Sussex sees antisemitism spike after Bob Vylan’s set, charity says

Sentiment towards Israel is influencing and driving contemporary anti-Jewish discourse, the Community Security Trust (CST) said.

The organisation, which monitors antisemitism in the UK, said there were a total of 1,521 antisemitic incidents across the UK in the first half of this year.

This is the second-highest total ever reported to the organisation in the first six months of any year but is down by a quarter from the record high of 2,019 incidents recorded between January and June last year.

(Image: Jonathan Brady, PA Wire) Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said antisemitic incidents and crimes “remain shamefully and persistently high”.

There were at least 200 incidents every month in the first half of 2025, with the highest daily total at 26 incidents reported on June 29.

This was a day after a performance by punk duo Bob Vylan at the world-renowned Glastonbury music festival in Somerset.

During the set, which was livestreamed on BBC, rapper Bobby Vylan chanted “Death, death to the IDF (Israel Defence Forces)”.

(Image: Yui Mok/PA Wire) The CST said the incidents reported to the charity involved anti-Jewish responses to events at Glastonbury as well as to the CST’s subsequent statement on X which had branded the chants “utterly chilling”.

Avon and Somerset Police said last month that inquiries were continuing in relation to the comments made onstage during Bob Vylan’s performance.

The second-worst day for what the CST described as “anti-Jewish hate” was May 17 when 19 incidents were recorded – coming a day after Israel announced an expansion of its military operation in Gaza.

The CST said: “Both of these cases illustrate how sentiment and rhetoric towards Israel and Zionism influence, shape and drive contemporary anti-Jewish discourse, online and offline, often around totemic events that grab mainstream public attention.”

Just over half (51%) of all incidents in the first half of this year “referenced or were linked to Israel, Palestine, the Hamas terror attack (of October 7, 2023) or the subsequent outbreak of conflict”, the CST said.

This was a similar proportion to the same period last year, and up from 16% in the first six months of 2023, reflecting a rise in “anti-Jewish hate in the UK when Israel is at war”, the CST said.

Mark Gardner, the organisation’s chief executive, said the statistics demonstrated “extreme levels of Jew-hatred, committed in the name of anti-Israel activism”.

June saw the highest number of incidents, with 326 being recorded following heightening tensions in Gaza.

A total of 76 violent anti-Jewish assaults were recorded by the charity in the first six months of 2025, including three categorised as “extreme violence” that resulted in either grievous bodily harm or a threat to life.

The CST added that 84 cases of damage and desecration of Jewish property were recorded, as well as 21 incidents of mass-produced antisemitic literature and 1,236 incidents of verbal or written abuse.

The trust said 572 online incidents were reported to them in the first half of the year, accounting for 38% of the total and down 12% from the same period last year.

Giving examples of the range of incidents reported, Mr Gardner, said: “It involves racial hatred, yelled at Jewish schoolchildren, scrawled on synagogue walls and thrown at anyone who is Jewish, or suspected of being Jewish.

“In such difficult times, CST is proud to give strength to British Jews when they most need it.

“We thank those politicians and police officers who have supported our community, especially when Jew-hatred is effectively sanctioned in so many spaces that falsely claim to oppose all forms of racism.”

There were 774 antisemitic incidents recorded by the CST in Greater London, a drop of 26% over the same timeframe in 2024, and 194 cases in Greater Manchester, a decrease of 28% compared to the previous year.

Outside these cities, the police areas with the highest number of reports were West Yorkshire with 73, Hertfordshire with 52, Scotland with 36, Sussex with 32 and West Midlands with 39.

Northern Ireland had nine reports while Suffolk was the only mainland police region not to record a single incident, the trust said.

Ms Cooper said antisemitism “has a profoundly damaging impact both on the individuals affected and the wider Jewish community”, and vowed the Government “remains steadfast in its commitment to root out the poison of antisemitism wherever it is found”.

The Government’s independent adviser on antisemitism, Lord Mann, said the latest data shows “that antisemitism continues to impact the British Jewish community at an unprecedented level”.

He added: “Antisemitism must be recognised by everyone as anti-Jewish racism and there must be a no tolerance approach to it across civil society at all levels.”