Using YouGov, a survey company, the British organization Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) has conducted an annual survey of English attitudes towards Jews since 2015.

Perhaps the most disturbing fact to come out of this year’s survey is that over the past two years a third of the Jews living in England had considered leaving due to the growing antisemitism in that country.

The survey also found that 25% do not believe Jews have a long-term future in England with a further 21% stating they were uncertain. However, this was still better than what they see going on across the English Channel when 35% said they did not believe Jews have a long-term future in Europe and 24% stating they were unsure.

This is certainly paving the way for further Jewish migration to Israel, an event prophesied in the Old Testament centuries earlier:

³ “Then I Myself will gather the remnant of My flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and bring them back to their pasture… (Jeremiah 23:3 NASV)

Perhaps not surprisingly 37% of Jews state that they now hide their Jewish heritage when going out in public in England. This includes either avoiding wearing a skull-cap or Star of David.

In response to this, CAA stated “This is a strong sign that British Jews expect to be discriminated against or even harassed or abused if people know that they are Jewish.”

But perhaps the most surprising result for me took place when the survey asked Jews to rank the source of their fears or persecution.

Predictably, they listed Muslim extremism as their biggest concern with 79% ranking it as either their primary or secondary concern.

But what caught me a bit off guard was who placed a very close second — 72% of Jews listed the far left as either their primary or secondary concern. In fact, nearly a third of the Jews listed the far left as a bigger concern than Muslim extremists.

The survey also showed that 80% of Jews believe the left-leaning British Labour Party has anti-Semitics in its ranks.

Meanwhile, the far right placed a distant third with only 37% putting them as either their primary or secondary concern.

The survey also found that 81% of Jews believe the growing antisemitism in England is being fueled by the media’s anti-Israel  bias. Politicians were not much better with 78% of Jews stating they had seen anti-Semitic political comment.

I think Christians can see themselves in this survey with many feeling a similar intimidation about being open about their faith in public. In recent years, I have also seen a growing antagonism towards Christians particularly among those in the media and the left side of the political spectrum.

Sources:

• Antisemitism Barometer 2017: Campaign Against Antisemitism
• Report: One-third of British Jews considering leaving UK: Breaking Israel News