World Jewish News
CAA chairman Gideon Falter
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Poll: Almost half of British Jews fear they have no long-term future in Britain or Europe
14.01.2015, Jews and Society Almost half of the Jews in Britain fear they have no long-term future in Britain or Europe, according to a poll published on Wednesday.
The poll of 2,230 British Jews by the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism (CAA) found that 45 percent feared Jews may have no future in Britain, and 58 percent were concerned they have no long-term future in Europe.
"The results of our survey are a shocking wake-up call straight after the atrocities in Paris," said CAA chairman Gideon Falter.
The online survey was conducted from December 23 to January 11 -- a period that spanned the attacks in Paris against the Charlie Hebdo magazine and against 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 the CAA stressed that "Britain is not yet at the levels seen in most of Europe".
2014 saw the most anti-Semitic incidents recorded by police since records began 30 years ago, according to the organization.
Anti-Semitism in Britain tended to rise during crises involving Israel, "but the sentiment behind it does not simply disappear when the crises end," it said.
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.
According to the Jewish Agency for Israel, the number of British Jews emigrating to Israel increased by 20 percent in 2014, from 520 in 2013 to 620 in 2014, but in the longer term the agency said the number was stable.
Another poll by YouGov indicates that 45 per cent of the British public agree with at least one of four anti-Semitic statements when presented with them. They include the suggestion that, “Jews chase money more than other British people” and the allegation that loyalty to Israel makes Jews less loyal to Britain than their compatriots.
EJP
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