Spike in antisemitism incidents in South Yorkshire year-on-year following outbreak of war in Gaza, says police

South Yorkshire saw a spike in antisemitic incidents in the weeks after the outbreak of the war between Israel and Palestine, police say.

The Press Association asked every police force in the country for the number of antisemitic and Islamophobic hate crime offences recorded by police forces from October 7 to November 7. By also asking for the totals from the same periods in 2022 and 2021, the news group hoped to create a snapshot showing any changes in the number of hate crimes.

They show how incidents coded by officers as bearing a racial or religious element against Jewish people leaped up in the month after the attack by Hamas on October 7 and the military response by the IDF in Gaza.

There was only one incident in October 2021, five in October 2022 - and 23 in October 2023 following the start of the war.

The number of Islamaphobic incidents decreased but remained in the double digits for the same time periods - 22 in October 2021, 19 in October 2022, and 14 in October 2023.

However, SYP added that the figures may not be accurate because it does not specifically record 'antisemitism' or 'Islamaphobia' as a crime. Instead, officers record all hate crimes and attempt to add descriptions of if there was a religious or racial element.

The Star previously reportedly that South Yorkshire Police were not included in the survey, but the figures have now been made available.

The Press Association's inquiries did not find a notable overall rise in antisemitism or Islamaphobia, but there were a number of severe spikes.

For example, British Transport Police recorded 87 antisemitic crimes in that period, compared to eight the year in 2022, marking an 11-fold rise. Islamaphobia also rose to 22 from two, a 10-told increase.

Another notable exception was Greater Manchester, which saw cases of antisemitic crime rise from 15 to 74.

While all forces in the UK record and collate hate crime differently so the numbers could not be used to compare the volume of offences, they do provide a snapshot of the kind of crimes reported.

Meanwhile, West Yorkshire Police recorded a rise in antisemitic crime of 10 to 53 in that period, and a rise of 49 to 29 for Islamophobic crimes.

North Yorkshire Police did not record any of the two offences in 2021 or 2022, but recorded three of each in the period in 2023.