in Northern Ireland, graffiti was spray-painted May 15 on the entrance of a Jewish-owned business, the Belfast Telegraph reported Monday.

Separately, a high school principal in the city of Leeds, in northern England, told students in a video message that Palestinian flags can be seen by Jewish students of Allerton Grange High School as a “call to arms” and “as a message of support for antisemitism.”

On Monday, the principal, Mike Roper apologized, saying in a statement: “I am deeply sorry that a particular example I used […] has caused such upset.”