London’s Metropolitan Police are reporting a significant surge in antisemitic and anti-Islamic hate crimes in the city since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
In a statement Friday, they said that from October 1 to 18 the department saw 218 antisemitic offenses compared to 15 in the same period last year, while Islamophobic offenses jumped from 42 to 101, representing increases of 1,353 percent and 140 percent respectively.
The department said the crimes include abuse directed at individuals or groups in person or online, racially or religiously motivated criminal damage and other offenses.
They said the sharp rise has come despite an increased police presence near parochial schools, places of worship and communities where the “levels of concern” are known to be the highest. Police said officers have visited 445 schools and 1,930 places of worship, and plan to make more such visits.
The department reported 21 arrests for hate crimes during the period and encouraged people to report the offenses to the police.
Deputy Assistant Police Commissioner Ade Adelekan discussed the statistics with reporters Friday ahead of a pro-Palestinian march planned for Saturday in London.
He confirmed the hate crime arrests included a man arrested on suspicion of defacing posters of missing Israelis and another taken in for more than 10 incidents of Islamophobic graffiti on bus stops.
Regarding the march, Adelekan said the department will deploy more than 1,000 officers, including public order officers, road policing teams, mounted units, dog units and police staff.
Adelekan said the march will not be allowed to deviate from a planned route, in an effort to keep protesters from the Israeli Embassy.
Police also will be listening to what protesters are chanting. Adelekan said, “It is important to remember that while supporting the Palestinian cause or criticizing Israel is not, in itself, unlawful, any support for a proscribed organization such as Hamas or Hezbollah is unlawful.”
Police said anyone wearing, carrying or otherwise displaying symbols that are supportive of a proscribed organization can be arrested.
Some information for this report was provided by Reuters.
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