Jeremy Hunt pledges £7m to tackle antisemitism

Jeremy Hunt has pledged up to £7m over the next three years to charities tackling antisemitism in the UK.

The chancellor unveiled the measure while delivering the government's Autumn Statement on Wednesday.

Mr Hunt expressed his "horror" at the Hamas attack on Israel last month, and said he was "deeply concerned about the rise of antisemitism" in the UK.

Police have recorded a sharp rise in antisemitic incidents since the conflict broke out on 7 October.

"I am deeply concerned about the rise of antisemitism in our country, so I am announcing up to £7 million over the next three years for organisations like the Holocaust Educational Trust to tackle antisemitism in schools and universities," Mr Hunt told the Commons.

The Holocaust Educational Trust is a charity which aims to educate people about the Holocaust and support survivors.

Mr Hunt said he will "repeat the £3m uplift" to the Community Security Trust (CST), a charity which helps Jewish people in the UK. In October, the CST was given £3m of additional funding to "protect schools, synagogues and other Jewish community buildings".

"When it comes to antisemitism and all forms of racism, we must never allow the clock to be turned back," he added.

Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves welcomed the announcement, saying that there was "no place for hate in our society".

Hamas launched a surprise assault on Israel on 7 October, killing about 1,200 people and taking more than 200 hostages.

Israel responded with air strikes on Gaza and has launched a ground offensive. At least 13,300 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

The CST has said antisemitic incidents in the UK have more than quadrupled since the Hamas attack.

The group recorded 89 "anti-Jewish hate" incidents from 7 to 10 October.

That marked a more than four-fold rise on the 21 antisemitic incidents recorded in the same period last year.

Antisemitic hate crime has risen sharply in London, with 408 offences recorded in October compared to 28 in the same period last year.

The Metropolitan Police says it has made 75 arrests linked to the Israel-Gaza conflict, and is investigating 10 potential breaches of terrorism laws.

Justin Cohen, news editor and co-publisher of Jewish News, recently said the Jewish community felt "full of dread, full of fear, like I've never seen before".