British–Israeli survivor of October 7 attack says antisemitism is ‘running riot’ in UK
The only known British-Israeli dual national based in the UK to survive the October 7 attack has claimed that antisemitism amounts to “sedition”.
Anat Ron-Kendall, whose father Shlomo Ron was tragically killed that day in 2023, gave her first heartbreaking testimony, describing the scene as “dystopia”, “chaos” and a feeling of “abandonment”.
His statement forms part of an updated report into the 7 October attack on Israel commissioned by the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) and spearheaded by historian and Conservative peer Lord Andrew Roberts.
On October 7, 2023, Ms Ron-Kendall, then 55, was visiting her parents with her son Jordan at Nahal Oz, the kibbutz where she grew up, when Hamas militants launched an attack.
He endured increasingly loud gunshots and shouts as he fled to a safe room in their home; This led her to call her husband to deliver one last message of love to her children, believing that she would not survive.
When he was evacuated to safety more than 12 hours later, it was a “dystopian scene, a scene of chaos,” he recalled.
“There were dead bodies that I didn’t want to look at. It was just like something you imagine in the movies.”
Speaking more than two years after the attack, he said he did not feel safe in England, where antisemitism has become normalized.
He said: “I was abandoned by the British government in a moment of utter defence.
“The British government has allowed what has happened since then, the demonstrations and the uprising of antisemitism, the suffering of students in universities, Jewish students, the communities that have been affected every day since, and it has been allowed to happen.
“For me, I still live under threat, I don’t feel safe in a country that normalizes this kind of behavior.
“I didn’t know. I came back to the UK, waiting to be grateful that I had survived and to be able to put this incident behind me and just go about my daily life.”
The first edition of the report was published nearly a year ago and, for the first time, named all 18 British citizens killed in the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023.
The second edition, published on Wednesday, also includes details of the experience of British-Israeli Emily Damari, who was held hostage for more than 400 days following the attack.
The report states: “He was forcibly taken away at 10.33am. He was shot in the hand and leg during the kidnapping. His dog, Chucha, was later found shot to death in his room.”
The report describes how Ms. Damari’s mother “campaigned tirelessly for her daughter’s release” and “was reunited with her family during the release of the ceasefire hostages in January 2025.”
Ms Ron-Kendall, whose grandfather fought for the British Army’s Jewish Brigade in the Second World War and was captured by the Nazis and held as a prisoner of war for four years, said she believed it was important for people to read the report and know that the October 7 attack “really happened”.
He added: “This happened to me. I’m proof that this happened and I survived.”
Lord Roberts said: “As we continue to uncover more horrors, the updated report continues to serve as a permanent monument and enduring resource for governments, educators and civil society to protect the truth against denialism and distortion.
“The purpose of preparing our report has always been to record the events of October 7 with clarity and meticulousness, with fact-checking precision, and to ensure that these events are never forgotten, belittled or ignored by malevolent forces intent on eliminating the true extent of that fateful day.”
The latest official police figures on hate crimes in England and Wales showed that Jewish people commit religious hate crimes against themselves at a higher rate than other faith groups.
By March 2025, 106 religious hate crimes per 10,000 people were targeting Jews, according to figures published by the Ministry of Internal Affairs in October.
Separate figures covering the 12 months to 2025 published by the Community Security Trust (CST) earlier this year concluded there was the second highest annual total ever recorded in anti-Semitic hate incidents at 3,700, a 4% increase on the 3,556 incidents recorded in 2024.
CST, which monitors antisemitism in the UK, said the annual record high remained at 4,298 antisemitic incidents reported in 2023 (the year of the October 7 attack), leading to a spike in recorded incidents of anti-Semitic hate in the UK.
The 2025 report also marked the first time more than 200 incidents of anti-Semitic hate were recorded in each calendar month.
A Government spokesman said: “Antisemitism is becoming normalized in the UK, but the Government will not stand by while this scourge spreads.
“We are tackling antisemitism in schools, colleges, universities and the NHS and will continue to work closely with Jewish communities to ensure our efforts put right this scandal.”
