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Most British Jews Hide their Judaism to Avoid Antisemitism, New Data Shows
A pro-Hamas march in London, United Kingdom, Feb. 17, 2024. Photo: Chrissa Giannakoudi via Reuters Connect
Only a third of British Jews believe that they have a long-term future in the United Kingdom, and a majority hide their Judaism due to antisemitism, according to new data released on Monday.
Coinciding with International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA), a British charity, released new polling revealing the extent of antisemitism experienced by the Jewish community in the United Kingdom.
From a survey of 4,078 British Jews, researchers found that 34 percent of respondents believe that British Jews lack a long-term future in the UK. In the last two years, half of Jews have considered leaving the country due to the increase in antisemitism following the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas terror attacks in southern Israel. For those aged 18-24, that number rose to 67 percent.
According to the poll, 58 percent of British Jews choose to conceal their Judaism to avoid antisemitism, and 43 percent say they do not feel welcome in the UK. That number rises to 47 percent among 18-24 year olds.
“As we reflect today on historic antisemitism, as a society we also have to ask ourselves: why are we doing so little about antisemitism right here, right now?” a CAA spokesperson said in a statement. “The truth is that Britain and the authorities are failing the Jewish community. These figures paint a sobering picture of the lives of British Jews and their future.”
The survey shows that British Jews regard Islamists as the most serious threat (95 percent), followed by the far left (91 percent) and the far-right (67 percent). Large numbers also called for Islamist groups to be proscribed as terrorists by the British government. Ninety-eight percent call for those involved in the Oct. 7 terror attacks to be designated, with 94 percent calling for the same for the Houthis in Yemen, 93 percent for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and 85 percent for the Muslim Brotherhood.
Respondents also expressed skepticism about law enforcement’s ability to counter antisemitism. More than 90 percent do not believe police take proper action to protect Jews from Islamists, and 84 percent said that the authorities are not doing enough to stop antisemitism. Only 16 percent of British Jews expressed confidence that a report of antisemitism would result in a prosecution if there was strong evidence. British Jews also expressed concern with police responses to anti-Israel marches, with 75 percent dissatisfied.
In Scotland, almost 20 percent of Jews said they would not report an antisemitic hate crime to law enforcement, with almost two-thirds doubting that such acts would be prosecuted.
“British Jews have lost trust in the criminal justice system in general, which they do not feel is protecting them, and in the Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley in particular, after he has presided over the worst surge in antisemitism in living memory, opting for excuses over action and gaslighting those who call him out. We need more arrests, prosecutions, serious sentences and a ban on the anti-Israel marches,” the CAA spokesperson said.
Only 5 percent of British Jews expressed confidence in Rowley, and 60 percent believe he should leave his position.
This community-wide distrust of police effectiveness extends to political leadership. Eighty-five percent of respondents said they are dissatisfied with London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s response to antisemitism, while a third expressed unhappiness with Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham. Majorities of British Jews also reported seeing too much tolerance of antisemitism in the Green Party (72 percent) and the Labour Party (71 percent). This is the first time that another party has risen higher than Labour, and these were the only two with more than 50 percent disapproval. In Scotland, 72 percent of Jews said that the Scottish National Party is too tolerant of antisemitism.
Ninety-two percent of those surveyed believe that British media fuels antisemitism, with the same number describing the BBC’s coverage of Jews as unfavorable. The Guardian received the lowest ratings of the UK’s newspapers, as 69 percent of respondents disapproved of its coverage of Jews. Anti-Israel boycotts also came in for criticism, with 84 percent calling such moves “intimidation.”
Britain’s universities received skepticism from those polled, with 3 percent expressing confidence that if a Jewish student reported an antisemitic incident then administrators would respond properly. For younger Jews that number rose to 6 percent, and 90 percent of them blamed students for the increase in reports of campus hate. Eighty-eight percent of British Jews also reported that should their family members consider going to college then reports of antisemitism would influence their decision.
“From politics to the BBC to universities, the Jewish community sees betrayal across our civil and cultural institutions,” the CAA spokesperson said. “The cumulative result is that less than half of British Jews feel welcome in the UK. Antisemitism has become our nation’s great shame, and time is running out.”
The post Most British Jews Hide their Judaism to Avoid Antisemitism, New Data Shows first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israel to Send Delegation to Qatar for Gaza Ceasefire Talks
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a news conference in Jerusalem, Sept. 2, 2024. Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg/Pool via REUTERS
Israel has decided to send a delegation to Qatar for talks on a possible Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal, an Israeli official said, reviving hopes of a breakthrough in negotiations to end the almost 21-month war.
Palestinian group Hamas said on Friday it had responded to a US-backed Gaza ceasefire proposal in a “positive spirit,” a few days after US President Donald Trump said Israel had agreed “to the necessary conditions to finalize” a 60-day truce.
The Israeli negotiation delegation will fly to Qatar on Sunday, the Israeli official, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter, told Reuters.
But in a sign of the potential challenges still facing the two sides, a Palestinian official from a militant group allied with Hamas said concerns remained over humanitarian aid, passage through the Rafah crossing in southern Israel to Egypt and clarity over a timetable for Israeli troop withdrawals.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is due to meet Trump in Washington on Monday, has yet to comment on Trump’s announcement, and in their public statements Hamas and Israel remain far apart.
Netanyahu has repeatedly said Hamas must be disarmed, a position the terrorist group, which is thought to be holding 20 living hostages, has so far refused to discuss.
Israeli media said on Friday that Israel had received and was reviewing Hamas’ response to the ceasefire proposal.
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Tucker Carlson Says to Air Interview with President of Iran
Tucker Carlson speaks on July 18, 2024 during the final day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Photo: Jasper Colt-USA TODAY via Reuters Connect
US conservative talk show host Tucker Carlson said in an online post on Saturday that he had conducted an interview with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, which would air in the next day or two.
Carlson said the interview was conducted remotely through a translator, and would be published as soon as it was edited, which “should be in a day or two.”
Carlson said he had stuck to simple questions in the interview, such as, “What is your goal? Do you seek war with the United States? Do you seek war with Israel?”
“There are all kinds of questions that I didn’t ask the president of Iran, particularly questions to which I knew I could get an not get an honest answer, such as, ‘was your nuclear program totally disabled by the bombing campaign by the US government a week and a half ago?’” he said.
Carlson also said he had made a third request in the past several months to interview Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who will be visiting Washington next week for talks with US President Donald Trump.
Trump said on Friday he would discuss Iran with Netanyahu at the White House on Monday.
Trump said he believed Tehran’s nuclear program had been set back permanently by recent US strikes that followed Israel’s attacks on the country last month, although Iran could restart it at a different location.
Trump also said Iran had not agreed to inspections of its nuclear program or to give up enriching uranium. He said he would not allow Tehran to resume its nuclear program, adding that Iran did want to meet with him.
Pezeshkian said last month Iran does not intend to develop nuclear weapons but will pursue its right to nuclear energy and research.
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Hostage Families Reject Partial Gaza Seal, Demand Release of All Hostages
Demonstrators hold signs and pictures of hostages, as relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages kidnapped during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas protest demanding the release of all hostages in Tel Aviv, Israel, Feb. 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Itai Ron
i24 News – As Israeli leaders weigh the contours of a possible partial ceasefire deal with Hamas, the families of the 50 hostages still held in Gaza issued an impassioned public statement this weekend, condemning any agreement that would return only some of the abductees.
In a powerful message released Saturday, the Families Forum for the Return of Hostages denounced what they call the “beating system” and “cruel selection process,” which, they say, has left families trapped in unbearable uncertainty for 638 days—not knowing whether to hope for reunion or prepare for mourning.
The group warned that a phased or selective deal—rumored to be under discussion—would deepen their suffering and perpetuate injustice. Among the 50 hostages, 22 are believed to be alive, and 28 are presumed dead.
“Every family deserves answers and closure,” the Forum said. “Whether it is a return to embrace or a grave to mourn over—each is sacred.”
They accused the Israeli government of allowing political considerations to prevent a full agreement that could have brought all hostages—living and fallen—home long ago. “It is forbidden to conform to the dictates of Schindler-style lists,” the statement read, invoking a painful historical parallel.
“All of the abductees could have returned for rehabilitation or burial months ago, had the government chosen to act with courage.”
The call for a comprehensive deal comes just as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepares for high-stakes talks in Washington and as indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas are expected to resume in Doha within the next 24 hours, according to regional media reports.
Hamas, for its part, issued a statement Friday confirming its readiness to begin immediate negotiations on the implementation of a ceasefire and hostage release framework.
The Forum emphasized that every day in captivity poses a mortal risk to the living hostages, and for the deceased, a danger of being lost forever. “The horror of selection does not spare any of us,” the statement said. “Enough with the separation and categories that deepen the pain of the families.”
In a planned public address near Begin Gate in Tel Aviv, families are gathering Saturday evening to demand that the Israeli government accept a full-release deal—what they describe as the only “moral and Zionist” path forward.
“We will return. We will avenge,” the Forum concluded. “This is the time to complete the mission.”
As of now, the Israeli government has not formally responded to Hamas’s latest statement.
The post Hostage Families Reject Partial Gaza Seal, Demand Release of All Hostages first appeared on Algemeiner.com.