Antisemitic incidents rose in aftermath of Manchester synagogue attack, report says
Dozens of anti-Semitic incidents were recorded in the immediate aftermath of the Manchester synagogue attack, a new report has revealed.
Some even celebrated the event, which occurred in October, the report said.
The Community Security Trust (CST), which monitors antisemitism in the UK, documented 40 incidents on the day of the attack and a further 40 the following day; these were the highest daily totals recorded for the entire year.
Last October, worshipers Melvin Cravitz and Adrian Daulby were killed when Syrian-born British national Jihad Al-Shamie, 35, broke into the gates of Heaton Park Synagogue in Crumpsall, Manchester.
He then carried out a knife attack wearing a fake suicide belt. This was Britain’s first fatal anti-Semitic terrorist attack since the CST began recording incidents in 1984.
Lord John Mann, the government’s independent adviser on antisemitism, said it was “particularly disturbing” that a number of incidents occurred “immediately after the horrific terrorist attack on Heaton Park Synagogue on Yom Kippur, which was celebrating the murder of British Jews on our streets”.
Overall, he said the latest figures were “extremely worrying and demonstrate the relentless nature of antisemitism in our country today.”
CST’s latest report, covering the 12 months to 2025, found the second highest number of anti-Semitic hate incidents ever recorded at 3,700, a 4 percent increase on the 3,556 incidents recorded in 2024.
The annual record high continues with 4,298 antisemitic incidents reported in 2023, following Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, which led to a spike in anti-Semitic hate incidents recorded in the UK.
The 2025 report also marked the first time more than 200 incidents of anti-Semitic hate were recorded in each calendar month.
CST said cases of damage and desecration of Jewish property, including damage to homes, vehicles and synagogues of Jewish people, reached the highest annual total ever recorded.
There were 217 such events in this category in 2025; This number reached 157, an increase of 38 percent compared to the previous year.
Reports of abusive behavior made up the majority of all anti-Semitic hate incidents (83 percent, or 3,086 reports) and were the highest of any year except 2023.
CST said more than half (53 per cent or 42 incidents) of the 80 antisemitic incidents recorded between October 2 (the day of the Manchester synagogue attack) and October 3 last year were caused by direct reactions.
The organization said three of these included “in-person mockery of and celebration of the attack on Jewish people,” while 39 were antisemitic social media posts referencing the attack, malicious responses from Jewish organizations and individuals publicly condemning the attack, or hostile emails sent to Jewish individuals and institutions.
CST said there was also an increase in reports following the Bondi Beach murders in Sydney in December.
The highest daily incident totals for that month were on the day of the attack (December 14), when 16 incidents were reported, and 19 and 15 incidents were recorded on the following two days, respectively.
CST said just under half (21) of the 50 incidents over those three days were directly related to the Bondi attack.
CST chief executive Mark Gardner said: “Two years of intense anti-Semitic hatred culminated in a jihadist terrorist attack on a synagogue on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar.
“The terror attack then triggered further antisemitism, demonstrating the depth of extremism facing Jews and all British society.
“All of this makes CST even more determined to continue protecting our community, giving it strength and dignity, so it can live the life it chooses.”
Home Affairs Minister Shabana Mahmood described the figures as “shocking” and said the Government was “standing up against the scourge of antisemitism”.
He added: “We are providing record amounts of funding for the security of synagogues, Jewish schools and community centres. I will go further to strengthen police powers so they can suppress frightening protests.”
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said the figures were “appalling” but they were “no surprise” and the “evil of antisemitism” needed to be called out.
He added: “Anyone who is not a British citizen and who espouses extremist views or expresses support for terrorism or any form of racial or religious hatred, including antisemitism, should be removed from this country.
“The Conservative Party is clear that there is no place for extremism on Britain’s streets, and we continue to call on the Home Secretary and the police to use the full force of the law against those who seek to harass or intimidate British Jews or call for violence such as jihad or intifada.”
Both the Metropolitan Police and Greater Manchester Police announced in December, days after the Bondi attack, that anyone chanting slogans such as “make the intifada global” would be arrested.
UK Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis welcomed the decision as “an important step towards challenging the hateful rhetoric” seen on Britain’s streets, but the move was condemned by campaigners as political pressure.
Chief Constable Mark Hobrough, the national police chief on hate crime, said 2025 was “another difficult year for the Jewish community in the UK and elsewhere” and that antisemitic hatred continued at “unacceptably high” levels.
He added: “The tensions that exist in our society have not abated and remain both deeper and longer lasting than anything we have experienced in modern times.”
He said police “will continue to devote resources to protecting our Jewish communities and bringing perpetrators to justice, and we are deeply grateful for the work of the Community Safety Foundation, which shares our commitment to protecting citizens from antisemitic hostility and violence.”
Lord Mann said: “Anti-Semitic racism exists in every sector and corner of society.
“I thank CST for their tireless efforts to protect our Jewish communities. I will continue to support these efforts and fight relentlessly alongside them to ensure antisemitism has no place in Britain.”
