Violence against Jewish people has quadrupled in London since Gaza war broke out in May

Violence against the Jewish community in the UK's capital reached a "worrying" spike in May following tensions in the middle east, according to new figures.

Metropolitan Police revealed 87 incidents were recorded in the month of May alone, around four times higher than any other month since 2018.

Other months saw numbers range from seven to 22 incidents, the Met said.

The peak came as the conflict between Israel and Palestine escalated, leading to hundreds of deaths.

"Usually when it flares up in Israel, it flares up here locally," said Chaim Hochhauser from Shomrim, a neighbourhood watch group that works to protect the Jewish community of Stamford Hill in north London.

"In May, we had the Gaza war in Israel, so that is why it has flared up in England.

“During May, the Jewish community in Hackney were the target of many racially motivated attacks.

“One of these hate crimes saw targeted over 30 Jewish-owned vehicles whose tyres were slashed, this was pure hate crime as only the Jewish cars were targeted.”

The figures showed 39 of incidents involved male victims, while 43 targeted women.

In one of the incidents, police recorded rocks being thrown at a Jewish home in the capital.

Dozens of other non-violent incidents were recorded across the capital throughout the month, including one where the word “Hitler” was written on the ceiling of a communal block of flats.

Rabbi Herschel Gluck, also from Stamford Hill, which is believed to have the highest concentration of Hasidic Jews in Europe, said: “There needs to be better security provided by the police, particularly for women in the neighbourhood.”

He said he believed a belief that Jewish women were “docile” had made them an “easy target” for those wishing to express hatred against Jews.

The Metropolitan Police labelled the incidents “deplorable abuse”.

In a statement, the force said: “Hate crime comes in many different forms and strikes at the heart of communities.

“We know there is public concern about increases in various forms of hate crime in response to events across the globe, especially over the last 18 months.

“Most recently we have seen incidents of anti-Semitism within the capital which have understandably caused considerable concern within our Jewish communities."

The Met Police added: “Behaviour of this kind and abuse against any individual or group has no place in our city.

“We will not tolerate it and will act quickly and robustly in response to all reported crimes of this nature.

“Throughout 2020 and into 2021, Covid-19 also had a direct impact on hate crime in our communities.

“There was a rise in racially aggravated incidents, both on and offline, with certain communities targeted as a result of the pandemic.”