UK unveils new extremism definition amid rise in hate crimes against Jews, Muslims

Britain unveiled a new definition of extremism on Thursday in response to an eruption of hate crimes against Jews and Muslims since the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel, although critics said the change risked infringing on freedom of speech.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak warned that Britain’s multi-ethnic democracy was being deliberately undermined by both Islamist and far-right extremists, and more needed to be done to tackle the problem.
Antisemitic incidents rose by 147 percent in 2023 to record levels, fueled by the Oct. 7 attacks, according to Community Security Trust, a Jewish safety watchdog. Tell Mama, a group which monitors anti-Muslim incidents, said last month that anti-Muslim hate crimes also had grown by 335 percent since the attacks.