🔗 Share this article

One of the individuals hurt during the recent attack at a synagogue in Manchester was working with the Community Security Trust, an organization credited for preventing an more severe tragedy.

Familiar Sight of Volunteers

The appearance of helpers in the organization's hi-vis vests has become a common presence at Jewish synagogues, schools, and other locations in the past few years.

For decades, the group has also influenced government strategies by tracking and fighting antisemitism, while also addressing hostility towards other communities.

Rising Antisemitic Offenses

In the two years since the 7 October 2023 attacks in Israel and the beginning of the conflict in Gaza, the charity's personnel has increased by approximately 33% against the backdrop of a rise in antisemitic offenses.

Based on Home Office statistics, there were over three thousand religious hate crimes targeted at individuals of Jewish faith in the year to March 2024, up from around 1,500 in the previous year.

Additional statistics from the CST, based on the number of antisemitic incidents reported to the group, documented over 1,500 antisemitic incidents across the UK in the first half of the current year.

Graph shows mean count of bias-motivated offenses recorded per ten thousand people, grouped by the assumed faith of the victim.

Established Documentation and Training

While it became charity status in 1994, the Community Security Trust and its predecessors have been documenting and releasing anti-Jewish event figures in the UK since the 1980s.

Currently, its activities include over a hundred members of staff and 2,000 committed volunteers who undergo intensive instruction in everything from emergency medical care to carrying out protective tasks.

While its volunteers have been hurt in the past, the serious harm to one of its personnel in Manchester is believed to be the most serious to date.

Management Reaction and Security 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 CST’s chief executive.

The CST presence at sites often comprises a mixture of its own volunteers, such as trained congregants, as well as contracted protection officers.

As a recipient of financial support from the government, the trust allocates an £18m government grant that pays for professional security services.

These resources were utilized last year at locations including 200 childcare centers, two hundred sixty synagogues, and 50 high-profile communal buildings.

The organization independently relies on donations.

Broader Initiatives and Collaborations

Not as apparent is the trust's wider work in training, advising on security, and its long-standing study into anti-Jewish sentiment from origins including far-right extremists and militant Islamist groups.

Its work in this area have led to cases including the jailing in 2021 of a individual who was then one of the UK’s most prolific far-right antisemitic video streamers.

National security forces were alerted to his activity by the organization.

The charity also works closely with allies such as Tell Mama – the UK-wide initiative that records and measures anti-Muslim incidents in the UK, and which has referred to the CST’s work as "innovative."

These organizations are in a official collaboration with additional anti-hate organizations as part of the CATCH partnership.

Additional Programs and Public Engagement

CST’s work, which other communities have drawn on, also encompasses its guide for security procedures for places of worship.

Additionally, it runs customized teen safety programs for teenagers in conjunction with a sports and wellness charity, under the Streetwise GB initiative.

Other work includes partnerships with the police and with elected officials, while it meets regularly with government representatives and feeds into government policy on anti-Jewish issues.

Although the trust works across the Hebrew population, an group called a community watch organization also tracks anti-Jewish sentiment and represents Haredi Jewish communities.