Religious hate crimes in England, Wales soar to all-time highs, with rise of 25% since Israeli war on Gaza

By Aysu Bicer

LONDON (AA) – Religious hate crimes in England and Wales have reached all-time highs, with a 25% increase in the year following the onset of the Israel-Gaza war, according to the latest Home Office figures released on Thursday.

The sharp increase comes despite a 5% drop in hate crimes during the same period.

The report highlights that religious hate crime surged from 8,370 incidents to 10,484 in the year ending March 2024, the highest level recorded since data collection began in 2012.

The escalation was largely driven by an increase in hate crimes directed against Jewish and Muslim communities, triggered by the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Jewish people were the primary target of religious hate crimes, which more than doubled from 1,543 incidents the previous year to 3,282 in the most recent figures.

This group accounted for one-third of all religious hate crimes, up from 20% the year before.

Muslims were also significantly affected, with hate crimes against them rising by 13%, from 3,432 to 3,866. Almost two out of every five (38%) religious hate crimes were directed at Muslims in the past year.

Although the spike in hate crimes coincided with the start of the conflict, the numbers have since subsided but remain higher than pre-conflict levels.

The report underscores the ongoing challenges in combating religiously motivated hate crimes, particularly in communities experiencing heightened tensions following international conflicts.