One in three British Jews has considered leaving the UK in last two years - report
2 min read
Almost a third of British Jews say they have considered leaving the country in the last two years, a new survey has revealed.
And 17% of Jews say they feel "unwelcome" in the UK, while 37% have taken to concealing their religion in public.
The Campaign Against Anti-Semitism and pollsters YouGov both conducted polls over each of the last three years to gauge British Jews' attitudes.
The research reveals many British Jews do not trust the authorities to deal with anti-semitism.
More than half of respondents said the Crown Prosecution Service was not doing enough, and only 39% said they were confident anti-semitic crime would be prosecuted.
It comes after police figures released last month showed a sharp rise of 45% in anti-semitic crimes since 2014.
The CAA's research also makes clear the level of distrust in the Labour party among British Jews, with four in five saying they think the party harbours anti-semites.
Gideon Falter, the chair of the CAA, said: "Our research shows that one in three British Jews has become so fearful of mounting antisemitic crime and the failure to excise antisemites from politics that they have considered leaving Britain altogether.
"Our research clearly shows that British Jews have pointed their fingers at the Crown Prosecution Service and the Labour party."
Former MP Sir Eric Pickles, who chairs Conservative Friends of Israel, hit out at Labour, saying: “Modern antisemitism has been alloweed to flourish in the left of British politics, unchallenged by the Labour leadership. This report is a wake-up call."
Labour MP John Mann, who chairs the all-party parliamentary group on anti-semitism, said the findings were not a surprise.
“Although we have to look at their data carefully the findings don’t appear to reveal anything new. We know that British Jews are concerned and we are working to address those concerns.
"It is beholden on organisations to not sensationalise antisemitism but rather to work to put national frameworks in place to defeat it. We will continue to work with CST and other mainstream groups towards this goal.”
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