Image by EHOW

The number of calls to an anti-Semitism hotline in the United Kingdom have jumped nearly fivefold since the beginning of Israel’s conflict with Gaza, according to a British Jewish organization.

In July, the hotline of the Community Security Trust, British Jewry’s watchdog on anti-Semitism, received 240 calls, according to the Independent, a British publication. The hotline averaged 50 calls a month during the first half of 2014.

Image by EHOW

Antisemitism Notebook

Your weekly guide through the news and the noise of how rising antisemitism and disputes over how to address it are shaping American Jewish life.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

The volume was the highest since the hotline was launched except for January 2009, when Israel conducted its last ground invasion of Gaza. Many of the calls concerned verbal attacks that compared Jews to Nazis or accused them of being child killers.

Britain has seen a spate of protests against Israel since the conflict began in early July. This week, a branch of the British supermarket chain Sainsbury’s removed kosher food from its shelves during an anti-Israel protest.

“The actual data is bad enough but cannot convey the mood of the Jewish community, with many people telling us that they have never felt so bad, have been under such pressure, nor worried so much about what the future may hold,” said the Community Security Trust’s communications director, Mark Gardner, according to the Independent. “British Jews, like those elsewhere, will continue to suffer local anti-Semitic impacts from overseas events and global ideological trends.”

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount