Volunteer Member Among Hurt in Synagogue Attack
A person hurt during Thursday's attack at a synagogue in Manchester was serving with the CST, an organization praised for averting an more severe tragedy.
Recognizable Presence of Volunteers
The appearance of volunteers in the charity's hi-vis vests has become a familiar sight at Jewish synagogues, educational institutions, and other locations in the past few years.
For decades, the group has also shaped public policy by tracking and fighting anti-Jewish sentiment, while also countering hostility against other communities.
Rising Anti-Jewish Offenses
Over the past 24 months since the 7 October 2023 violence in Israel and the beginning of the conflict in Gaza, the organization's personnel has grown by approximately 33% amid a rise in antisemitic offenses.
Based on government statistics, there were 3,282 faith-based offenses targeted at individuals of Jewish faith in the 12 months ending March 2024, an increase from around 1,500 in the prior 12 months.
Additional statistics from the organization itself, based on the count of antisemitic incidents reported to the charity, documented over 1,500 antisemitic incidents across the UK in the first half of this year.
Graph shows mean count of hate crimes recorded per ten thousand people, categorized by the assumed faith of the victim.
Longstanding Documentation and Training
While it became charity status in the mid-1990s, the CST and its forerunners have been recording and releasing anti-Jewish event figures in the UK since 1984.
Today, its activities include over a hundred employees and 2,000 committed volunteers who receive intensive instruction in subjects ranging from first aid to performing protective duties.
Although its members have been injured in the previous incidents, the severe injuries to a staff member in Manchester is believed to be the gravest yet.
Leadership Response and Protection Measures
"We pray for his ongoing healing and commend the courage of all those who assisted in halting the attacker from getting into the synagogue," said the organization's top leader.
The CST presence at sites often includes a combination of its internal helpers, including educated members, as well as contracted protection officers.
As a recipient of financial support from the Home Office, the CST allocates an £18m public funds that pays for professional security services.
These resources were utilized last year at locations including two hundred nurseries, 260 Jewish temples, and 50 high-profile communal buildings.
The organization independently depends on contributions.
Wider Initiatives and Partnerships
Less visible is the trust's broader efforts in education, providing security guidance, and its long-standing research into anti-Jewish sentiment from sources such as far-right extremists and radical Islamists.
Its work in this area have contributed to cases such as the imprisonment in 2021 of a man who was at the time one of the UK’s most active far-right antisemitic online broadcasters.
National security forces were notified about his actions by the CST.
The charity also works closely with partners including a national anti-Muslim hate monitoring project – the UK-wide initiative that documents and tracks anti-Muslim incidents in the UK, and which has described the trust's activities as "groundbreaking."
These organizations are in a formal partnership with other anti-hate organizations as part of the Community Alliance to Combat Hate partnership.
Further Initiatives and Community Involvement
The trust's operations, which different groups have utilized, also includes its manual for protective measures for religious sites.
In other areas, it runs customized youth street awareness courses for teenagers in partnership with a sports and wellness charity, under the Streetwise initiative.
Other work includes collaborations with the police and with elected officials, while it meets regularly with government representatives and contributes to government policy on anti-Jewish issues.
While the CST works across the Jewish community, an group called Shomrim also monitors anti-Jewish sentiment and represents Haredi Jewish groups.
