There has been a ‘disgusting’ rise in antisemitic incidents : UK PM Sunak

LONDON, Oct 13 : British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Friday there had been a “disgusting” rise in antisemitic incidents since last weekend’s attack on Israel by the militant group Hamas, as police stepped up patrols in vulnerable communities.

London’s Metropolitan Police said the number of antisemitic incidents had risen to 105 in the two weeks Sept. 30 to Oct. 13, compared to 14 incidents in the same period a year ago.

“There’s been a quite frankly disgusting rise in antisemitic incidents over the past few days, that’s not right,” Sunak told reporters.

“We will absolutely not tolerate people inciting hatred or violence or racist activity.”

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said police would be working longer shifts to keep the city safe and reassure vulnerable communities, including officers being positioned inside synagogues as a show of support.

“There will be additional police presence this weekend,” he told on Friday.

On Thursday Sunak boosted funding to protect local Jewish institutions.

Separately, counter-terrorism police said they had arrested a 22-year-old woman from Brighton on suspicion of supporting a proscribed organisation, namely Harakat al-Muqawamah al-Islamiyyah (Hamas), under Section 12 of the Terrorism Act 2000.

She was investigated following a speech she made at a protest on Sunday.