CST, a terrorism watchdog charity has described antisemitism as the “biggest national emergency since Covid,” following a series of attacks on Jewish communities in north London, including the double stabbing in Golders Green. At the same time, Hindus, Sikhs and Jains — particularly people of Indian origin living in Britain — are also increasingly becoming victims of hate crimes. Evidence suggests that incidents targeting these communities have been rising steadily in recent years.
Sir Keir Starmer has criticised Arts Council England over claims that it has provided public funding to organisations which promote the work of artists accused of antisemitism, announcing a formal review of how the body distributes public money.
The Prime Minister stated that funding should be withdrawn or reclaimed from organisations that give platforms to what he described as anti-Jewish hatred. His remarks followed a Downing Street forum held on Tuesday that focused on the growing threat facing Jewish communities across the UK, particularly in the wake of a series of violent incidents in north London. The meeting brought together representatives from policing, health, education, and the cultural sector, including Arts Council England.
Antisemitism, as with any form of racism, affects everyday decisions — influencing how people dress, where they travel, and whether they feel safe attending places of worship, restaurants, or public spaces, due to fears of being targeted for their identity. For many British Jews, this sense of insecurity has become an unsettling and persistent part of daily life. For Jews Britain is no longer that multicultural heaven it used to be, and the community has learnt the hard way as many other minorities in and outside Britain, that living in ghettos solve nothing.
In Golders Green, north London, two Jewish men were stabbed in April by a British suspect of Somali origin. Antisemitic incidents in the UK have increased sharply since 7 October 2023, when Hamas launched an attack on southern Israel that killed approximately 1,200 people and resulted in more than 240 hostages being taken. Since that date, police have linked several violent incidents in the UK to the escalation in tensions, including the Golders Green stabbing, which was treated as a terrorist attack.
The violence has not been confined to a single incident. Recent months have seen arson attacks targeting synagogues, Jewish schools, and community charities. In March, four Hatzola ambulances were destroyed in an arson attack. In October, two worshippers were killed in a car-ramming and stabbing outside the Heaton Park synagogue in Manchester.
In response to these events, Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned what he described as the “veneration of the murder of Jews” at protests. The UK subsequently raised its terror threat level to “severe” and allocated £25 million to enhance security measures for Jewish communities nationwide. Authorities are also investigating claims by a group calling itself HAYI, which has said it was responsible for the Golders Green attack, although these claims remain unverified.
The government is fast-tracking new legislation aimed at closing legal gaps involving organisations linked to hostile states. At the same time, security agencies continue to report increases in both antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents, with broader tensions stemming from the Gaza conflict contributing to a rise in so-called “lone-actor” attacks.
Hate crime cases are set to be fast-tracked following a rise in antisemitic incidents, the head of the Crown Prosecution Service has said. Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Parkinson has instructed prosecutors in England and Wales to bring charges more quickly, aiming to address what he described as “daily incidents” targeting the Jewish community through threats and abuse intended to cause fear and distress.
Speaking to the BBC, he said law enforcement must recognise a “period of crisis” for the Jewish community amid a sharp increase in antisemitic cases. While the guidance applies to all hate crimes, he said the urgency reflects the recent spike in antisemitism. Parkinson also highlighted that swift arrests and prosecutions had previously helped curb unrest after the 2024 Southport attack, adding that faster action is intended to build public confidence and prevent further escalation.
Some community representatives have also raised concerns that while antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents tend to be more systematically recorded, the experiences of other minority communities — including Hindus and Sikhs, who form significant populations in several UK cities according to census data — may not always be captured as consistently in official reporting.
Hindus in solidarity
Hindus for Labour gathered at the Mahatma Gandhi Statue in the Parliament Square, London to express deep concern over the alarming rise in antisemitism across the United Kingdom and to stand in unwavering solidarity with the British Jewish community.
The gathering was joined by Adrian Cohen, Chair of the board of Labour Friends of Israel, who welcomed the show of cross-community solidarity and emphasised the importance of standing together against antisemitism.
Dr Neeraj Patil, Chair of Hindus for Labour, said: "We are deeply concerned by the increasing incidents of antisemitism in the UK. As a community that values peace, tolerance, and coexistence, we stand shoulder to shoulder with the British Jewish community. There is no place for hatred in our society, and we must collectively challenge and defeat antisemitism wherever it arises."
Rising hate crimes affect Hindus, Sikhs and Jains
The Community Security Trust (CST), a terrorism watchdog against antisemitism has described it as the “biggest national emergency since Covid,” following a series of attacks on Jewish communities in north London, including the double stabbing in Golders Green.
At the same time, Hindus, Sikhs and Jains — particularly people of Indian origin living in Britain — are also increasingly becoming victims of hate crimes. Evidence suggests that incidents targeting these communities have been rising steadily in recent years.
While Muslims accounted for the highest total number of recorded offences at 4,478, representing 45%, Jewish people experienced 2,873 offences, or 29%. However, when viewed relative to population size, Jewish people were targeted at a rate of 106 incidents per 10,000 individuals, making them nearly ten times more likely to be victims than Muslims, who were targeted at a rate of 12 per 10,000. Other groups recorded lower rates, including Sikhs at 15 per 10,000, Hindus at 2 per 10,000, and Christians at 0 per 10,000.
Compared with the Jewish community, Hindus and Indians in Britain are generally less aware of available reporting mechanisms and are less organised in systematically documenting hate crimes. This gap was evident during the Leicester riots in 2022, when sections of the media portrayed Hindus as aggressors rather than victims. More broadly, attacks against Hindus frequently fail to receive the same level of media coverage or public scrutiny. Anti-Hindu and anti-Indian sentiment is also increasingly visible within universities, yet meaningful or timely action is often absent. Vandalism at the Swaminarayan temple in Leicester, and the attack on the Indian High Commission in London by pro-Khalistan supporters are growing examples of such race and faith-based hatreds.
There are also claims that areas with large Hindu and Sikh populations — including Southall, Wembley, and Harrow — are experiencing heightened feelings of insecurity. These concerns are compounded by the spread of misinformation on social media and what some describe as insufficient enforcement against online hate speech. Advocates argue that anti-Hindu hate should be more clearly recognised in public policy, and that greater representation and protection are necessary to ensure balanced attention and safeguarding for all communities in the UK.
How to mitigate the situation for British Indians
Questions have risen if hesitancy among British Indians – viz. of Hindu, Sikhs and Jain faith to report hate crimes is causing gaps in policies intended to protect their community.
Rajiv Sinha, Director of Hindus for Human Rights UK (HfHR UK), said, “We do not assume that Census participation and reporting rates are lower among Hindu and Sikh communities in the UK – we would welcome seeing reliable evidence to help us understand if this is the case.
“Census data show that the percentage of the UK population that identifies as Hindu rose from 1.5% in 2011 to 1.7% in 2021. Likewise, the Sikh community is reported at 0.8% of the population in 2011 and then 0.9% in 2021. Though in both cases an upward trend is shown, this does not tell us about the participation and willingness to engage on the part of Hindus or Sikhs. Their relative increase in the population could be a result of a relative decline in other faith groups rather than any absolute number changes. Therefore, we are left with no conclusion about reporting rates amongst Hindus and Sikhs. Furthermore, issues present may also be related to trust, access, category design, language barriers, digital barriers, or understanding of how census data is used…
“HfHR UK supports accurate, self-identified, disaggregated representation of Hindu and Sikh communities (and all communities) in UK official data. This matters because public policy, equality monitoring, local services, health outreach, hate-crime analysis, and democratic visibility all depend on good data. But we see this as a justice issue, not a communal competition. Better data should help all communities be seen more clearly…”
On the same question Radha Mohan Das of Bhaktivedanta Manor added, “If Hindu or Sikh communities are recorded as smaller than they actually are, local authorities may allocate less funding to essential services such as education, healthcare, housing, and community support. This can result in fewer tailored programmes and reduced investment in areas where these communities are concentrated.
“Undercounting also means that specific cultural, religious, and language needs are more likely to be overlooked. Schools, for example, may not plan adequately for religious observances or provide appropriate support, while healthcare services may be less equipped to meet community-specific needs.
“In addition, lower visibility in official data weakens representation in policymaking and limits effective equality monitoring. This makes it harder to identify disparities or advocate for change.
“Faith-based and civic organisations can play a crucial role, particularly among communities that may feel disconnected from official processes because these organisations are often trusted and embedded within everyday community life, they are well placed to communicate why the census matters and how the data is used…”
