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One of the individuals injured during Thursday's attack at a Jewish place of worship in Manchester was working with the Community Security Trust, an organization praised for averting an even worse atrocity.

Familiar Sight of Volunteers

The appearance of volunteers in the charity's hi-vis bibes has become a familiar presence at Hebrew synagogues, educational institutions, and other sites in the past few years.

Over many years, the group has also shaped public policy by monitoring and combating antisemitism, while additionally addressing hatred against other communities.

Increasing Antisemitic Offenses

In the two years since the October 7th, 2023 attacks in Israel and the start of the conflict in Gaza, the organization's personnel has increased by approximately 33% against the backdrop of a surge in antisemitic offenses.

According to government figures, there were 3,282 religious hate crimes targeted at individuals of Jewish faith in the year to March 2024, an increase from around 1,500 in the previous year.

Additional statistics from the CST, derived from the number of anti-Jewish events notified to the charity, documented 1,521 antisemitic incidents across the UK in the initial six months of this year.

Graph shows average number of hate crimes recorded per 10,000 people, categorized by the perceived religion of the affected individual.

Longstanding Documentation and Training

While it became charity status in 1994, the CST and its predecessors have been recording and releasing antisemitic incident figures in the UK since 1984.

Today, its activities include more than 100 employees and two thousand committed volunteers who undergo comprehensive instruction in subjects ranging from emergency medical care to carrying out security tasks.

While its volunteers have been hurt in the previous incidents, the severe injuries to one of its personnel in Manchester is believed to be the most serious yet.

Leadership Response and Protection Arrangements

"We pray for his ongoing healing and commend the bravery of all those who assisted in halting the attacker from getting into the synagogue," said the organization's top leader.

The organization's deployment at sites often includes a combination of its own volunteers, such as trained congregants, as well as private security guards.

Being a beneficiary of funding from the Home Office, the CST distributes an £18m government grant that pays for professional security services.

These were deployed last year at sites including 200 nurseries, two hundred sixty synagogues, and 50 high-profile communal buildings.

The CST itself relies on contributions.

Wider Activities and Collaborations

Not as apparent is the trust's wider work in education, advising on security, and its established study into anti-Jewish sentiment from origins including far-right extremists and militant Islamist groups.

Its work in this area have contributed to legal proceedings such as the imprisonment in 2021 of a man who was then one of the UK’s most active extremist anti-Jewish online broadcasters.

National security forces were alerted to his activity by the CST.

The charity also works closely with partners such as Tell Mama – the UK-wide initiative that documents and measures Islamophobic events in the UK, and which has referred to the CST’s work as "groundbreaking."

Both are in a official collaboration with additional anti-prejudice groups as part of the CATCH partnership.

Further Initiatives and Public Involvement

The trust's operations, which other communities have utilized, also includes its manual for security procedures for religious sites.

In other areas, it runs customized youth street awareness programs for teenagers in conjunction with Maccabi GB, under the Streetwise GB initiative.

Other work involves collaborations with the police and with elected officials, while it meets regularly with government representatives and contributes to public strategies on antisemitism.

While the CST works across the Hebrew population, an group called Shomrim also monitors antisemitism and represents ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities.