July 2015 Blog Archive
Antisemitic incidents rise in UK in first half of 2015
30 Jul 2015 by CST
CST’s Antisemitic Incident Report for January to June 2015, published today, shows a 53% increase in antisemitic incidents compared to the same period last year.
Why is the Guardian giving a platform to Hizb ut-Tahrir?
28 Jul 2015 by Dave Rich
On Friday the Guardian published a lengthy interview by Peter Oborne with Abdul Wahid, a leading British member of the Islamist organisation Hizb ut-Tahrir.
Over 100 Security Volunteers Graduate as Five Courses Finish
22 Jul 2015 by CST
CST’s security volunteers are crucial for CST’s work keeping the Jewish community in the United Kingdom safe in these challenging times. With an increase in antisemitic attacks across Europe, including the recent terrorist attacks in Paris and Copenhagen at the beginning of this year, CST has been inundated with applications to join our growing pool of security volunteers.
The Prime Minister’s speech: counter-extremism in a liberal democracy
21 Jul 2015 by Dave Rich
The Prime Minister gave an important speech yesterday to set out the framework, and much of the detail, of the government’s counter-extremism strategy for the next five years. It was a landmark statement in Britain’s efforts to challenge and reduce the appeal of Islamist extremism.
Twitter Unveils New Safety Centre
21 Jul 2015 by CST
Twitter has unveiled a new Safety Centre for users to learn about security both on Twitter and in the offline world. The platform has seen an increase of 500% in reports of violations to Twitter policy since changing the way users report harassment, whilst CST saw an increase of 118% in the number of antisemitic incidents reported in 2014.
Joshua Bonehill-Paine Refused Bail on Incitement to Racial Hatred Charges
14 Jul 2015 by CST
Joshua Bonehill-Paine, who was charged with publishing or distributing material in order to incite racial hatred, was denied bail at Southwark Crown Court yesterday. The material in question is allegedly antisemitic and was reported to the Police by CST. Bonehill-Paine claimed to be one of the organisers of the far right demonstration originally intended to be held in Golders Green on July 4 th .
Raid on French Group Reveals Jewish Supermarket Target
13 Jul 2015 by CST
A court in Paris has handed down a sentence of nine years to leader of ‘Horseman of Pride’, Mohammed Achamlane, after he was convicted for “criminal conspiracy related to a terrorist enterprise”.
U.S Congressional Committee Cites CST on Jewish Community Safety
10 Jul 2015 by CST
On the 9th July, the U.S Congress Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe introduced a resolution for decisive action to be taken to support and develop security for Jewish community groups across Europe. The resolution aims to tackle crisis “preparedness, prevention, mitigation, and response” for any antisemitic attacks which may occur.
CST Government and International Affairs Director trains European police experts
9 Jul 2015 by CST
Mike Whine was a trainer at the first week long seminar on hate crime organised by the European Police College in July.
Jeremy Corbyn and antisemitism: questions to answer
8 Jul 2015 by Dave Rich
The appearance of Labour leadership candidate Jeremy Corbyn MP at a hustings for the Jewish community later this month is likely to focus more attention on his reported remarks praising Hamas and Hezbollah. Corbyn will be speaking alongside the other three leadership candidates and, with the hustings chaired by Jonathan Freedland, he can expect some difficult questions.
What happened on 4 July
7 Jul 2015 by CST
20-25 neo-Nazis (including five Poles) turned up in Whitehall and were loudly jeered by 150-200 anti-fascists of various political and religious affiliations, including Jews and Christians. 220 CST volunteers and staff helped secure our Golders Green Jewish community from the evening of Friday 3 July (ie erev Shabbat) through to Sunday 5 July. They were sincerely thanked by many members of our community, and CST has received many phone calls and emails of gratitude.
Conference for Hate Crime Officers Hosted by CST
2 Jul 2015 by CST
This morning CST hosted an awareness conference for over 40 hate crime officers from the Metropolitan Police Service and other constabularies, as well as Police and Crime Commissioner, local authority and several Government departments’ Hate Crime specialists.