Jewish author leaving UK ‘feared being stabbed’ whenever he left the house
A The Jewish writer leaves England for fear that the country is no longer safe for British Jews, since he personally showed one of an experienced anti -Jewish incident last year.
I M. Freeman, the author of the Jews: Native people and the famous Jewish pride trilogy Independent Israel is in the process of applying for citizenship and plans to move to Israel after spending most of his life in England.
He said that the difficult decision came for months, worried about his security in London. “I wondered about a year after October 7, every time I left my house, I would be attacked or stabbed.”
After the Manchester Synagogue attack on October 2, Mr. Freeman said he believed that other people will now “make more serious conversations about separation.
“Really – especially if you have a family – it is very difficult to know when and what to do,” he said, including similar thoughts faced by the Jews staying in Germany in the 1930s. “But people are chatting. Everyone I know has a version of the conversation.”
He added that he accused the reasons for ignoring the causes of ısıştırma acting or not to act, and that they should not really move, and that Britain should come together ”and“ consecutive governments ”.
Mr. Freeman, who is currently in Scotland, said that activist walks made it as a Jewish Jew in London, and felt insecure about the capital I live in ”.
He said that the pro -Palestinian movement was a “tragedy ğı in which he claims to support them and pointed to Hamas and Hezbollah iconography in the demonstrations.
“I paid a Council tax. I paid taxes to be there. And I couldn’t move around the city because I was tense,” he said. “Some people may think ‘it’s not such a big thing’ [but] It is very important when you are done to feel discomfort. He wants to reduce yourself and shrink yourself, and I really don’t believe doing it. “
“I don’t want to hide. I want to wear my symbols proudly.”
Mr. Freeman said that he always felt very British ”, he voted and“ participated in my civil duty ”. But now he thinks he’s “forced”.
A minority said that radicals still “threaten Jewish life” in England and that a friend was physically attacked a month after the attacks on October 7, 2023, while organizing pledge posters in London.
“In the United Kingdom, there is a stain where there are Jews, and not only me, but many Jews looking at the separation. This must be crazy with the people in England because what happens to the country that our citizens want to leave?”
“For whatever reason, our fears are not listened to. At best we are accused of being hysterical and [at] Worst of all, we are accused of being imperialists, fascists, oppressors and nazis… And then something like Thursday [2 October] It is possible. “
“Although it is surprising that the government promised £ 54 million for Jewish security in 2024, everyone needs to take back and ask why a population of 300,000 should need security to go to the synagogue or go to school.”
In his decision to move, he said: “I care [about Britain]. And I still don’t care… But I had to make this choice because the country no longer feels safe. And those who are in power – either do not care or do not understand the situation of ignorant and work. “
“There is a place I can go, yes, there is his own problems and his own danger, but there is a place where I can go to the majority, and I will be in my local land.”
Dr. Jonathan Boyd, General Manager of Jewish Policy Research (JPP) Independent While the Jewish community is “strongly embedded in England” and “in general, in most cases it makes you feel that it is, Manchester stabbing can affect the wider tendency of British Jews who abandoned the country.
Or It takes some time for us to really know what the reaction is. Frankly, I think everything is very raw right now, ”he said.
“I think people have been on this question before, ‘Will I want to go to Israel or to go to Israel?’
From the latest data, he observed that there was no clear movement on a scale, based on a study of 4,822 British Jews.
Dr Boyd recognized comparative data from France, which received an increase in French Jews after the 2015 Charlie Hebdo and Hypercacher Kosher supermarket attacks.
“I can only speculate, but this kind of empirical indicator will probably be a reaction. [in Britain]. “
Nevertheless, “The Jewish community is very flexible here. It is very strongly embedded in England. For a long time here… Despite the volatility of the last few years, the Jews show strong flexibility and I think this will act as a balance against fear and apriz.”
Their last dataBased on a survey conducted in June/July 2025, he showed a higher possibility that British Jews would act permanently on Israel in the next five years.
Dr. Boyd added that there is a sharp increase in that British Jews think that anti-Semitism is a problem.
“It has really increased significantly since October 7 [2023] Attacks, ”he said. [32 per cent] During the 2024 calendar year of British Jewish adults, they personally experienced an anti -Jewish incident. “
He said that the young and Orthodox people reported the events at a rate of “higher than average”.
The data showed that confidence in institutions is usually low and that only the legal system and parliament scores above the average. Emotional commitment to Israel rose from 38 percent to 45 percent in 2022, but 40 percent said it weakened the commitment of war and clashed with Jewish values.
According to data, young Jews were more likely to criticize Israel and showed that Israel’s criticism in Gaza was wider.
