A museum has been accused of "cowing to anti-Semitic" mob by postponing a Jewish exhibition amid "security fears".
Russell Cotes Museum in Bournemouth, Dorset, has delayed the opening of an exhibition about the growth of the seaside town's Jewish community between 1880 and 2020 by 10 months.
They announced that the exhibition will not begin this year due to the "potential risks at a sensitive time".
The Jewish community has already been subject to a series of anti-Semitic attacks in the genteel East Cliff suburb of the town last month.
A Jewish teenager was shot in the head with a rifle while walking to a synagogue.
Nazi swastikas have been drawn over several homes, too.
The Campaign Against Anti-Semitism (CAA) accused the museum of "choosing to extinguish Jewish culture in the face of threats from an anti-Semitic mob".
They accused institutions of "cowering" in the face of anti-semitism by not allowing the Jewish community to share their "positive contribution" to society.
![\u200bThe museum has been accused of 'cowing to [an] anti-Semitic mob'](https://www.gbnews.com/media-library/u200bthe-museum-has-been-accused-of-cowing-to-an-anti-semitic-mob.jpg?id=61563427&width=980)
The museum has been accused of 'cowing to [an] anti-Semitic mob'
|WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
A spokesman for the CAA said: "We understand that the Russell-Cotes Museum in Bournemouth has scrapped an exhibition on the illustrious history of the city's Jewish community over fears of 'protest' and 'security risks.
"This is utterly shameful. At a time when British Jews are facing unprecedented levels of antisemitism and families are hiding their identity for fear of abuse or even violence, British institutions should be standing firm in support of Jewish life, not silencing it."
Recent polling from YouGov stated that 21 per cent of the British public affirmed four or more antisemitic statements, up from 11 per cent in 2021.
The CAA said: "Our country is clearly at a tipping point. These are the highest antisemitism figures that we have ever recorded, having doubled in less than five years.
"Our young people are being radicalised into adopting hateful ideologies before our eyes. Britain will lose its soul to extremists unless the silent majority wakes up.
"The public recognises that racism against Jewish people has skyrocketed, but the authorities have abysmally failed to rise to the occasion. Politicians, police and prosecutors, regulators, media organisations, cultural institutions, universities, trade unions - they are all complicit in the creation of a climate of hatred in Britain.
"Jews may feel it most sharply now, but for all of us, this is not the country that we used to know. Soon it will be too late for our country to change course."
Bournemouth's Jewish population grew sharply during the 20th Century, with 3,500 living there in the 1980s.
The Jewish population in Bournemouth has more than halved in the last 40 years
| PAAccording to the 2021 census, the population has more than halved to 1,600.
Rabbi Alan Lewis, of the Bournemouth Hebrew Congregation, said last month's attacks had left the community shocked.
He said: "The young man who was shot is a religious Jew who was wearing a skull cap. It was very obvious he was Jewish.
"He was approached by a car, and someone shouted some abuse at him, and then fired an airgun, and one of the pellets hit him on the head. He suffered a superficial wound.
"Then several people living on Manor Road woke up to find that Swastikas had been painted on their homes. The homes had a mezuzah outside, so it was obvious that Jewish people lived there.
"We are well aware of what is going on in the world, but this is very shocking because the majority of the members of the Jewish community are retired people. One lady has been here for 20 years and has never come across anything like it before."