Analysis
Where UK Jews agree – and disagree – after October 7
Attachment to Israel has grown but a significant minority has misgivings about the war
April 10, 2025 11:31
4 min read
Attachment to Israel has grown but a significant minority has misgivings about the war
April 10, 2025 11:31British Jewry’s bond with Israel grew stronger in the wake of October 7 and the war in Gaza but many members of the community have been left feeling torn over events.
The increase in emotional attachment to the country contrasts with a distinctly dim view of its leadership with only 12 per cent of UK Jews approving of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to the most recent research.
And behind the overall rise in a sense of connection lie misgivings over some aspects of Israel’s military campaign among a considerable minority that reveals a clear denominational divide. Progressive and unaffiliated Jews are more likely to take a critical stance towards Israel than mainstream Orthodox or Charedim.
When the Institute for Jewish Policy Research (JPR) carried out a survey last summer, 78 per cent responded that they felt very or somewhat attached to Israel – up from 73 per cent in 2022. In such a short amount of time, such a swing represented a “substantial change”, JPR said.
The polling was carried out a few weeks after Israel had moved troops into Rafah but before it stepped up its attack on Hezbollah and disabled Iranian anti-aircraft systems.
Particularly striking was the proportion of those who felt “strongly attached”, which increased from 41 per cent two years ago to 50 per cent last year.
Other figures bore out JPR’s conclusion that “Israel simply seems to matter more to most at this time than it did prior to the October 7 attacks”.
For example, more than twice as many reported feeling more attached to Israel post-October 7 (47 per cent) as those who felt the war had weakened their connection (19 per cent).
The percentage of those who felt that supporting Israel was “very strongly” part of their Jewish identity climbed from 38 per cent in 2022 to 48 per cent in 2024.
There was also a shift towards identification with Zionism, up from 63 per cent in 2022 to 65 per cent in 2024, but also a swing in the opposite direction. The war has sharpened divisions: anti-Zionists too increased, from 8 per cent in 2022 to 10 per cent last summer and non-Zionists from 15 per cent to 18 per cent (with the number of those unsure about their position shrinking).
UK Jews in their 50s and 60s are those most attracted to Zionism – 74 per cent – compared with less than half of those aged 16 to 29 – 49 per cent. But a note of caution is necessary. The growing Charedi community is disproportionately youthful and generally does not identity with Zionism for, as JPR makes clear, “theological rather than political reasons”.
While a majority still support the idea of a two-state solution – the official policy of the Board of Deputies - that has dramatically dropped from over a decade ago, down to 54 per cent from 77 per cent in 2010. JPR found a “huge erosion of trust” in the Palestinian side; whereas nearly half of UK Jews felt most Palestinians wanted peace in 2010 (47 per cent), barely a quarter (26 per cent) felt the same in 2024.
But 73 per cent were against Israel retaining full control in Gaza after the war, with only 16 per cent believing it should.
The Israeli government does not enjoy great popularity among UK Jews. An astonishing 80 per cent disapproved of Prime Minister Netanyahu (as against the 12 per cent who supported him). The Charedim were the only group more favourable towards him than not.
Where divisions become more apparent is over more specific aspects of the war. Two in five UK Jews felt Israel’s conduct of it clashed with their sense of Jewish values – compared to just over half (51 per cent) who did not.
More than half (52 per cent) felt Israel had not done all it could to supply humanitarian aid to Gaza (compared to 37 per cent who felt it had); 48 per cent felt the IDF had not done enough to protect Palestinian civilians (compared to 45 per cent who felt it had); 57 per cent believed the IDF had acted within international law but 36 per cent did not.
“Many British Jews, it seems are genuinely torn - emotionally, intellectually, ideologically and ethically,” JPR said.
Asked whether they had felt very, somewhat or a little ashamed or proud of Israel at any point, 72 per cent reported feeling pride and 56 per cent shame. “Whilst younger people are more likely to feel a sense of shame than older people, all age bands are more likely to feel pride in Israel than shame,” JPR observed.
There is a clear link between religious affiliation and political outlook. The more religiously conservative a person is, the more politically conservative they are likely to be, too.
But while a substantial minority have been troubled by some of Israel’s actions, that has not produced an overall alienation from the Jewish state. “Something deeper appears to be going on for most – a sense that the state of Israel is facing a level of threat at present that feels existential,” JPR reported.
As for the impact on prospective aliyah, the percentage of those who believed there was a good likelihood of them doing so within the next five years rose from 10 per cent in 2022 to 14 per cent last year.
JPR’s figures were based on a questionnaire sent out to its research panel of more than 12,000 people – to which more than a third responded, 4,641. Individual replies were scrutinised for anomalies and the data weighted to reflect the age, sex and location of British Jews according to the last Census as well as the denominational make-up (based on previous research).
The Campaign Against Antisemitism also did its own polling around the same period and while most of the questions did not overlap, there were some differences.
According to JPR, 75 per cent of UK Jews believed the chant “From the river to the sea” to be antisemitic but the CAA sample found a much higher percentage – 95 per cent.
CAA said its survey had been modelled on “best practice” established by JPR.
But JPR was not consulted on the CAA survey.