CAA poll of 4.5x more Jews in the UK clearly shows Britain is at a tipping point. Unless anti-Semitism is met with zero tolerance

Renaud Sarda

Nearly half of Britons hold anti-Semitic views, a survey has 
revealed. It also found that one in eight Brits surveyed (13 percent) 
thought Jews used talking about the Holocaust to get sympathy.


A YouGov poll asked
3,411 UK adults about their attitudes toward UK Jewish citizens.
It found that 45 percent polled believed at least one
anti-Semitic view presented to them was “definitely or
probably true.”

Many found clichés and stereotypes about Jews to be true. One in
four believed Jewish people “chase money more than
others,” while one in six people felt Jews thought they were
better than other people and had too much power in the media.

The Campaign Against Anti-Semitism (CAA), which commissioned the
study, said Britain was at a “tipping point” in its
Annual Anti-Semitism Barometer report.

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

“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. Britain's
Jews must be shown that they are not alone.”

Around 269,000 Jewish people live in the UK, or 0.4 percent of
the British population, according to CAA.

READ MORE: BBC director fears rising UK anti-Semitism

The survey also found that one in 10 people (11 percent) claimed
Jews were not as honest in business as other people, while one in
five believed their loyalty to Israel made UK Jewish citizens
less loyal to the UK, and 10 percent of all surveyed said they
would be unhappy if a relative married a Jewish person.

Last year, police recorded a record number of anti-Semitic
attacks.

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles told the Daily Mail: “Jews
are an important part of the British community, and we would be
diminished without them.

“Anyone who peddles anti-Semitic views is attacking Britain
and British values. This government has done much to enhance
Britain's status as a safe, tolerant place for Jewish people but
we are not complacent. We remain committed to tackling it
wherever and whenever it occurs and continue to take a
zero-tolerance approach.”

To get the perspective of Jews living in the UK on the issue, the
CAA polled British Jews in a separate survey. Of the 2,230 people
polled, 54 percent said they feared they had no future in the UK
and a quarter (25 percent) said they have considered leaving the
country in the last two years.

It found that 56 percent felt that anti-Semitism now echoes the
1930s, while 58 percent believed Jews may have no long-term
future in Europe. In addition, around 45 percent felt their
family was threatened by Islamist extremism, while 63 percent
thought authorities let too much anti-Semitism go unpunished.

A member of the CAA campaign, Jonathan Sacerdoti, responded:
“Jewish people have contributed to almost every part of
British life, yet rising anti-Semitism here and across Europe
means that now more than ever Jews are afraid. Some are even
reconsidering their future here.

“British values of tolerance and pluralism must be upheld, so
that minority groups like Jews feel comfortable and
protected.”