Highest number of antisemitic hate crimes recorded in two years in London
140 offences were logged across the capital in April
The number of antisemitic hate crimes recorded last month by the Metropolitan Police in London was the highest in two years.
Some 140 offences were logged across the capital in April, up from 98 in March and 67 in February, according to new data published by the force.
The borough of Barnet saw the highest number, accounting for 51 of the 140, or 36%.
Barnet includes the districts of Golders Green, Hendon and Finchley, all of which have large Jewish populations, where a string of apparent antisemitic attacks took place last month.
Attempted arson attacks were carried out at Finchley Reform Synagogue on April 15, at the building of a former Jewish charity in Hendon on April 18, and at a memorial wall in Golders Green on April 28.
Golders Green was also the scene of a double stabbing on April 29 that is being treated as an act of terrorism.
Highest number of incidents in Barnet
The borough of Camden, to the south of Barnet, saw 17 antisemitic offences recorded by the Met Police in April, along with 16 in Hackney, 10 in Haringey and seven in Westminster.
Overall, 21 of the 32 London boroughs saw at least one antisemitic hate crime logged by the Met Police last month.
The 140 offences recorded in April is the highest monthly figure since the force changed the way it counts hate crime in March 2024.
Data from before March 2024, under the previous method of counting, showed a large spike in antisemitic hate crimes in London following the outbreak of the Hamas-Israel conflict in October 2023.
Offences jumped from 61 in September 2023 to 518 in October, with 411 in November, 228 in December, 198 in January 2024 and 174 in February.
100 extra officers to protect communities
The figures come as the Met Police announced it was creating a community protection team of 100 extra officers to provide a “more visible, intelligence-led and co-ordinated presence focused on protecting Jewish communities across London.”
The new team will involve neighbourhood policing as well as specialist protection and counter-terrorism capabilities, and marks the “beginning of a new, more sustainable and consistent model of protection built around local knowledge, visibility and partnership, rather than relying solely on repeated short-term surges”.
The Jewish community “faces some of the highest levels of hate crime alongside significant terrorist and hostile state threats,” the Met added.