Swastika sent to Jewish students 'not offensive enough’ to count as hate crime

Alex Hearn, co-director of Labour Against Antisemitism, speaking to Sky News earlier this twelvemonth (Image: Sky News)

Police person declined to prosecute a antheral who sent an representation of a swastika intertwined with the Star of David to a Jewish students’ organisation, ruling it was not “grossly offensive” capable to represent a hatred crime.

The image, shared connected societal media with the Union of Jewish Students (UJS), was alternatively logged arsenic a non-crime hatred incidental (NCHI), which tracks hate-motivated acts without gathering the threshold for transgression prosecution.

The incidental surfaced arsenic broader scrutiny falls connected the enforcement of hatred laws crossed antithetic constabulary forces, particularly successful airy of Essex Police’s ongoing probe into a societal media station by Telegraph columnist Allison Pearson.

In October, Alex Hearn, co-director of Labour Against Antisemitism, filed a ailment with Cambridgeshire Constabulary aft violative messages were sent via X, formerly known arsenic Twitter, to him and the UJS.

The messages followed a UJS station highlighting rising antisemitism connected assemblage campuses. The accused idiosyncratic responded with an representation captioned: “The irony of becoming what you erstwhile hated,” accusing the UJS of exploiting Jewish students to beforehand “pro-genocide propaganda.”

Police acknowledged that the messages and imagery were violative but stated they did not conscionable the “very precocious ineligible threshold” for gross offensiveness nether the Malicious Communications Act.

Officers cited Article 10 of the Human Rights Act, which protects state of expression, including code that whitethorn “offend, shock, oregon disturb.” Consequently, nary transgression charges were filed, and the substance was recorded arsenic an NCHI.

Mr Hearn criticised the decision, questioning wherefore displaying a swastika - a awesome intrinsically linked to Nazi atrocities - directed astatine Jewish groups does not suffice arsenic grossly offensive.

He pointed retired that the Metropolitan Police had arrested individuals carrying akin imagery during caller protests, suggesting inconsistency successful instrumentality enforcement approaches.

Mr Hearn told the Telegraph: “This antheral has been posting swastikas and making Nazi comparisons directed astatine Jewish organisations and individuals, including myself and the Chief Rabbi.

“One adjacent targeted a station mourning a Holocaust survivor. The maltreatment weaponises Holocaust-related symbols to intimidate and soundlessness those speaking retired astir antisemitism.”

Mr Hearn called connected Cambridgeshire Police to reconsider the seriousness of specified incidents, arguing that conflating Jewish individuality with Nazism done the Star of David and swastika imagery perpetuates harmful antisemitic tropes and incites further hostility.

In the UK, a non-crime hatred incidental (NCHI) is defined arsenic an enactment oregon illustration of behaviour which is perceived by the unfortunate oregon immoderate different idiosyncratic to beryllium motivated by hostility oregon prejudice towards a person's race, religion, intersexual orientation, disability, oregon transgender identity, but which does not conscionable the threshold to beryllium classified arsenic a transgression offence nether UK law.

Cambridgeshire Constabulary has been contacted for remark connected their handling of the case.