"Anti-Semitism is on the increase...and enlightened people are not immune to it." These words, written in 1945 by the renowned British author George Orwell in an essay titled "Anti-Semitism in Britain," might just as easily have been written in 2005.

Richard Jinman, reporting on February 11, 2005, in the English newspaper "The Guardian," wrote:

The number of abusive or violent attacks on Jewish people in Britain reached record levels last year, according to figures released yesterday. A total of 532 "anti-Semitic incidents"-defined as malicious acts on Jewish people or property-were recorded in 2004.... The figure was a 42% increase on the 375 anti-Semitic incidents recorded in 2003 and considerably more than the previous record of 405 in 2000. Among the 532 incidents were 83 physical attacks (up 54% on the previous year), four of which were life-threatening.¹