A record number of religious hate crimes happen in the UK because of the Gaza war
In England and Wales, religious hate crimes have gone up by a record 25% in the last year. This is mostly because of a rise since the war in Gaza began, according to figures released by the government on Thursday. The interior minister said that since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2018, there have been more crimes "against Jewish people and to a lesser extent Muslims."
This is the reason why each year there are more religious hate crimes than any other year in over a decade. The police reported 140,561 hate crimes in the year leading up to March. A hate crime is any crime committed against someone because of their race, culture, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or transgender identity. Seventy percent, or 98,799, were done because of race. Overall and racial hate crime rates are both 5% lower than they were a year ago.
But the number of religious hate crimes rose from 8,370 in 2022–23 to almost 10,500 in 2023–24. This was the biggest yearly number since records began being kept in 2012. The number of hate crimes against Jews more than doubled, to 3,282. The number of hate crimes against Muslims also doubled, to 3,866. Interior minister Yvette Cooper said, "Today's numbers show that the shockingly high number of anti-Semitic and Islamophobic hate crimes is a stain on our society." She promised to fight "this toxic hatred wherever it is found."
"We must not let events in the Middle East lead to more hatred and tension on our streets," she said.No matter where they are, people who spread this poison will be punished by the law. In honor of the first anniversary of Hamas's attack on Israel and Israel's response in Gaza, which the group controls, people marched and laid flowers across the country just a few days ago. Leaders of different faiths in Britain, such as Jews and Muslims, have asked everyone to reject "prejudice and hatred in all its forms." Hate crimes against transgender people, people with disabilities, and people who are gay or lesbian went down in England and Wales.
