Half of Britons Say UK Unsafe for Jews as Gov’t Hardens Anti-Israel Line

Nearly half of British people now consider the country unsafe for Jewish communities, as the government maintains a strong anti-Israel stance over the Gaza war, seeking to undermine the Jewish state despite a US-brokered ceasefire that has held for over a month.

On Thursday, the London-based think tank More in Common released a study showing that six in 10 people worry about a rise in antisemitism, as British Jews continue to face an increasingly hostile environment and targeted attacks since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in late 2023.

The report also found that 45 percent of people consider the UK an unsafe place for Jews, especially after the Yom Kippur terrorist attack in Manchester, which left two Jewish men dead, and incidents leading up to and during the Maccabi Tel Aviv soccer game in Britain last month. Meanwhile, 44 percent still believe the country is safe for Jewish communities.

By comparison, 37 percent of the population believe the country is unsafe for Muslims, while nearly a quarter feel personally at risk.

According to the newly released study, the British population is deeply polarized over the war in Gaza and its impact on society, with right-leaning individuals “much more likely to be concerned about antisemitism than Islamophobia,” and left-leaning groups “relatively more concerned about Islamophobia than antisemitism.”

Across the country, public patience for both anti- and pro-Israel protests is fading, with two-thirds of respondents saying the most disruptive demonstrations should be banned.

Amid growing hatred and hostility, the report also found that Jewish people are altering their behavior and avoiding religious symbols in order to feel safe.

“Many British Jews have felt targeted by other Britons for their beliefs about Israel, or for what other people assume are their beliefs, or simply for being Jewish,” the study says.

“While many Britons don’t personally know any Jews closely, the rise in antisemitism has become a top concern for the British public more widely,” it continues.

The Community Security Trust (CST) — a nonprofit charity that advises Britain’s Jewish community on security matters — recorded 1,521 antisemitic incidents from January to June this year. This was the second-highest number of antisemitic crimes ever recorded by CST in the first six months of any year, following 2,019 incidents in the first half of 2024.

In total last year, CST recorded 3,528 anti-Jewish hate crimes — the country’s second worst year for antisemitism, despite an 18 percent drop from 2023’s record of 4,296.

These latest figures come amid the British government’s ongoing campaign against Israel, which has only escalated since the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. 

In one of its latest efforts, UK officials are reportedly considering imposing a ban on the import of goods from Israeli communities in the West Bank, according to the Middle East Eye news outlet.

This week, the country’s armed forces refused to attend a major international conference in Israel aimed at sharing military insights from the Gaza war, according to The Telegraph.

Hosted south of Tel Aviv, the multi-day seminar drew high-ranking military officials from several countries, including the United States, France, Germany, and Canada.

Since the start of the war in Gaza, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been publicly critical of Israel, even falsely accusing it of genocide and leading international campaigns in various forums aimed at halting the country’s defensive campaign against the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.

In September, the British government — along with other Western countries such as France, Australia, and Canada — recognized a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly, a move Israeli and US officials have criticized as rewarding terrorism.

Then this week, the UK voted for a UN Security Council resolution backing the US-backed Gaza peace plan, which notably acknowledges that no such state exits but rather “calls for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood” once “the [Palestinian Authority] reform program is faithfully carried out and Gaza redevelopment has advanced.”

London has not clarified the apparent contradiction between its September announcement and its vote this week regarding Palestinian statehood.