Antisemitic graffiti in Bolehills Park, Crookes, Sheffield, shocks community

The man, who requested anonymity, stated that the graffiti, which had swastika symbols, Nazi and Hitler slogans, was written on a pathway within Bolehills Park in Crookes.

The graffiti was not spray painted, said the man, who believed it had been scrawled with ash from a fire that was lit near the pathway.

The man, who lives in the area with his wife, said: "It wasn't actually paint, but they lit a fire and used the ash to make the graffiti. I rubbed it with my foot, thinking it was white paint but it started to come out.

"I was shocked by it, because it's something that we had never seen in this area before. It was quite shocking, really.

"It (the graffiti) was quite a long stretch with a long writing on it; it was really out of the blue."

He said the incident occurred on the same weekend as the attack on a synagogue in Texas, US, by the British hostage-taker Malik Faisal Akram.

This incident, however, could be a coincidence and isolated, he added.

Second anti-Semitic encounter in Sheffield

His wife, who also did not want to be identified, said the incident has left her 'a bit frightened', as a member of the Jewish community.

She added that this was the couple's second antisemitic encounter in Sheffield, as they had previously discovered a swastika sign on the pavement in Nether Green.

"We were walking near the Porter Valley on the main road and we saw a swastika symbol chalked on the pavement,” she said.

"We were not sure if it had something to do with what was happening in Gaza then but we, the Jewish community, are still quite nervous because there have been more anti-semestic incidents in the last year and maybe previous years."

The man said the latest incident had been reported to the police and he urged others to report any similar incidents, preferably with photos, to the Police Hate Crime Unit.

According to the Community Security Trust, high levels of antisemitism across the country demonstrate how difficult last year was for Jewish people in Britain.

In 2021, the CST received eight reports of antisemitic acts against Jewish people, organisations, or property in South Yorkshire.

This was lower than the previous year's total of 20, but higher than the four recorded in 2019.

Last year, there were seven incidents of abusive behaviour.

There was also one incident of mass-produced antisemitic literature, such as leaflets.

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Peaked during heightened conflict between Israel and Palestine

The charity defines an incident as any malicious act which has antisemitic motivation or content, or the targeting of a victim because they are – or are believed to be – Jewish.

The CST said a record 2,255 such incidents occurred across the UK in 2021 – up 34 per cent from 1,684 the previous year.

Reports peaked during a time of heightened conflict between Israel and Palestine, with 661 in May alone – a record monthly total.

There were 502 incidents that used far right or Nazi themes, including 90 where the Holocaust was celebrated.

Meanwhile, 182 hate incidents happened at schools or involved school pupils or staff last year – up from 54 in 2020, and the most ever.