Is there a future for Jews in Britain? Many think about leaving
While Northampton MP Sir Michael Ellis on Tuesday posed the UK Parliament the question of whether Jews and Israelis were still welcome in the country, many British Jews have signaled that they are considering leaving the United Kingdom following the post-October 7 rise in antisemitism, if polls by the Campaign Against Antisemitism and National Jewish Assembly are accurate.
The National Jewish Assembly (NJA) held a March 19 town hall discussion on the future of Jews in the UK, in which the organization’s vice chairman, Keith Rowe, and Israel Advocacy Movement founder Joseph Cohen debated the proposition.
“British Jews are proud to be British. Many of us have long histories in this country, with many of us having served the crown faithfully in conflicts and other ways,” said Rowe. “I, for one, feel very British alongside my Judaism.”
Rowe said that Britain had generally been a safe place for Jews since before his family arrived six generations ago, and while there were problems in society, there had been in the past as well, such as Oswald Mosley’s fascist movement. He said that the general British population wasn’t bothered by the presence of Jews and that it was a tolerant country. Even large anti-Israel marches included just a small minority of the population, represented by radical Islamists and socialists, and what was seen on social media was not the general experience in everyday life.
“I do not believe that all is lost,” said Rowe.
Cohen said that the conditions in the UK pushed him to make aliyah in another two weeks. While the UK was not 1930s Germany, he said, one could see a rapidly increasing
trend. He began to engage in activism in 2014, and with each conflict in Israel, antisemitism has been getting progressively worse. He said Rochdale MP George Galloway’s election on the back of an anti-Zionist campaign signified a worsening situation.
“I have been assaulted numerous times; I’ve had people pull knives on me; I’ve had people violently assault me,” said Cohen. “There is no escaping the reality of antisemitism spiraling out of control in this country.”
The NJA took a poll at the end of the discussion, with 43% of voters saying there was no future for Jews in the UK, 31% disagreeing, and 26% undecided.
While the poll was more informal, it was a similar result to the poll conducted in November by the Campaign Against Antisemitism. Since October 7, 48% said they had considered leaving the UK due to antisemitism, with 34% disagreeing and 18% uncertain.
According to CAA, 69% of Jews were less likely to show
signs of Judaism in public, and 61% said that they or someone they knew had experienced or witnessed an antisemitic incident in the UK since the Hamas pogrom. The poll was based on a sample of 3,744 self-selected respondents and collected through other Jewish community organizations.
In mid-February, the Community Security Trust published that in 2023, there had been 4,103 antisemitic incidents across the UK. This represents a 147% rise from the 1,662 antisemitic incidents in 2022; 66% of the incidents occurred on or after the October 7 massacre, said CST.
Among the antisemitic incidents recorded by CST, 3,328 included abusive behavior, 266 were assaults, 182 acts of property damage, and 305 threats. CST noted that there were no incidents of extreme violence, but these polls have shown that this is little comfort to British Jewry.
Every Sunday since October 7 has seen anti-Israel marches in London. On February 21, House of Commons members
expressed worry about a vote calling for a ceasefire in Gaza because they were afraid of violent repercussions. Finchley and Golders Green MP Mike Freer’s office was set alight in an arson in December, and in February, he said that a torrent of death threats to the pro-Israel politician had pushed him not to seek reelection.
In mid-March, NHS nurses with pro-Palestinian stickers reportedly ejected a Jewish boy with a blood disease from his bed at the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital. On Tuesday, in Radlett, the staff of Jewish cuisine delis were harassed and asked if they supported Israel. On Sunday, two survivors of the October 7 Nova festival massacre were detained by the UK Border Police after they explained that they would be sharing their experiences, prompting Ellis’s question.
More polling is needed, but based on current information, many British Jews may have already answered that they believe they are no longer welcome.