Are we doing enough – or even the right things – to combat antisemitism? The latest report from the Community Security Trust (CST) records the highest ever annual total of anti-Jewish hate incidents, 24% above the previous peak reached in 2019. Politicians and government officials haven’t ignored the problem – far from it. But, despite their efforts, the number of antisemitic incidents continues to rise, British Jews have become more fearful and the appearance of antisemitism itself reveals depths of ignorance and confusion.
One element that makes this so difficult is the strange mix of consensus and controversy that marks public debate on the subject. The consensus lies at Westminster. Both the home secretary, Priti Patel, and her Labour shadow, Yvette Cooper, responded to the CST report with expressions of alarm and a call to action. At a moment when racism, so central to the culture wars that divide our public sphere, usually provokes disagreement, antisemitism unites the political class as little else.
