Anti-Semitism Peaked To A Record High in 2014

The highest number of anti-Semitic incidents on record was suffered by Jews in Britain last year, mainly because of the Gaza conflict, according to a Jewish charity organization, Community Security Trust (CST).

CST collected data on anti-Semitism, and recorded 1,168 incidents last year, more than twice the number in 2013, according to rt.com.

For instance, there was one worrying incident in which a man shouted at a group of Jewish schoolchildren who had climbed into a schoolbus in London. "Get the Jews off the bus" and "I'm going to burn the bus," he cried.

The maximum number of anti-Jewish hits took place in July and August, which were the month of conflicts in Israel and Gaza. However, even without these months, 2014 was a year of record hits.

Home Secretary Theresa May pointed out that the incidents were "deeply concerning," after a survey last month that showed that 45 percent of Britons hold anti-Semitic views.

CST has maintained logs since 1984 and explained that just 314 incidents in July and 228 incidents in August, 2014, together exceeded the 535 incidents of 2013.

This has been due to the reactions to the Gaza conflict, which killed 2,131 Palestinians and 71 Israelis, according to the UN.

Of the 1,168 incidents that have been documented, 81 were violent attacks, one of which was called "extreme violence," causing serious physical injury.

In Birmingham last November, four South Asian men were recorded as trying to force their way into a Masonic hall that was earlier a synagogue. One of them held a knife, and screamed: "Kill the infidels, you are Satan worshippers, are there any f*****g Jews in there."

Antoher rabbi driving through London heard a man shouting: "Slaughter the Jews" in Arabic, trying to show a throat-slitting operation with his fingers.

The worst incident showing "extreme violence" involved a a victim in London being called a "Jewish c**t" and hit with a glass and a baseball bat. There were 81 incidents of attack, but most involved verbal abuse, hate mail or bullying, according to independent.com.

"Liars" was written and swastikas were drawn on the door of a Jewish prayer hall on Holocaust Memorial Day posters in Newport and Liverpool.

CST Chief Executive David Delew said, "The Jewish community should not be defined by anti-Semitism, but last year's large increase in recorded incidents shows just how easily anti-Semitic attitudes can erupt into race hate abuse, threats and attacks."

Home Secretary Theresa May offered support, saying, "No one should live in fear because of their beliefs or who they are."

A survey by the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism (CAA) last month, revealed that 45 percent of Britons are opposed to Jews. About 3,411 adults in the UK were questioned. One in four Britons believe Jews "chase money more than others," while one in six accuse them of racial arrogance.

On the other hand, Israeli-British journalist Anshel Pfeffer wrote for the Haaretz newspaper, accusing the Jews of creating their own version of anti-Semitism. "While there certainly has to be vigilance against forms of Jew-hatred, the CAA seems to be over-diagnosing the illness," he wrote.