Community Security Trust

Part of a series on
Antisemitism
Definitions
Manifestations
Antisemitic canards
Antisemitic publications
Antisemitism on the Internet
Prominent figures
Persecution
Opposition
Category

The Community Security Trust (CST) is a British charity which exists to provide safety, security, and advice to the Jewish community in the UK. It provides advice, training, representation and research.

Founding and mission

The Community Security Trust was registered as a British charity in 1994 to provide safety, security, and advice to the Jewish community in the UK.[1][2][3][4][5][6] The CST's mission statement says, "To work at all times for the physical protection of British Jews."[7] The CST began recording antisemitic incidents in 1984.[8][9][10]

Structure

The group's founding chairman is the British businessman Gerald Ronson and its deputy chairman is Lloyd Dorfman CBE.[11][12] The chief executive of the CST is Mark Gardner, who was previously the Director of Communications.[13] Dave Rich is the Director of Policy at CST.[14]

The CST has four offices,[15] over 90 employees and a network of several thousand volunteers from all parts of the Jewish community, who work closely with the Police, including for joint patrols, advisory, and training.[16][17][18]

Activities

The organisation's philosophy is that the Jewish community is responsible for its own security. It works closely with Police Services around the country and is recognised by Government and Police as a "unique model of best practice."

The CST provides security advice and training for Jewish schools, synagogues and communal organisations and gives assistance to those bodies that are affected by antisemitism. The CST also assists and supports individual members of the Jewish community who have been affected by antisemitism and antisemitic incidents. It advises and represents the Jewish community on matters of antisemitism, terrorism and security and works with police, government and international bodies. All this work is provided at no charge.[19]

In 2012, the CST provided the model for a new anti-Islamophobia project, Tell MAMA[20] (run by interfaith organisation Faith Matters[21]), with which it now works closely.[22]

Research

The CST has recorded antisemitic incidents in the UK since 1984 and publishes an annual Antisemitic Incidents Report. The CST also published Terrorist Incidents against Jewish Communities and Israeli Citizens Abroad 1968-2010, a definitive report of terrorist attacks against Jewish communities around the world.[23]

In 2003, the charity worked with the Board of Deputies of British Jews to submit a report concerning Iran and antisemitism to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee.[24]

In 2008, CST published its first Antisemitic Discourse Report, an annual study of antisemitic discourse in mainstream media and politics in the UK. From 2008 to 2012, it published advisory reports on voting tactics in British elections to minimise the impact of far-right groups such as the British National Party (BNP).

In 2020, the charity released a report on rising antisemitic incidents in universities named Campus Antisemitism in Britain 2018–2020. It provided advice to universities on how to respond to reports of antisemitism. The report was debated in the House of Lords in January 2021.[25][26]

Online abuse

The CST has been active in monitoring and attempting to combat extremist activity online. After the storming of the Capitol in the United States in 2021, the CST warned that calls for similar events to take place in the United Kingdom, including a proposed storming of Parliament or Downing Street, were appearing in far-right spaces online.[27][28]

In 2019, the CST recorded 1,805 incidents of antiseimitic abuse, 697 of which were online.[29] The group considered it likely that Gaza-Israel tensions and turmoil within the UK's Labour Party contributed to an increase in such incidents.[30]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the CST reported in 2020 that it had recorded a drop in physical assaults on Jewish people in the UK, but had noted an increase in online abuse, including antisemitic conspiracy theories accusing Jewish people of engineering the pandemic as a "hoax" or spreading COVID-19, among other antisemitic content.[31][32][33] The charity had also said that it noticed far-right commentators online discussing spreading COVID-19 to synagogues.[7]

The CST has released reports detailing content it considers harmful on certain alt-tech platforms such as Parler, BitChute, and Gab. The CST stated that the website BitChute was hosting videos from National Action, a neo-Nazi terrorist group in the UK.[34] The Guardian reported that CST's analysis discovered posts on Telegram which "...celebrat[ed] Thomas Mair and David Copeland, and other far-right terrorists."[35] In early 2021, the CST reported the website BitChute to Ofcom for content it considered antisemitic, hateful, and extremist.[36][37] The CST has scrutinized other platforms such as Facebook and Twitter for antisemitic content.[38][39][40]

The charity was among the groups that worked with TikTok to develop a Holocaust education initiative.[41]

Funding

Beginning in 2015, the Home Office has provided 'The Jewish Community Protective Security Grant' for the security of synagogues, schools and other Jewish centres, with the CST as the Grant Recipient. Home Secretary, Sajid Javid pledged to increase funding, bringing the total amount allocated from 2015 to 2019 to £65.2 million.[42][43] In 2020, the grant was renewed and the CST received £14 million in funding for protecting the security of the Jewish community and its institutions.[44][45][46]

Criticism

In 2011, a number of articles appeared in the British weekly newspaper The Jewish Chronicle that sought to question the work and functioning of the CST. Gilbert Kahn, of Kean University in the US, took the view that British Jewry did not need a CST because British Jews paid taxes to the state for their physical protection and could therefore depend on the police. On 15 April, the newspaper's columnist Geoffrey Alderman argued against the CST on the grounds that its leadership and funding were neither transparent nor accountable. Alderman returned to the subject on 10 June, when he speculated that his doubts about the CST and its work were more widely shared.[47][48]

In December 2011, The Electronic Intifada said that it had uncovered evidence suggesting that the CST has an "assertively pro-Israel agenda" and links to the government of Israel, including possibly Mossad which they said had trained some of CST's volunteers. They described the CST as lacking transparency and reported some left-wing critics who had accused it of conflating anti-Zionism with antisemitism.[49]

In May 2014, it was reported by the Jewish Chronicle that the former chief executive of the CST, Richard Benson, was the highest paid of all charity leaders within the British Jewish community, earning £170,000-£190,000 per annum.[50] Benson had stepped down from the position in 2013.[51] As of 2020, the CST had one staff member who was paid at a similar rate of £170,000-£179,000 per annum, according to the British government's Charity Commission.[52]

In July 2015, Geoffrey Alderman devoted his column to the retirement of the CST's Director of Security, Carol Laser. Alderman speculated on the reason for her retirement and questioned whether it was wise that she had agreed to have her identity revealed, considering that the nature of her work would have made enemies.[53]

In February 2019, the National Secretary of the Socialist Equality Party, Chris Marsden, writing in the party's affiliated news outlet, the World Socialist Web Site, said that the CST is not transparent with who funds it, while asserting ties to pro-Zionist causes among its staff members. Marsden also said that the CST "equate all opposition to Zionism with anti-Semitism" and that "[The CST] has no representative function for the Jewish community at all."[54]

See also

Notes
  1. Charity Commission. Community Security Trust, registered charity no. 1042391.
  2. "Anti-Semitic abuse at record high, says charity". BBC News. 2020-02-06. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  3. "As social networks clamp down, antisemitism moves to the darknet". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  4. Bulkacz, Vanessa (2006-07-13). "U.K. Jews stress security year after bombings". Jewish Standard. Archived from the original on 2006-11-01.
  5. "About CST – CST – Protecting Our Jewish Community". cst.org.uk. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  6. "House of Commons - Foreign Affairs - Written Evidence". publications.parliament.uk. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  7. "Even during the coronavirus pandemic, Jews are ever the scapegoat". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  8. CNN, By Laura Smith-Spark (2018-08-17). "Anti-Semitism is so bad in Britain that some Jews are planning to leave". CNN Digital. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  9. "Home Secretary's speech to the Community Security Trust". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  10. "UK anti-Semitism hit record level in 2014, report says". BBC News. 2015-02-05. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  11. Ronson, Gerald M. "CST represents all Jews". www.thejc.com. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  12. "CST Annual Dinner 2016 – Blog – CST – Protecting Our Jewish Community". cst.org.uk. Retrieved 2016-07-23.
  13. Harpin, Lee. "Mark Gardner is new chief executive of the Community Security Trust". www.thejc.com. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  14. "CST's Leadership – CST – Protecting Our Jewish Community". cst.org.uk. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  15. "General Enquiries – CST – Protecting Our Jewish Community". cst.org.uk. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  16. "About CST – CST – Protecting Our Jewish Community". cst.org.uk. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  17. "Police Partnership – CST – Protecting Our Jewish Community". cst.org.uk. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  18. "CST – INACH". Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  19. "CST – INACH". Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  20. "TELL MAMA - Countering Anti-Muslim Hate & Islamophobia, Bigotry & Prejudice. Founded by Fiyaz Mughal". TELL MAMA.
  21. "Faith Matters - Working with Faith Communities Countering Extremism, Supporting Integration & Challenging Hatred. Founded by Fiyaz Mughal". Faith Matters.
  22. Clegg, Nick. "Deputy Prime Minister extends funding to tackle hate crime against Muslims". Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  23. "Terrorist Incidents Against Jewish Communities and Israeli Citizens Abroad, 1968-2010 – Blog". cst.org.uk. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  24. "House of Commons - Foreign Affairs - Written Evidence". publications.parliament.uk. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  25. Coleman, Charley (2021-01-15). "Antisemitic incidents in universities: Community Security Trust report". Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  26. Harpin, Lee. "Fury as Tonge blames rising UK campus antisemitism on 'the illegal actions of the Israeli government'". www.thejc.com. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  27. Frot, Mathilde. "Warning as British extremists call for US-style assault on Parliament". www.thejc.com. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  28. "Capitolising On Violence: How British far right extremists reacted to last night's horrific scenes in Washington D.C. – Blog". cst.org.uk. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  29. "Anti-Semitic abuse at record high, says charity". BBC News. 2020-02-06. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  31. CNN, Amy Woodyatt. "Coronavirus lockdowns fuel an 'explosion' of anti-Semitism online". CNN. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  32. "Covid fuels highest rate of online antisemitism ever recorded". The Independent. 2020-12-06. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  33. Tominey, Camilla (2020-10-21). "Antivaxxers spreading anti-semitic conspiracy theories about coronavirus, Government report finds". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  34. Editor, Fiona Hamilton, Crime and Security. "'Free speech' sites harbour neo-Nazis". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2021-02-04.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  35. "The UK social media platform where neo-Nazis can view terror atrocities". the Guardian. 2020-06-28. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  36. Editor, Fiona Hamilton, Crime & Security. "'Hateful' BitChute video site is first test for Ofcom". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2021-02-04.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  37. "BitChute - A Very British Problem – Blog". cst.org.uk. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  38. Harpin, Lee. "Facebook accused of having 'blind spot' on Holocaust denial". www.thejc.com. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  39. "Twitter accounts at heart of Labour antisemitism battle, says report". the Guardian. 2019-08-04. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  40. "Margaret Hodge calls for ban on social media anonymity". the Guardian. 2020-12-06. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  41. Reporter, Jewish News. "Facebook launches comprehensive Holocaust education resource". jewishnews.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  42. "Home Office raises grant for protection of Jewish institutions by £600,000". The Jewish Chronicle. 27 February 2019. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
  43. "Sajid Javid vows to tackle anti-Semitism in UK". BBC New. 27 February 2019. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
  44. Hymas, Charles (2020-04-01). "Jewish community to get £14 million Government grant for security after record anti-semitic attacks". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  45. Judah, Jacob (2020-04-01). "Home Office grants CST £14 million to protect Jewish institutions". www.thejc.com. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  46. "Home Office grants £14 million funding for security at Jewish institutions". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  47. Alderman, Geoffrey (2011-04-18). "Our unrepresentative security". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
  48. Alderman, Geoffrey (2011-10-06). "Continually Spreading Trust". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
  49. Murphy, Maureen Clare (2011-12-21). "EI exclusive: UK charity with Mossad links secretly denounced anti-Zionist Jews to government". The Electronic Intifada. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  50. http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/118810/revealed-who-gets-what-among-charity-movers-and-shakers
  51. Dysch, Marcus. "CST chief executive Richard Benson steps down". www.thejc.com. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  52. "What do the top earners take home at the community's biggest charities?". jewishnews.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  53. Alderman, Geoffrey (July 23, 2015). "Secrets that should stay hidden". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved September 18, 2015.
  54. "A reply to Britain's Community Security Trust". World Socialist Web Site. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.