British Jews fear future in Europe – poll

LONDON, United Kingdom – Almost half of Britain’s Jews fear they have no long-term future in Britain or Europe, according to a survey published on Wednesday, January 14.

The poll of 2,230 British Jews by the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism (CAA) found that 45% feared Jews may have no future in Britain, and 58% were concerned they have no long-term future in Europe.

The online survey was conducted from December 23 to January 11 – a period that spanned the attacks in Paris that targeted the Charlie Hebdo magazine and a kosher supermarket – leading France to increase security at Jewish schools and synagogues.

“The results of our survey are a shocking wake-up call straight after the atrocities in Paris,” said CAA chairman Gideon Falter.

“Britain is at a tipping point. Unless anti-Semitism is met with zero tolerance, it will grow and British Jews will increasingly question their place in their own country.”

But CAA stressed that “Britain is not yet at the levels seen in most of Europe”.

According to the Jewish Agency, the number of British Jews emigrating to Israel increased by 20 percent last year, from 520 in 2013 to 620 in 2014, but in the longer term the agency said the number was stable.

The CAA said 2014 saw the most anti-Semitic incidents recorded by police since records began 30 years ago.

The organisation explained that antisemitism in Britain tended to rise during crises involving Israel, “but the sentiment behind it does not simply disappear when the crises end.”

Official figures from London’s metropolitan police showed anti-Semitic crimes more than doubled in the capital over the 12 months to November 2014, compared to the same period a year earlier.

Anti-Semitic views are not uncommon among British people, according to a separate study conducted by pollster YouGov for the CAA.

A quarter of the 3,411 adults surveyed by YouGov agreed that Jews chase money more than other British people.

Seventeen percent thought Jews had too much power in the media, 13 percent said Jews talked about the Holocaust to get sympathy. Overall, 45 percent agreed with at least one anti-Semitic statement. – Rappler.com