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A person hurt during Thursday's violent incident at a synagogue in Manchester was working with the Community Security Trust, an organization credited for averting an even worse atrocity.

Recognizable Sight of Volunteers

The appearance of volunteers in the organization's high-visibility vests has become a familiar presence at Jewish places of worship, educational institutions, and other locations in the past few years.

Over many years, the group has also influenced government strategies by monitoring and combating anti-Jewish sentiment, while also countering hatred towards other groups.

Rising Anti-Jewish Incidents

Over the past 24 months since the 7 October 2023 violence in Israel and the beginning of the conflict in Gaza, the charity's staffing has grown by about a third amid a surge in anti-Jewish crimes.

Based on Home Office figures, there were over three thousand religious hate crimes targeted at Jewish people in the 12 months ending March 2024, up from 1,543 in the prior 12 months.

Additional statistics from the CST, based on the count of anti-Jewish events reported to the charity, recorded 1,521 antisemitic incidents across the UK in the first half of the current year.

Chart displays mean count of bias-motivated offenses logged per 10,000 people, categorized by the perceived religion of the affected individual.

Established Recording and Training

While it became non-profit organization in the mid-1990s, the Community Security Trust and its predecessors have been documenting and releasing anti-Jewish event data in the UK since 1984.

Currently, its operations include over a hundred members of staff and two thousand committed helpers who undergo comprehensive training in everything from first aid to performing protective duties.

While its volunteers have been injured in the past, the severe injuries to one of its personnel in Manchester is considered the gravest yet.

Leadership Reaction and Security Arrangements

"Our thoughts are for his continuing recovery and commend the bravery of all those who assisted in halting the terrorist from entering the synagogue," stated the organization's top leader.

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

As a recipient of financial support from the government, the CST distributes an 18 million pound government grant that pays for professional security services.

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

The CST itself depends on donations.

Wider Initiatives and Collaborations

Less visible is the trust's wider work in education, providing security guidance, and its established study into anti-Jewish sentiment from origins such as neo-Nazis and militant Islamist groups.

These efforts in this area have contributed to legal proceedings such as the imprisonment in recent years of a man who was at the time one of the UK’s most prolific extremist anti-Jewish online broadcasters.

National security forces were notified about his activity by the organization.

The charity also works closely with allies such as Tell Mama – the national project that records and tracks anti-Muslim incidents in the UK, and which has referred to the trust's activities as "groundbreaking."

Both are in a official collaboration with additional anti-prejudice groups as part of the Community Alliance to Combat Hate alliance.

Additional Programs and Community Engagement

The trust's operations, which other communities have drawn on, also encompasses its guide for protective measures for religious sites.

Additionally, it operates customized teen safety programs for teenagers in partnership with a sports and wellness charity, under the Streetwise programme.

Other work includes collaborations with the law enforcement and with MPs, while it meets regularly with ministers and feeds into government policy on antisemitism.

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