Between 29 September and 12 October 2023 there have been 105 reports of anti-Semitic incidents and 75 anti-Semitic offences. That is compared with 14 anti-Semitic incidents and 12 anti-Semitic offences during the same time the previous year.There has also been a rise in Islamophobia. During the same time-frame there have been 58 Islamophobic incidents and 54 Islamophobic offences. In the same fortnight the previous year there were 31 Islamophobic incidents and 34 Islamophobic offences.
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NewsTranscript
00:00 heartbreaking to see the events in the Middle East unfold over the last 13 days.
00:07 What's compounded the heartbreak is what we're seeing in London and across the country.
00:12 We've seen an unacceptable increase in antisemitism.
00:16 We've seen an unacceptable increase in Islamophobia.
00:19 And the reason why this roundtable was so important is we had faith leaders, the police,
00:25 but also these community groups, the Community Security Trust and Tel Mama, see what we can
00:29 do in collaboration, in unity, to try and reduce the inclusive scene of hate crime.
00:36 It's simply unacceptable.
00:37 If anybody has been received under hate crime because of their religion or the way they
00:42 look, we've seen, I'm afraid, too many examples of graffiti, criminal damage, verbal abuse,
00:47 physical threats, and more.
00:49 I condemn unequivocally the actions of Hamas, a prescribed organization, and the terrorism
00:55 they inflicted on innocent Israelis on October the 7th.
00:59 In Assur, by the way, hundreds of Israelis kept hostage by Hamas.
01:03 At the same time, it's possible to be somebody who's quite passionate about the rights of
01:07 Palestinians.
01:10 The conditions that they've lived in, in the occupied territories over the last few decades,
01:13 has been deplorable.
01:15 We've seen over the last two weeks the consequences of the Israeli government's policy.
01:20 I think they shouldn't have stopped food and water reaching the people of Gaza.
01:24 I think it's wrong to cut off medical supplies and essential aid to the people of Gaza.
01:30 I think it's incredibly important for Prime Minister Sunak to use the influence he has
01:36 to ask the Israeli government to ensure that essential food, water, medical aid reaches
01:41 the people of Gaza.
01:42 One of the things that we know is that passions are running high for understandable reasons
01:48 across the country, including in London.
01:51 Protest is one of the cornerstones of living in a democracy.
01:54 Long may that continue.
01:55 But the right to protest does not mean the right to break the law, the right to incite
01:59 hatred, the right to divide communities.
02:01 So there will be a big protest in London this weekend.
02:06 The police will be also policing the city this weekend to make sure that the protest
02:11 is peaceful and those protesting do so within the law and that it's safe.
02:15 And I think that's right.
02:16 [BLANK_AUDIO]