UK synagogues and Jewish schools to get extra £1m to protect against anti-Semitic attacks

Almost a quarter of recorded religious hate crimes in the UK in 2021-22 were against Jewish people

The Scroll of Esther is a firsthand account of the events of Purim - the annual Purim holiday is celebrated by Jewish communities around the world with parades and costume parties. Getty Images

Synagogues and Jewish faith schools in the UK are set to receive an extra £1 million ($1.2m) from the government to help them guard against attacks, with a new dedicated police task force being created that will crack down on anti-Semitic crime.

Policing guidance could include specific chants, banners and emblems, with the first meeting of the Jewish Community Police, Crime and Security Taskforce likely to consider whether it is necessary to review such measures in light of concerns shared by the community.

The government wants to ensure “vile criminals who threaten the peace and safety of Jewish communities feel the full force of the law”, Home Secretary Suella Braverman said.

The funding increase will see the Jewish Community Protective Security grant rise by £1 million on last year to £15 million, covering security measures such as CCTV and alarm systems to protect against what the Home Office described as persistent hate crime, antisocial behaviour, terrorism and state threats.

The total amount allocated through the grant since 2015 is £122 million and the department said the measures are being taken in light of the latest Home Office hate crime statistics showing despite making up less than 1 per cent of the population, almost a quarter of recorded religiously motivated hate crimes in the UK were against Jewish people in 2021-22.

The new task force, made up of senior policing leaders, ministers, the Community Security Trust and other stakeholders aims to “strengthen accountability and enhance efforts to combat antisemitic crime and violence against Jewish communities”, the department said.

It is due to meet for the first time in late spring – when it is likely to consider guidance on chants, banners and emblems and ensuring police and the Crown Prosecution Service are using their powers to arrest and charge criminals who pose a threat to the Jewish community – and three times a year thereafter.

Ms Braverman described anti-Semitism as “one of the great evils in the world” and said it is vital it is challenged by everyone “but especially political leaders”.

“Attacks on the Jewish community are abhorrent. I applaud the police’s efforts to tackle these crimes, but we must go further to ensure the vile criminals who threaten the peace and safety of Jewish communities feel the full force of the law," she added.

“I am proud to be working closely with the Community Security Trust and colleagues in policing and beyond to help protect the UK’s Jewish community, go after antisemitic offenders, and stamp out racism in all its forms.”

“Anti-Semitism is abhorrent and I stand hand in hand with the Jewish community against all its manifestations," Security minister Tom Tugendhat said.

“We must continue to strive to ensure that every community can live and worship in safety, free from threat.”

A group of Jewish boys on the top of an open-top bus during Purim on March 7, 2023, in London, England. The annual Purim holiday is celebrated by Jewish communities around the world with parades and costume parties. Getty Images

Mark Gardner, chief executive of the CST, said the government’s announcement is “hugely welcome, given the continuing threats of terrorism and anti-Semitism that are faced by British Jews”.

Ms Braverman said she will write to all Home Office public bodies and every chief constable and police and crime commissioner, as well as the National Police Chiefs’ Council, the College of Policing and the Crown Prosecution Service “to reaffirm the government’s support for the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism, and encourage its further adoption”.

Deputy Chief Constable Mark Hamilton, the NPCC lead on hate crime, said his organisation “supports this funding to help reduce antisemitic hostility suffered by Jewish people in the UK”.

“The right to live free from targeted abuse is a fundamental right that we all share and we will continue to work to bring offenders to justice," he added.

“I would encourage anyone who suffers such a crime to report it, either to the police or to the Community Security Trust. In an emergency, always call 999.”

Meanwhile, the government is set to take a robust approach to tackling oppression, violence and radicalisation within religious groups. A review by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, which is due to be published shortly, a number of recommendations are expected to be made on unregulated faith schools and religious nationalism.

It comes as a number of faith schools have been caught in controversy.

Colin Bloom was appointed in 2019 to conduct an independent review into how the government engages with faith organisations as part of his role as faith engagement adviser.

It is expected to contain recommendations that unregistered and part-time schools should be monitored.

Previous attempts by the government to regulate such schools have been met with criticism and subsequently dropped.

These included allowing school inspectors to visit any institution where children under 19 are taught for more than six hours a week and introducing a register of children not in school.