The U.K. flag. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

The U.K. flag. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

(JNS.org) Anti-Semitic incidents in the United Kingdom reached record levels in July during the war in Gaza, according to the British watchdog group Community Security Trust (CST).

“The 302 anti-Semitic incidents recorded in July 2014 is the highest ever monthly total recorded,” CST said. “The previous record high of 289 incidents in January 2009 coincided with a previous period of conflict between Israel and Hamas.”

CST also said that at least 150 anti-Semitic incidents took place in the U.K. in August, the third-highest monthly total ever.

Fifty-one percent of the reported anti-Semitic incidents were directly tied to the Gaza conflict. Among the reports accompanied by a description of the offender, 51 percent of the offenders were described as being “south Asian,” 30 percent were white, and 14 percent had an Arab or north African appearance. Muslims make up 4.4 percent of the total U.K. population, according to the country’s latest census.

“The high proportion of offenders who appear to come from sections of the Muslim community is of significant concern, raising fears that the kind of violent anti-Semitism suffered by French Jews in recent years may yet be repeated here in the U.K.,” CST spokesman Mark Gardner said.

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