Arab News | British Jewish support for Zionism up since Oct. 7 attack: Study

LONDON: Two-thirds of British Jews identified as Zionists as of June 2025, up 7 percent from before the Hamas attack of Oct. 7, 2023, according to a study by the Institute for Jewish Policy Research.

Meanwhile, the number of British Jews who believe antisemitism to be a “very big problem” in the UK almost tripled to 50 percent across the same time period.

The number of British Jews “very emotionally attached to Israel” climbed 13 percent to 51 percent, while those who said support for Israel was “very important” to their identity rose 10 points to 45 percent.

The research featured interviews with 2,500 of the UK’s 315,000-strong Jewish community, and predated the Manchester synagogue attack in October 2025 and the Iran war that started on Feb. 28 this year.

There is a growing generational divide, with British Jews aged below 30 less likely than other cohorts to say Israel was “very important” to Jewish identity, at 27 percent.

Jonathan Boyd, director at JPR, said this is because their perception of Israel had significantly more to do with “Gaza and Hamas” than older generations.

He added that the general uptick in British Jewish affiliation with Israel was “directly associated with concern about antisemitism in Britain” and “associations with Israel as a Jewish homeland.”

He said a higher birth rate among Orthodox Jews in the UK, who tend to be more closely tied to communities in Israel, would add to this general trend.