Statistics released by the Community Security Trust in the United Kingdom have revealed that anti-Semitic attacks hit record levels during 2006, and peaked during the Israeli-Hizbullah conflict in July and August of last year. Mark Gardner, who belongs to the organization that advises Jewish communities in Britain on security issues, states that the United Kingdom is still an excellent place for Jewish people to practice their religion, but he wonders what the future holds for the next generation.

Quote: ""These are the worst figures we have had in the 23 years since we have been monitoring it," said Mark Gardner of the Community Security Trust, which advises Britain's estimated 300,000 Jews on safety issues. "British Jews are stupidly blamed and randomly attacked over international tensions for which they bear no responsibility," Gardner said. British Jewish leaders say attacks have risen steadily since 2000 with Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks warning that "a tsunami of anti-Semitism" was sweeping across Europe. 

Earlier in the month it was revealed anti-Semitic attacks had fallen by a couple of percent, but with a record-high experienced in the Autumn of 2006, perhaps this "fall" was just trends returning to their normal high levels. And with a British Parliament committee condemning the international boycott of the Hamas terrorist organization, it's no wonder Britain is becoming a hostile place for Jews. A new organization called "Enough!" has been launched in Britain on the 40th anniversary of the Six Day War, comprising of companies, charities, trade unions and faith groups, calling on Israel to end the "occupation" and the "oppression" of the Palestinians.

Quote: "Among the charities that make up the coalition is War on Want, which is currently being investigated by the UK Charity Commission for abusing their charity status in highly politicised and controversial campaigns against Israel. Other groups include the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign, a socialist group whose patrons include Jenny Tonge, who was disposed in 2004 as a Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for sympathising with suicide bombers and last year was forced to stand down as a trustee of Christian Aid after her remarks about the "financial grips of the pro-Israel lobby."

Surprisingly, even the Quakers, a pacifist Christian denomination, has joined the organization. Other faith groups affiliated with Enough! are Pax Christi, the Amos Trust and several Islamic political organizations including the Muslim Council of Britain - which calls on British Muslims to support jihad. These words are from the director of campaigns and policies of the British charity War on Want, John Hilary. Note, not one word of condemnation for Palestinian terrorism.

Quote: "The immediate focus of the coalition [Enough! ed.] is to mark this year's 40th anniversary of Israel's military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. However, Palestinian groups trace their suffering back further to the 1948 nakba, or catastrophe, when 750,000 were driven into exile in order to make way for the founding of the Israeli state. Both anniversaries are equally important. For those of us who bear the weight of British imperial history, there is another reason for marking 2007. This year also sees the 90th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, in which Britain, for its own political ends, committed itself to a Jewish national home in Palestine. Britain and France had promised self-determination to the peoples of the former Ottoman empire, but the British government chose to deny the people of Palestine this right.

With opinions like these, it is no wonder the United Kingdom has such a problem with anti-Semitism.

Source YNet News, Jerusalem Post, Guardian