Questions lingering on Jewish minds in the United Kingdom

(Oct. 22, 2026 / JNS)

Is Britain safe for Jews? It is the question on everyone’s minds. But it is also one that our parents and grandparents never needed to ask—and that fact alone shames my country to its core.

Over the past six months, my colleague Rosa Doherty and I have explored the astonishing physical security measures that Britain’s Jewish community has to take, how our organizations have adapted to working with politicians, society and cultural institutions, and ultimately, whether Jews now face irreversible hostility and exclusion.

In turning these investigations into a mini-documentary series, our intention was to create something that would engage non-Jewish audiences in a way others in this country currently do not. Too often, Jews are being told what to think or feel while also being regularly misrepresented by media organizations that are not only critical of Israel, but appear to be outright hostile to Jews. Period.

Our research took us from the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police in London and an interview with Britain’s most senior officer, Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley, to the home of Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis and to those who have walked the corridors of power, advising prime ministers, royalty and influential figures throughout the country.

For me, two words summed up almost the entire political debate around the issue of antisemitism in Britain today: “Electorally insignificant.”

That was it. With one simple phrase, one guest got right to the heart of what we spent many hours investigating.

Simon Johnson, a former chief executive of the Jewish Leadership Council, a representative body of Jewish organizations in Britain, explained how changing demographics have made a lasting impact on the community’s political standing.

He said: “Jewish people are electorally insignificant. And those who are anti-Israel and pro-Gaza and believe what Israel does is genocide … they are electorally significant.”

He described how shifts in British politics, essentially moving from a predominantly two-party electoral tussle to a five- or six-party free-for-all, have changed the dynamics of forming a government.

The Green Party, which only this month backed a controversial “Zionism is racism” policy, has dragged the fringes on the left to even more extreme positions than Jeremy Corbyn managed during his fateful leadership of the Labour Party and is arguably more fanatical than mainstream Palestinian groups.

Britain’s constituency system means that it’s not impossible for the Greens to hold the balance of power—a now-terrifying prospect for many in the Jewish community—when the next general election takes place in less than three years.

It was a point that Mirvis made even more bluntly when I asked him to predict what Jewish life might look like in this country a decade from now.

“My greatest fear is for Britain itself,” he said. “The future of our culture, our identity, our values, at a time when our civilization is under attack. My fear is exacerbated because I believe that our national leadership is choosing to turn a blind eye to that direct threat.”

For an apolitical religious leader to speak in such a way is almost unheard of in this country, even in these unprecedented times.

How did we get here? First, through the Corbyn years of 2015 to 2020 that brought antisemitism back to the table as a political talking point in a way that had not been seen for generations.

Then, the horrors of the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and the effect the subsequent war in Gaza had on global perceptions of Israel. For months, central London was beset by anti-Israel protesters marching and rallying against the Jewish state, against Zionism, and on occasions, against Jews themselves.

The landscape had already shifted before the deadly terror attack last year on a Manchester synagogue on Yom Kippur. That was followed by fire bombings of Hatzola ambulances in London, attempted arson attacks on synagogues, and then another terror attack in the heart of the community during which two Jewish men were stabbed.

Ultimately, this combination of political challenge, social exclusion and physical violence has left many questioning their future here. Rising aliyah rates already indicate some have made up their minds.

What Rosa and I discovered, however, was a community that is weighing up more complex options than simply fleeing. For a fourth-generation British Jew such as myself, the idea of leaving the only home country my family has ever known is almost totally anathema.

The realities on the ground are chilling. Our children attend Jewish schools so heavily fortified they resemble prisons. We pray in synagogues which many peers are now too scared to attend. Our kosher shops are patrolled by private security guards while specialist police units are on standby.

Simon Johnson summed up how many of us feel: “I don’t think it’s an existential threat. Not at all. Because the government will invest money and resources into protecting the Jewish community from violence against people and property. I don’t think that will change.

“We are in a bad moment now, but it may not last forever. People are going to feel uncomfortable—and people’s level of discomfort will affect how they make decisions.”

It feels utterly perverse and heart-breaking that closer to the 22nd century than to 1945, families, homes, synagogues and community institutions are debating whether Jewish life will continue in this country.

That chilling effect doesn’t stop at our borders. Not only British Jews face this unedifying situation, but so do most of our friends, cousins and fellow Diaspora Jews.

Despite this adversity, the Jewish people are intrinsically resilient. We’ve been through worse and survived.

This is a community that loves life and gives to its country in countless ways, including through charity, voluntary work, public service, scientific and cultural advancement. None of that will change. And we will never give up on Britain.

“What Next,” a series examining antisemitism in Britain, can be viewed on youtube.com/@jewishnewsuk.