New polling of Jewish community shows antisemitism fears have risen
The latest JPR report - carried out before Thursday's terror attack - also shows attachments to Israel have strengthened, but explicit anti-Zionism growing among younger Jews
New polling of the UK’s Jewish community has identified that 82 percent of British Jews now see antisemitism in this country as problem – up from 48 percent in 2012.
The Institute for Jewish Policy Research (JPR) has published its latest report: “Two years after the October 7 attacks: British Jewish views on antisemitism, Israel and Jewish life”. The polling contained in the report, which was carried out in June and July of this year – prior to yesterday’s terror attack on the UK Jewish community – included thousands of Jews in the study. It showed almost a third of Jews reporting experiencing at least one antisemitic incident in 2024, while feelings of safety had declined sharply, with 35% of Jews rating their safety in Britain between 0–4 on a 10-point scale, compared to just 9% in 2023 before 7 October 7 2023.
The JPR survey also shows that emotional attachment to Israel has increased – 75% of British Jews feel emotionally attached, with 49% “very attached” – the equivalent figures just before the October 7 attacks were 72% and 40%. Likewise, 45% now say ‘Support for Israel’ is “very important” to their Jewish identity, up from 38% in 2022. However, while Zionist identification remains stable, with just under two-thirds specifically identifying as Zionist, explicitly anti-Zionist identification has risen from 8% in 2022 to 12% in 2025. Most notably, just under a quarter of 20-29 old respondents specifically identified as anti-Zionist, with a further 20% identifying themselves as non-Zionist.
Dr Jonathan Boyd, JPR’s Executive Director and author of the new report, said: “Two years on since the October 7 attacks, I am struck particularly by the broad resilience of British Jews – how, in spite of the considerable political and emotional turmoil surrounding them, their sense of their own Jewishness and engagement in Jewish life remains largely intact.
“That is not to suggest the war and its repercussions have not left their mark – many Jews feel less secure, more isolated and more morally conflicted than they have even previously experienced – but in many cases, this seems to have strengthened their feelings of attachment to Israel and helped to build a greater sense of Jewish solidarity and connectivity in Britain.
“At the same time, we also see clear signs of tensions within parts of the community over the ways in which the Israeli government has prosecuted the war, that are playing themselves out in very challenging ways not only within community organisational frameworks, but also among social and familial networks, and indeed within individuals themselves.”
The full report can be read here.
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