UK : Almost one in three Jews thinking of quitting

Almost one in three British Jews has considered moving abroad in the past two years, a survey has found.

The findings come from a large-scale study by the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism which surveyed nearly 4,000 members of the community during 2016 and 2017.
One in six British Jews (17%) reported feeling unwelcome in Britain and over a third (37%) said they had felt the need to conceal their Judaism in public.


They found that 31% of British Jews had considered moving abroad, a rise from 28% during their last survey two years ago.
Some 65% of respondents said they believed the Government was not doing enough to protect them, and over four-fifths feel the Labour party is too tolerant of anti-Semitism.
However, a separate YouGov survey, carried out for the CAA, found that anti-Semitic attitudes in UK society, measured by how many respondents agreed with seven anti-Semitic statements, were declining, with the number of people who agreed with at least one statement down from 45% in 2015 to 36% in 2017.

The campaign group works on bringing cases of anti-Semitism to justice, and chairman Gideon Falter told Sky News the findings should be "a shot across the bows" for the authorities.
Mr Falter said: "We've got a very serious situation where on the one hand, British society is very effectively starting to shun anti-Semitism, but the institutions we rely on to protect our communities are not doing enough.
"We've been talking about it for years and years. When are they going to wake up?"
The CAA claims only around two dozen anti-Jewish crimes are prosecuted every year but the Crown Prosecution Service said it did not recognise the figure.

A spokesman said: "Tackling hate crime in all its forms is a priority for the CPS and last year we prosecuted over 15,000 cases more than ever before."
Mandy Blumenthal, who is in her 50s and runs a commercial property company, told Sky News she was making preparations to move to Israel.
Ms Blumenthal spent most of her life in Birmingham where her father, a former Major in the British Army, served as Lord Mayor and her mother worked as a magistrate. She has encountered anti-Jewish prejudice, and knows others who have been targeted with verbal and physical abuse.

"I was always very happy in England, I come from a normal British family, my parents were so proud to be British and our ethos at home was always that you have to give back to society," she said.
"I can't believe I'm having to do this but I'm literally scared not of what's going to be happening in England tomorrow or even next year, but I think within the next 10 years it will not be tolerable for Jews here."
Others in north London had dramatically different experiences.
Jodeci, a student from Ilford, who wears a Jewish skullcup, said he was shocked by the finding that one in three Jews had considered emigrating.
He said: "I've had an extremely good approach from people to the fact that I'm Jewish. I feel very safe here."

Earlier this year the Community Security Trust, another organisation which monitors anti-Semitism, recorded 1,309 incidents of anti-Jewish hate last year, compared with 960 in 2015 - a rise of 36%.
They included 107 violent assaults and 65 incidents of damage and desecration to Jewish property, as well as more than 1,000 incidents of abusive behaviour in person and on social media.

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Responding to the survey, Communities Secretary Sajid Javid said: "Our Hate Crime Action Plan sets out how we will tackle these crimes, boost reporting to the police and Community Security Trust and help victims rebuild their lives.

"We are also providing an extra £13.4m to protect Jewish faith schools and synagogues."- Sky