Anti-Semitic offences have soared in London by more than 1,353 per cent compared with last year, Met Police say

• 218 anti-Semitic offences have been identified in the first 18 days of October 

 Anti-Semitic offences have soared in London by more than 1,353 per cent compared to last year, the Met Police have revealed.

An appalling 218 anti-Semitic offences were identified in the first 18 days of October – up from 15 the year before.

In the same period the number of Islamophobic offences has risen from 42 to 101 – an increase of 140 per cent.

So far, officers have made 21 arrests for hate crime offences in London. 

‘It is not acceptable and I promise we will investigate,’ Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan told Sky News.

An appalling 218 antisemetic offences were identified in the first 18 days of October – up from 15 the year before

It comes as the capital awaits another massed protest organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign in the city centre tomorrow. Pictured: People take part in a demonstration in support of Palestine in London on October 14

More than 1,000 officers are set to be deployed, with mounted and dog units supporting public order officers and roads policing teams. Pictured: People take part in a Palestine Solidarity Campaign demonstration near the Israeli Embassy in London on October 9

Arrests this week include one man who is suspected of defacing posters of missing Israelis in Camden and another man in relation to ten incidents of Islamophobic graffiti on bus stops in New Malden and Raynes Park.

Officers are investigating both incidents. 

It comes as the capital awaits another massed protest organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign in the city centre tomorrow. 

READ MORE: Moment hooded vandal throws red paint over Jewish girls’ school as Met Police probe late-night ‘hate crimes’ on two schools in north London as cops ramp up patrols amid ‘massive increase’ in anti-Semitic incidents since Hamas attacks 

More than 1,000 officers are set to be deployed, with mounted and dog units supporting public order officers and roads policing teams.

Representatives from Jewish and Muslim communities will also be in the Met’s operations room to give advice. 

In a release from the force, they said: ‘We will police this demonstration impartially, protecting the right to protest while intervening or gathering evidence for subsequent investigation where offences take place.

We will not stand by if we see examples of hate crime taking place. We will intervene.’

So far officers have visited 445 schools and 1,930 places of worship to investigate offences in the vicinity, to provide reassurance or because the area has been identified as a place where the level of concern is particularly high. 

It comes after the Met Police said they would step up patrols in London amid fears of anti semitic attacks and protests after the largest conflict for years between Israel and Palestinian militants broke out last Saturday.

Scotland Yard said it would increase the presence of officers in response to a ‘number of incidents’ – some shared on social media – of people celebrating the attack on Israel which has put the Middle East on the brink of all-out war.

It comes after the Met Police said they would step up patrols in London amid fears of anti semitic attacks and protests after the largest conflict for years between Israel and Palestinian militants broke out last Saturday. Pictured: A protester climbs a lamp post as people take part in a Palestine Solidarity Campaign demonstration near London’s Israeli Embassy on October 9

A vandal hurled red paint over Beis Chinuch Lebonos Girls’ School in Hackney, which police are investigating as a ‘hate crime’

The Met said that ‘an appropriate policing plan’ will be put in place as the force anticipates ongoing protests.

Conversations have also been held between the Home Office and the Community Security Trust (CST), which provides safety, security, and advice to the Jewish community.

It led to the decision to increase footfall to reassure local communities across Britain, the charity confirmed to MailOnline.

During the 2021 Gaza-Israel conflict, which began in early May, the CST documented a record 628 hate incidents directed towards British Jews between early May and early June, a fourfold increase on the same period the previous year.

The latest statistics on hate crimes, released this week, show a rise in religious-based hate crimes in 2022-23 in the UK.

Jewish communities are the second-most hit by religious-based hate crimes, accounting for 17 per cent of all those recorded.

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