Board statement on anti-semitism poll

The Board of Deputies of British Jews  and the Jewish Leadership Council (JLC)  have noted the ‘poll of Jewish attitudes’ on antisemitism in Great Britain and the discourse that has accompanied it.

Even when allowing for the methodological flaws of the research, the anxiety articulated is real and we should not be complacent about the re-emergence of antisemitism in the past year, as highlighted by many Community Security Trust (CST) reports. However, it is important to remember that the current level and nature of antisemitism in Britain is not as bad as we have seen in France and other European countries and incidents of a violent nature are much lower than they have been in previous years. The CST works closely with the Police and Government to ensure that British Jews can continue to go about their lives with pride and confidence.

Today at Prime Minister’s Questions, the Prime Minister highlighted that [he] “met with Jewish Leadership Council yesterday” and reaffirmed the “duty on every public organisation to confront extremism”. The community should know that the challenges we face, such as antisemitism, are being confronted by the highest levels of government in meetings with major Jewish organisations. This reflects the commitment to ensuring Britain remains a safe place for Jews to live, of which it unquestionably is.