The vast majority of UK Jews disapprove of Benjamin Netanyahu, with a “wave of pessimism” where the Israeli prime minister is concerned sweeping the community, researchers have found.

In total, 69 per cent of UK Jews polled said they disapprove of the Likud leader. More than one in 10 people (14 per cent) said they felt strong disapproval for him, according to a poll conducted by the Institute for Jewish Policy Research (JPR).

Nearly as many — 63 per cent  —expressed dissatisfaction with Bibi’s ultra-nationalist finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, and 51 per cent with security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

Only 13 per of respondents said they approve of the PM, according to the JPR, which surveyed more than 3,700 people and released a report to accompany the findings.

“Major British Jewish community organisations have typically honoured Israeli politicians when they have visited the UK, but several have been notably critical, even antagonistic, in recent months,” the report’s authors, Jonathan Boyd and Carli Lessoff said.

By contrast, opposition leader Yair Lapid enjoyed a net positive appraisal with 26 per cent of British Jews voicing approval for him compared with 23 per cent who disapproved.

Yair Lapid arrives to testify in the trial against Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Yair Lapid (Photo: Flash 90)

Commenting on the higher negative rating for Netanyahu than for his two right-wing ministers, the JPR said it was important to note that the Israeli premier was “far better known”.

Disapproval ratings in Britain for Netanyahu and Smotrich “climbed substantially” over the past six months amid the Israeli government’s plans to introduce judicial reforms that have sharply divided opinion in Israeli society.

When only those who expressed a view either way were counted, 79 per cent of UK Jews disapproved of Netanyahu, the figures show.

A “wave of pessimism about Israel’s current situation appears to be sweeping across the UK Jewish community”, the JPR said.

The report also stated that, while seven in ten UK Jews reported an attachment to Israel, this relationship could be shifting. Some 70 per cent of UK Jews identified as Zionists in 2010, but that has fallen to six in ten, with a rise in those who are unsure, suggesting “a growth in uncertainty, discomfort or ambivalence” among some.