UK
England’s Jewish schools heighten security as antisemitic incidents quadruple
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Jewish schools across
England are taking extra precautions to protect their staff and students after the attack on Israel, as the body that provides security advice to Jewish communities in the UK said it had recorded 89 antisemitic incidents between Saturday and Tuesday.
Extra security patrols have been posted at school gates, and trips and after-school detentions have been cancelled.
Several schools said they had carried out “invacuation” drills, where pupils practise sheltering in safe areas or reinforced rooms in the event of a threat. Pupils have been told to avoid wearing identifying school uniform on public transport.
The Community Security Trust reported that the number of antisemitic incidents in the four days from Saturday morning had increased by 324% compared with the same period last year.
“This is a provisional total that is almost certain to increase further as we receive more delayed reports of incidents covering this period, and while we continue to verify and log all the reports that we have currently received,” the
CST said.
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“In many cases, the perpetrators of these disgraceful incidents are using the symbols and language of pro-Palestinian politics as rhetorical weapons with which to threaten and abuse Jewish people.”
The 89 incidents included six assaults, three cases of damage to Jewish property, 14 direct threats and 66 cases of abusive behaviour, including verbal abuse, graffiti, hate mail and online abuse.
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Most of the incidents took place in London and Greater Manchester.
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John Dalziel, the headteacher of King David high school in Manchester, said there was a drop in attendance on Monday as parents kept their children at home but numbers had since risen.
“We have 800 Jewish students at this school and almost all of them have family and relatives there who have been affected directly or indirectly,” Dalziel said. “Our main priority is that our school is a place of safety where normal life is continuing away from the 24-hour news cycle.”
Dalziel said Greater Manchester police and the CST had increased their patrols around the school, while trained parent volunteers had been in place, especially at the start and end of the day, to reassure parents.
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Pupils have been told they can take off blazers and ties while travelling on public transport, as have students attending JFS in north London, Europe’s largest Jewish school, which has about 2,000 pupils.
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Broughton Jewish Cassel Fox primary school in Salford is among those that have cancelled school trips and put extra security in place during the school day.
Suella Braverman has
urged chief constables to clamp down on any attempts to use flags, songs or swastikas to harass or intimidate members of the Jewish community. Chanting and the waving of a Palestinian flag could be offences, the home secretary said.
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CST says incidents are up 324% on last year, with schools increasing security patrols after attacks in Israel
www.theguardian.com
