UK Jews ‘rattled and anxious’ after 7 October

British Jews are “rattled, anxious and uncomfortable” in the wake of the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas, according to a new landmark report from the Institute for Jewish Policy Research (JPR).

The report, written by the JPR;s executive director Dr Jonathan Boyd, finds that last October’s attacks on Israel have had “a significant impact on British Jews’ political views of Israel, their sense of security in the UK and their attachments to Israel and the local Jewish community”.

A year after October 7: How British Jews feel about Israel, security and Jewish life is based on responses from 4,500 adult British Jews to the JPR Jewish Current Affairs Survey in July 2024 – the largest survey of British Jews since October 7, 2023.

The report explores how the original Hamas attack and the subsequent war have affected British Jews’ view of Israel politically, how the public reaction to the conflict has affected Jews’ sense of security and trust in critical organisations in the UK, and how the conflict has impacted the Jewish lives of British Jews – their connections to Israel and the Jewish community.

Among the key findings in the report, it’s revealed that just 54 per cent of Jews in the UK agree that a two-state solution is the only way Israel will achieve peace with its neighbours, compared to 77 per cent who did so in 2010. Only about one in four (26 per cent) British Jews think that most Palestinians want peace with Israel, compared to nearly half (47 per cent) in 2010.

Nearly four in five British Jews say that they often feel that they are being held responsible by non-Jews for the actions of Israel’s government, with 43 per cent “strongly agreeing’” with this statement; and nearly three in four respondents say they feel less safe as a Jewish person living in the UK, while almost two in three adult British Jews said they feel less confident displaying their Jewishness since the October 7 attacks.

Nearly half of British Jews (46 per cent) say that antisemitism is ‘a very big problem’ in the UK today, compared to 28 per cent in 2018 and only 11 per cent in 2012. In total, 83 per cent of British Jews define antisemitism as a problem in Britain, the highest proportion found since records began over a decade ago.

And those who describe themselves as Zionist — and, conversely, as anti-Zionist —are each slightly on the increase in both categories. About two in three British Jews (65 per cent) identify as Zionist, up slightly compared to before October 7. Ten per cent identify as anti-Zionist, also up slightly.

For all the division and criticism, British Jews are still more likely to have felt proud of Israel than ashamed since October 7. But crucially, levels of anxiety among British Jews are higher than they were before October 7 and are notably higher than they are among the general population of Britain.

The report finds “quite high levels of concern about the political choices and direction of the Israel government: six in ten feel that it has not done enough to release hostages, and over half think it could have done more in terms of providing humanitarian aid to Gazans”. Dr Boyd said the responses also indicated “a striking decline in British Jews’ faith in Israel’s democracy – where in 2010 80 per cent felt that democracy in Israel was alive and well, today that proportion is barely 50 per cent.

Dr Boyd observed: “After such a turbulent year, it’s important to know where the Jewish population stands today. Politically, there is a considerable degree of discontent with the Netanyahu government, and there is a clear sense among some that many of the moral challenges of the war have been handled sub-optimally. But the level of condemnation of Israel that has been seen in Britain over the past year has shaken many British Jews’ sense of place in the country — we feel far more rattled, anxious and uncomfortable than most of us have ever done before. The overall result is that most British Jews feel more strongly attached to Israel than they did a year ago — whilst many feel morally compromised and emotionally torn, in general, our underlying connections with Israel appear to be stronger than they have been for some time.”

The report’s findings form the basis for the second series of the JPR/JW3 “Jews Do Count” podcast, available on the JPR website and all major platforms from October 5