Reports of antisemitic incidents in the UK spiked dramatically the day after punk duo Bob Vylan's controversial performance at Glastonbury, according to a charity monitoring anti-Jewish hatred. The Community Security Trust (CST) recorded 26 incidents on 29 June, marking the highest daily total in the first half of 2025.
The spike followed Bob Vylan's performance at the Somerset festival, during which rapper Bobby Vylan chanted "Death, death to the IDF (Israel Defence Forces)" in a set livestreamed on BBC. Avon and Somerset Police confirmed last month that inquiries into the onstage comments were continuing.
Antisemitism reaches alarming levels
The CST reported a total of 1,521 antisemitic incidents across the UK between January and June 2025. This represents the second-highest total ever recorded by the organisation in the first six months of any year, though it marks a 25% decrease from the record high of 2,019 incidents in the same period last year.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said antisemitic incidents and crimes "remain shamefully and persistently high". The charity recorded at least 200 incidents every month during the first half of the year, highlighting the persistent nature of anti-Jewish hatred in Britain.
Israel-Palestine conflict drives hatred
The CST said incidents reported after Glastonbury involved anti-Jewish responses both to the festival events and to the charity's subsequent statement on X, which branded the chants "utterly chilling". The second-worst day for antisemitic incidents was 17 May, when 19 cases were recorded following Israel's announcement of expanded military operations in Gaza.
Just over half of all incidents in the first six months "referenced or were linked to Israel, Palestine, the Hamas terror attack of October 7, 2023 or the subsequent outbreak of conflict", according to the CST. This proportion remained similar to last year but represented a significant increase from 16% in the first half of 2023.
Violence and abuse escalate
Mark Gardner, the CST's chief executive, said the statistics demonstrated "extreme levels of Jew-hatred, committed in the name of anti-Israel activism". June recorded the highest monthly total with 326 incidents following heightening tensions in Gaza.
The charity documented 76 violent anti-Jewish assaults in the first six months of 2025, including three cases of "extreme violence" resulting in grievous bodily harm or threats to life. Additionally, 84 cases of damage and desecration of Jewish property were recorded, alongside 21 incidents involving mass-produced antisemitic literature and 1,236 cases of verbal or written abuse.
Geographic spread across Britain
Online incidents accounted for 572 reports, representing 38% of the total and marking a 12% decrease from the previous year. Gardner described the range of hatred as "racial hatred, yelled at Jewish schoolchildren, scrawled on synagogue walls and thrown at anyone who is Jewish, or suspected of being Jewish".
Greater London recorded 774 antisemitic incidents, a 26% drop from 2024, whilst Greater Manchester saw 194 cases, down 28% from the previous year. West Yorkshire reported 73 incidents, Hertfordshire 52, Scotland 36, Sussex 32 and the West Midlands 39. Northern Ireland recorded nine reports, whilst Suffolk was the only mainland police region with no recorded incidents.
Cooper emphasised that antisemitism "has a profoundly damaging impact both on the individuals affected and the wider Jewish community". The Government's independent adviser on antisemitism, Lord Mann, said the data shows "that antisemitism continues to impact the British Jewish community at an unprecedented level" and called for "a no tolerance approach to it across civil society at all levels".
(PA) Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
