One of the individuals injured during the recent attack at a Jewish place of worship in Manchester was serving with the CST, an organization praised for averting an even worse atrocity.
Familiar Sight of Volunteers
The sight of volunteers in the organization's high-visibility vests has become a familiar sight at Hebrew places of worship, schools, and other locations in recent years.
For decades, the group has also influenced government strategies by tracking and combating antisemitism, while additionally addressing hostility towards other groups.
Increasing Antisemitic Incidents
In the two years since the 7 October 2023 violence in Israel and the beginning of the war in Gaza, the organization's personnel has increased by about a third against the backdrop of a rise in anti-Jewish crimes.
Based on government figures, there were 3,282 religious hate crimes targeted at individuals of Jewish faith in the 12 months ending March 2024, up from around 1,500 in the prior 12 months.
Separate data from the organization itself, based on the number of anti-Jewish events reported to the group, recorded over 1,500 such occurrences across the UK in the initial six months of the current year.
Graph shows average number of hate crimes recorded per ten thousand people, categorized by the assumed faith of the victim.
Longstanding Documentation and Training
Although it attained non-profit organization in the mid-1990s, the CST and its forerunners have been documenting and publishing anti-Jewish event data in the UK since the 1980s.
Currently, its activities involve more than 100 members of staff and 2,000 committed volunteers who undergo comprehensive instruction in everything from first aid to carrying out security duties.
Although its members have been hurt in the past, the serious harm to one of its personnel in Manchester is believed to be the gravest to date.
Management Response and Security Measures
"We pray for his ongoing healing and commend the courage of all those who helped stop the attacker from getting into the synagogue," said the organization's top leader.
The organization's deployment at locations often includes a combination of its own volunteers, including educated members, as well as private security guards.
Being a beneficiary of financial support from the government, the trust allocates an £18m public funds that covers professional security services.
These were deployed last year at sites encompassing two hundred nurseries, 260 Jewish temples, and fifty prominent community facilities.
The organization independently depends on contributions.
Broader Initiatives and Partnerships
Less visible is the trust's broader efforts in education, advising on security, and its long-standing research into antisemitism from origins such as neo-Nazis and militant Islamist groups.
Its work in this sphere have led to legal proceedings such as the imprisonment in 2021 of a individual who was then one of the UK’s most active far-right anti-Jewish video streamers.
Counter-terrorism police were notified about his activity by the organization.
The non-profit also works closely with partners such as Tell Mama – the UK-wide initiative that records and measures anti-Muslim incidents in the UK, and which has referred to the trust's activities as "groundbreaking."
These organizations are in a formal partnership with additional anti-prejudice groups as part of the CATCH partnership.
Further Initiatives and Community Engagement
CST’s work, which other communities have drawn on, also encompasses its manual for protective measures for religious sites.
In other areas, it operates customized teen safety programs for adolescents in partnership with a sports and wellness charity, under the Streetwise initiative.
Other work includes collaborations with the police and with elected officials, while it holds frequent meetings with ministers and feeds into public strategies on anti-Jewish issues.
While the CST works across the Hebrew population, an organization called a community watch organization also tracks anti-Jewish sentiment and works on behalf of ultra-Orthodox Jewish groups.
