Almost 70% of British Jews are hiding their identity and almost half have considered leaving Britain since 7th October, new CAA polling shows

New polling by Campaign Against Antisemitism has revealed a number of startling insights.

• 69% of British Jews say that they are less likely to show visible signs of their Judaism right now.
• Almost half of British Jews have considered leaving the UK due to antisemitism, since 7th October.
• More than six in ten British Jews have either personally experienced or witnessed an antisemitic incident since 7th October or know somebody who has.
• Only 16% of British Jews believe that the police treat antisemitic hate crime like other forms of hate crime, with two thirds believing that the police apply a double standard.
• A staggering 90% of British Jews say that they would avoid travelling to a city centre if a major anti-Israel demonstration was taking place there. Our urban centres have become no-go zones for Jews.
• A full 95% of British Jews believe that the Crown Prosecution Service should report statistics on prosecutions of antisemitic hate crimes.
• 90% of the Jewish community believes that the British Government should proscribe Hizb ut-Tahrir.
• With regard to political parties, 62% of British Jews – almost two thirds – believe that the Labour Party is too tolerant of antisemitism among its MPs, MEPs, councillors, members and supporters. This is the lowest score for Labour in years, but still puts it firmly ahead of the next parties: the SNP (47%) and the Green Party (42%).
• 86% of British Jews are not satisfied with the BBC’s coverage of the Israel-Hamas crisis. Only 4% are satisfied.
• A near-unanimous 97% of British Jews feel personally connected to events happening in Israel.
• Eight in ten British Jews consider themselves to be a Zionist. Only six percent do not.

Fieldwork was conducted between 12th and 17th November 2023. In total, 3,744 responses were obtained. The full results and methodology are provided below.

Full results

“Since 7th October 2023, I am less likely to show visible signs of my Judaism when I go out, for example a Star of David or a Jewish skullcap (kippah).”

• Strongly Agree 40%
• Agree 29%
• Neither Agree nor Disagree 16%
• Disagree 9%
• Strongly Disagree 6%

“Since 7th October 2023, I have considered leaving the UK due to antisemitism.”

• Strongly Agree 17%
• Agree 31%
• Neither Agree nor Disagree 18%
• Disagree 20%
• Strongly Disagree 14%

Have you or someone you know experienced or witnessed an antisemitic incident since 7th October 2023

• Yes 61%
• No 39%

“Antisemitic hate crime is treated by the police in the same way as other forms of hate crime.”

• Strongly Agree 5%
• Agree 11%
• Neither Agree nor Disagree 18%
• Disagree 34%
• Strongly Disagree 32%

“I would avoid travelling to a city centre if a major anti-Israel demonstration was taking place there.”

• Strongly Agree 74%
• Agree 16%
• Neither Agree nor Disagree 4%
• Disagree 4%
• Strongly Disagree 2%

“The Crown Prosecution Service should report statistics on prosecutions of antisemitic hate crimes.”

• Strongly Agree 70%
• Agree 25%
• Neither Agree nor Disagree 4%
• Disagree 1%
• Strongly Disagree 0%

“The British Government should proscribe Hizb ut-Tahrir.”

• Strongly Agree 78%
• Agree 12%
• Neither Agree nor Disagree 9%
• Disagree 0%
• Strongly Disagree 0%

“Do you feel that any political parties are too tolerant of antisemitism among their MPs, MEPs, councillors, members and supporters? Please select all that apply.”

• Conservative Party 14%
• DUP 16%
• Green Party 42%
• Labour Party 62%
• Liberal Democrats 32%
• Plaid Cymru 21%
• Reclaim Party 11%
• Reform Party 12%
• SNP 47%
• Sinn Féin 32%
• UKIP 16%
• None 2%
• Don’t know 26%

“Overall, I am satisfied with the BBC’s coverage of the Israel-Hamas crisis.”

• Strongly Disagree 71%
• Disagree 15%
• Neither Agree nor Disagree 4%
• Agree 3%
• Strongly Agree 1%
• I do not watch or listen to the BBC or read its website 6%

“I feel personally connected to events happening in Israel.”

• Strongly Disagree 0%
• Disagree 0%
• Neither Agree nor Disagree 2%
• Agree 19%
• Strongly Agree 78%

“I consider myself to be a Zionist.”

• Strongly Disagree 2%
• Disagree 4%
• Neither Agree nor Disagree 14%
• Agree 23%
• Strongly Agree 57%

Survey methodology

Our surveys of British Jews were modelled on the National Jewish Community Survey (NJCS) conducted by the Institute for Jewish Policy research. In common with the NJCS, the samples were self-selecting, and respondents were required to self-identify as Jewish and confirm that they lived in the United Kingdom. Like the NJCS, they were contacted primarily through ‘seed’ organisations, including religious bodies, Jewish online networks (including targeted advertising on social networks), and community welfare organisations, among others. In common with the NJCS, the seed organisations were used to initiate a ‘snowballing’ process which, in effect, created a non-probability convenience sample. It was not possible to use a random probability sampling approach for this study because a suitable sampling frame for the Jewish population is not available in the UK. Fieldwork was conducted between 12th and 17th November 2023. In total, 3,744 responses were obtained. As is the case with the NJCS, the number of unique respondents contacted cannot be determined due to the likely overlap between different ‘seed’ organisations’ supporter bases, thus we cannot estimate the survey response rate.

A key issue with an online survey is to ensure that respondents are not counted twice. To avoid this and other abuses that might affect the survey’s integrity, several measures were implemented. These included: carefully monitoring responses for unusual trends during the fieldwork phase, and assessing the completed dataset for the presence of extreme or unrealistic values (i.e. outlier diagnostics) and for the presence of unlikely combinations of values across variables (i.e. logical checks). Additionally, cookies were used to avoid respondents completing the survey more than once. Finally, respondents’ IP addresses were logged so that if a respondent deleted their cookies, multiple responses from the same IP address could still be identified. As a result, duplicate responses were kept to a minimum and ultimately, removed from the sample.

Our survey is modelled on best practice established by NJCS. All surveys have their shortcomings, and ours shares the shortcomings of NJCS. Even surveys that are based on probability sampling are typically affected by high levels of non- response. Surveys of populations lacking sampling frames, such as this one, are particularly challenging, as is establishing their representativeness. Nevertheless, because we have extremely high-quality baseline statistics available in the UK, it is possible to both accurately weight the data and make reasonable assumptions about where they may depart from the ‘true’ picture. In general, the survey samples reflect the diverse character of Jewish respondents in the UK across geographical, demographic and religious variables. Where the sample does depart from baseline characteristics, responses were weighted for location, gender, age and religious affiliation. Population estimates were based on responses to the 2021 Census in England and Wales and the 2022 Census in Scotland where that data is available, and otherwise on responses to the 2011 Census, and size estimates with regard to religious denominations were based on the NCJS 2013. The weights were calculated using random iterative method weighting by an external consultant.