We Believe in Israel (WBII) is publishing a major white paper that sets out—clearly and rigorously—how the post-October 2023 surge in anti-Jewish hostility has evolved into a coordinated campaign that deprives a protected minority of basic freedoms, and what the UK must do now to stop it.
The central argument is straightforward: the problem is not a lack of law, but a lack of disciplined enforcement. The paper documents a protection deficit created by weak prevention, inconsistent policing, low charging rates, and protest oversight that too often prioritises volume over vulnerability. In practice, routine intimidation in public spaces curtails freedom of religion, movement and family life.
What the paper shows
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A sustained pattern, not one-off incidents. Police and community data indicate sharp increases in abusive chants, threats, criminal damage and assaults since October 2023, across multiple forces and settings.
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Systemic failures across policing, prosecution and protest regulation. Pre-emptive under-enforcement at demonstrations, low arrest rates despite high incident volumes, and repeated “missed moments” have eroded confidence and deterrence.
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Why the legal lens matters. The cumulative impact amounts to the severe, identity-based deprivation of rights recognised in international criminal law as persecution. In its most serious manifestations—where conduct is widespread or systematic—this may engage the UK’s domestic framework for crimes against humanity (ICC Act 2001). The paper applies this lens as an evidential test, not a rhetorical device.
What the paper proposes
A practical programme for rapid course-correction, grounded in existing statute and Convention duties, including:
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Operational fixes: real-time arrest triggers; geofencing and route conditions to protect sensitive sites; and transparent post-event reporting on arrests and aggravated elements.
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Charging and sentencing discipline: prefer aggravated offences where the test is met; require recorded reasons to step down aggravation; and strengthen community-impact statements.
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Accountability for organisers: use conspiracy and inchoate offences to pursue those who incite, coordinate or finance persistent intimidation—not only frontline offenders.
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Independent oversight: deploy the police super-complaint mechanism and institute quarterly external audits of “no further action” decisions to correct systemic drift.
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Escalation pathways: where thresholds are met, utilise international oversight and, in extreme cases, consider action under the ICC Act to signal the gravity of organised hate.
Why it matters
The right to assemble does not include the right to intimidate. Allowing a minority to be hounded from public space is not public order; it is abdication. This white paper offers a clear, lawful route to restore confidence: map the pattern, pursue the organisers, protect the community, and show your working.
Read the full white paper, Failure to Protect: Antisemitic Violence in Britain as Persecution and the Case for Reform, and share it with policymakers, practitioners and community leaders. Together, we can turn statutes from parchment into protection.
