“Anti-semitism has absolutely no place in Britain and we must do everything we can to eradicate it wherever we find it,’’ said British Interior Minister Theresa May in remarks after the publication of a report by the Community Security Trust(CST) showing that recorded anti-Semitic incidents in the U.K. were up 53 percent in the first half of 2015 as compared to the corresponding period of 2014.

CST, which is a charity that monitors anti-Semitism and provides security for the Jewish community in Britain, recorded 473 antisemitic incidents from January to June 2015.

“I welcome the work of the Community Security Trust (CST) in recording and publishing anti-Semitic incident reports, and it is encouraging that more people are coming forward as the under-reporting of hate crime is a real issue,’’ May said.

According to CST, the 53 per cent rise in the first half of 2015 ‘’is most likely to reflect more reporting of incidents, rather than a significant increase in the number of anti-Semitic incidents taking place.’’

‘’This increase in reporting is believed to be due to heightened concern within the British Jewish community following terrorist attacks against the Jewish communities of Paris and Copenhagen earlier this year,’’ said CST.

“I know that many Jewish people in this country are concerned about safety in their community, and we are listening. Those who seek to spread anti-Semitic hatred should know that the government will act against all those who seek to divide our country and sow discord,” the Interior Minister said.

“This government is determined to work in partnership with communities across the country and we will publish a counter-extremism strategy to protect citizens and communities, promote our shared values and to defeat extremism in all its forms,’’ the Interior Minister said.

“We are also working closely with the police, the CST and other Jewish community organisations to defeat anti-Semitism and we already have one of the strongest legislative frameworks in the world to protect people from hostility, violence and bigotry,’’ she said.

‘’ We are making sure that those laws are robustly enforced and that victims feel confident about coming forward.’’

British Communities Minister Baroness Williams of Trafford stressed that ‘’Anti-Semitism and hate crimes of any sort are not only vile, wrong and totally unacceptable in our society, but they are also an affront to the British values that we hold dear.’’

“Whilst one anti-Semitic incident is one too many, it is positive that members of the Jewish community now feel more able to speak out against these pernicious crimes knowing that their government will hear their voice and act decisively to protect them,’’ she said.

“This valuable information will support our work with partners like the CST and the police to protect the Jewish community and help to eradicate anti-Semitism in Britain.’’

British Prime Minister David Cameron recently spoke out against ‘’conspiracy theories about Jews’’ that, he said, ‘’ may be the first stepping stones to Islamist extremism.’’

In a speech in Birmingham, the Prime Minister outlined a five-year plan to combat Islamists which will see the government “confront, head on, the extreme ideology” behind terrorist actions.

Speaking about those who have been convicted in the UK of planning terror attacks, Cameron said: “It may begin with hearing about the so-called Jewish conspiracy and then develop into hostility to the West and fundamental liberal values, before finally becoming a cultish attachment to death.”

by Henri Stein