Surge in Islamophobic and antisemitic hate crimes amid Israel-Gaza war, say Met

London has seen a significant surge in antisemitic and Islamophobic hate crimes compared with this time last year.

The Met Police recorded 218 antisemitic incidents between October 1 and October 18, up from 15 in the same period in 2022. This represents a 1353% increase.

And since the Hamas attack on Israel, Tell Mama (Measuring Anti-Muslim Attacks) has recorded a six-fold increase in reports compared to the same period last year.

Islamophobic offences have increased 140% to 101 in the same time period, compared to just 42 last year, Met figures showed.

These figures include abuse directed at individuals or groups both in-person and online, and racially or religiously motivated criminal damage.

This comes as a helpline for Jewish students has received more than 150 calls since it was set up on 8 October, the day after Hamas' initial attacks.

The Union of Jewish Students (UJS) said calls reported antisemitic incidents such as verbal abuse, intimidation, offensive posters, Jewish students’ accommodation being targeted and even death threats.

Twenty-one arrests have been made for hate crime offences in the community during this time period, according to the Met.

A man was arrested on suspicion of defacing posters of missing Israelis in Camden on Tuesday (17 October).

Another man was arrested in connection with ten instances of Islamophobic graffiti being found on bus stops in New Malden and Raynes Park.

The Met said it has worked closely with representatives from the Jewish and Muslim communities since conflict between Israel and Hamas erupted on October 7.

It has visited 445 schools and 1930 places of worship, and said officers have been deployed to "provide reassurance and investigate offences".

Investigations into other reported offences are ongoing.

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