First There Was France And Now England. Can US Be Far Behind?

Majority of British Jews Say They Have ‘No Future’ in the U.K.

Study finds more than a quarter of Jews have considered emigrating

By Gabriela Geselowitz|January 14, 2015 5:47 PM|Comments: 2

Jewish groups protest outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London on August 31, 2014. (JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images)

A study by the U.K.’s Campaign Against Anti-Semitism has found that the majority of British Jews surveyed believe they have “no long-term future” living there. The poll of more than 2,200 British Jews also found that a quarter have considered emigrating at some point in the past two years.

While troubling, the study’s results aren’t altogether surprising. The Community Security Trust’s report about the state of anti-Semitism in the U.K., which will be published in February, is expected to announce that there were more than 1,000 reported anti-Semitic incidents in 2014, more than any year in the past three decades.

The Campaign Against Anti-Semitism poll also revealed that a majority of British Jews surveyed had personally experienced or witnessed an increase in anti-Semitism. Almost half of the Jews polled felt particularly threatened by Islamist extremism.

During this summer’s war in Gaza, the U.K. saw a spike in anti-Semitic incidents, as did much of Europe. According to the forthcoming report, there were 302 anti-Semitic incidents in July 2014 alone—a 400 percent increase from the previous July. That month, nine out of 10 hate crimes targeted Jews, creating a crisis of confidence for British Jewry.

In addition to polling Jews, the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism study surveyed the wider British population, with dismal results. They found that 45 percent of Britons polled agreed with at least one anti-Semitic statement offered (such as, “Jews chase money more than other British people,” and “Jews have too much power in the media”).

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Crisis of Confidence for British Jewry