Girls as young as 10 have been asking armed police officers to escort them to Hanukkah parties amid rising antisemitic threats, according to the head of Greater Manchester Police.
Chief Constable Sir Stephen Watson revealed that such requests have become more frequent following recent terror attacks and growing hostility toward Jewish communities. He said fears had intensified after the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7th and a series of antisemitic incidents in the UK.
Watson also confirmed police were investigating reports of people celebrating the recent Bondi Beach mass shooting in Australia, which left 15 people dead (not including one of the attackers).
In response to the escalating threat, police forces have increased patrols around synagogues and Jewish community venues. Watson and London Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said officers would now take a more robust approach to protests involving hate speech, including slogans such as “globalise the intifada.”
“The intolerable has become normalised,” Watson said, adding that police must respond to the changing security situation facing the Jewish community.
