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August 15, 2014 6:28 am
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Poll: 63 Percent of British Jews Question Future in Country Amid Wave of Anti-Semitic Attacks

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avatar by Shiryn Ghermezian

A pro-Israel rally in England. Photo: Screenshot.

Well over half of all British Jews are now re-considering their future presence in the United Kingdom following an increase in anti-Semitic attacks and anti-Israel activism sparked by the Jewish state’s war against Hamas in Gaza, a new poll shows.

Britain’s The Jewish Chronicle conducted the straw poll this week asking 150 people, “Since the protests against the war in Gaza began, have you or your friends had a discussion about whether there is a future for Jews in the UK?” A little over 63 percent answered “Yes.”

“I used to live in Israel but I do regret coming back to the UK. I can’t understand the hatred in this country, the anti-Semitic remarks, when we are all British,” Manchester resident Carole Sewelson, 70, told The JC.

Glenn Cohen, 25, a shop worker from Prestwich, expressed similar sentiments, saying, “I think about leaving all the time. I love this country, but there are hotter countries where you don’t get all of this tension.”

Watchdog group Community Security Trust logged 240 anti-Semitic incidents in Britain throughout the month of July, making it the second worst month for anti-Semitism since British records began. A spokesperson for the CST said the number of racist incidents continued to “rise steadily” during the first two weeks of August.

Scottish communal leaders also expressed concern over the future of the country’s Jewish population, saying there was a “disproportionate obsession with Israel in Scottish public life.”

“A number of people have said that they no longer feel welcome in Scotland and that they are actively considering moving to Israel,” according to the Scottish Council of Jewish Communities.

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