POLICE in Durham say they are doing all they can to crack down on antisemitism in the region, as a County Durham woman has hit out at the "vile" and "disgusting" verbal and online abuse she has received.
Almost a dozen antisemitic incidents were reported in Durham last year, according to charity figures, but the police force have sent a strong message to those that are guilty of these kinds of crimes – “Hate crime in any form is completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated”.
The findings come as one County Durham woman has hit out at the “vile” and “disgusting” verbal and online abuse she has received.
In Durham, 11 antisemitic incidents towards Jewish people, organisations or property were reported to the Community Security Trust in 2021.
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This was down from 12 the year before, but more than the two recorded in 2019.
Last year, all incidents recorded were reports of abusive behaviour.
Ruth Ward has been targeted for the last four years after moving from a more ‘diverse’ location in the Midlands in 2016. She found a new home in Witton Park, near Bishop Auckland, and thought that it would be a good fit for her and her family in their new life.
However, within just several weeks of her moving into the village, the Ward family, who follow the Jewish faith, were hit by “vile” and “disgusting” verbal and online abuse from individuals in Witton Park.
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From what started as several 'neighbourhood disputes,’ including parking issues and how Mrs Ward operates her dog business at her home – the situation escalated “at a worrying pace,” according to the homeowner, which has seen her property sustain damage and the emotional impact of the abuse.
Despite sustaining numerous verbal attacks, which Mrs Ward believes are antisemitic in nature, she has highlighted how dangerous the issue currently is and now wants to open up and tell her story; citing that she “no longer has anything else to lose”.
As a result of the abuse sustained over the last four years, it’s had an irreversible impact on her family, which has seen her daughter temporarily move out of the family home and it putting a strain on the Ward family as a whole.
She said: “After going through this for four years, I can’t take any more – it’s all getting too much. Since I moved, it was simmering for a while, and it boiled over.
“I’m just trying to move on with my life – I run a business here and I don’t want to be targeted any more.
“It did initially start as a low-level amount of tension – but it’s escalated from there.
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“I know that this was an antisemitic attack, and we were only targeted because we were Jewish.”
During the last four years of abuse, Mrs Ward has alleged that Durham Constabulary have failed to properly investigate whether the attacks were hate-crimes, while calling on the local policing teams to do more to protect her family.
She added: “We find ourselves in a very serious situation – and I don’t know where to turn. You can usually rely on the police and if you’re in trouble, it’s them that people normally go to. I now feel like I can’t do this.
“I think the police won’t be interested until blood is drawn or there’s a fatality. Previously, the police may have come out to intervene, but it seems like they’re simply not interested.”
After speaking to Mrs Ward, The Northern Echo approached Durham Constabulary about the Witton Park case and were told that the issue was a “long-running dispute” that it’s looking to resolve.
However, Inspector Pete Lonsdale, from the police force, has insisted that hate crime of any kind won’t be tolerated – and that every officer has been given robust policies to tackle antisemitism and other hate crime.
He said: “We are aware of a long-running dispute between neighbours in the Witton Park area.
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“Officers from our neighbourhoods and response teams, as well as our specially trained cohesion unit have been working extensively with the parties involved to try and resolve the situation.
He added: “Hate crime in any form is completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated. We pride ourselves on being an inclusive police force which puts victims at the heart of everything we do.
“As such, we have robust policies and protocols in place to investigate allegations of hate crime and, where there is evidence to show that the law has been broken, bring perpetrators of such offences to justice.”
Community Security Trust defines an incident as any malicious act which has antisemitic motivation or content, or the targeting of a victim because they are – or are believed to be – Jewish.
The CST said a record 2,255 such incidents occurred across the UK in 2021 – up 34 per cent from 1,684 the previous year.
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