The ongoing violence was underscored on Thursday following a U.K. synagogue attack that left at least two people dead. This act of violence took place as millions of Jews observed Yom Kippur, their faith’s holiest day, and amidst persistent global endeavors to liberate 46 Israeli hostages held by Hamas.
Information regarding the assailant, who targeted the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation in England by driving a car into pedestrians and then stabbing at least one individual, remains undisclosed.
British police fatally shot the suspect, and officials subsequently classified the incident as a terrorist attack.
Jonathan Ruhe, Director of Foreign Policy at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America, informed Digital that “attacks like the one today in the U.K. sadly are becoming normalized.”
The Community Security Trust (CST), which monitors antisemitic attacks throughout the U.K., reported a drastic escalation in “incidents” against the Jewish community across Britain following the Hamas attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and the subsequent war in the Gaza Strip that ensued — reaching an all-time high.
During October 2023 alone, the CST documented 1,330 instances of antisemitism, which encompassed assault, damage or desecration, threats, and abusive behavior directed at Jews.
With 931 and 477 incidents reported in November and December of that year, respectively, those months became the second and fourth-worst for antisemitism in the U.K. as recorded by the organization.
An additional 3,528 incidents were reported in 2024, exceeding double the 1,652 incidents recorded in the year preceding the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel.
The CST determined that the surge in these attacks was connected to ideologically or politically motivated sentiments associated with the continuing conflict in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu conveyed his condolences for the attack’s victims on X, stating, “Israel grieves with the Jewish community in the UK after the barbaric terror attack in Manchester.
He further added, “As I warned at the UN: weakness in the face of terrorism only brings more terrorism. Only strength and unity can defeat it.”
While the motive for Thursday’s attack is still unknown, Ruhe contended that European leaders’ inability to deploy “their diplomatic weight to support a viable post-Hamas future for Gazans” and their choice to “punish” Israel instead have contributed to the increase in antisemitic sentiment.
The assault on the Manchester synagogue occurred merely two weeks after the U.K. and other European leaders indicated a shift in their stance on a Palestinian state, a position they had long declined to adopt.
However, antisemitism is also escalating in the U.S., a trend Ruhe observed as potentially even more troubling given Europe’s historical challenges in addressing the issue.
Data compiled by the CST shows that Jewish-targeted attacks in the U.K. increased by 282% over the past decade. In contrast, antisemitic attacks in the U.S. soared by 893% during the same ten-year span, according to available data, with approximately 9,354 incidents reported last year.
“The emergence of open and violent antisemitism in America is more recent than in much of Europe, yet arguably more concerning due to its novelty,” Ruhe stated. “A component of the solution involves colleges halting far-left campus ‘protests’ that aim solely to intimidate Jews and those advocating for policies short of Israel’s eradication.
He further remarked, “It’s been very telling that such ‘protesters’ employ militarized language, such as ‘encampments,’ to characterize their presence and activities on campus.”
However, Ruhe highlighted that antisemitism represents a growing concern across the extremes of the political spectrum, fueling narratives on both the far left and far right.
“There’s also a somewhat more subtle normalization of antisemitism on the far right, exemplified by major influencers questioning the need for more context when discussing Adolf Hitler and Nazism,” Ruhe commented. “Stronger and clearer opposition from our political leaders against such narratives is imperative.”