One in five people in Britain now hold or agree with antisemitic views, a new YouGov poll for the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) has found, a rise the campaign called "deeply alarming" as thousands prepare to join a march in central London this afternoon.
The survey, carried out online between Sept. 1 and 2 and based on a representative sample of 2,245 British adults, found that 21% of respondents agreed with statements that the CAA classifies as antisemitic, up from 11% in 2021 and 16% last year. The organisation said the increase represents a doubling of entrenched antisemitic views in less than five years and the highest levels recorded since the CAA began similar polling a decade ago.
The poll found particularly sharp shifts among younger people. Nearly half (49%) of 18-to-24-year-olds said they were uncomfortable spending time with people who openly support Israel, while just 18% said they were comfortable. Only 31% of that age group agreed that Israel has a right to exist as a homeland for the Jewish people; 20% said it does not. The survey reported that 19% of young people said the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, was justified, 10% had a favourable view of Hamas, and 14% said it was wrong to classify Hamas as terrorists.
Across the wider population, 45% of respondents agreed with the statement that Israel treats Palestinians like the Nazis treated the Jews, a record figure and a substantial increase from 33% last year. The CAA said this trope both trivialises the Holocaust and inverts victim and perpetrator in a way that is commonly considered antisemitic. The belief was most prevalent among Londoners and those aged under 35.
Other findings included rising scepticism about the motives and influence of Israel's supporters: 26% of the public said Israel can "get away with anything because its supporters control the media," a number that rose to 42% among young people. Around 29% of the public viewed pro-Palestine marches positively and 32% viewed them negatively, but 69% said such demonstrations were achieving "not very much or nothing at all." A majority, 58%, believed organisers of Palestine protests should pay the costs of policing and clean-up.
The survey also examined attitudes across party supporters. Among voters for the Reform UK party, 10% said Jewish people are less loyal to Britain than other citizens, and 24% agreed with the stereotype that Jewish people chase money more than others. Among Green Party voters, 54% said Israel and its supporters were a bad influence on democracy, and 15% said the Oct. 7 attack was justified — the highest proportion of the major parties.
Fifty-one percent of respondents said antisemitism in the UK had increased since October 2023, and 60% of young people agreed. Only 2% said it had decreased.
A CAA spokesperson said the figures showed Britain was "at a tipping point," warning that young people were being radicalised and that various institutions had failed to address the problem. "Our young people are being radicalised into adopting hateful ideologies before our eyes," the spokesperson said. "Politicians, police and prosecutors, regulators, media organisations, cultural institutions, universities, trade unions – they are all complicit in the creation of a climate of hatred in Britain."
The YouGov survey used the Generalised Antisemitism Scale, a 12-statement instrument developed by Dr. Daniel Allington of King's College London, Dr. David Hirsh of Goldsmiths, and Dr. Louise Katz (then of the University of Derby). The scale combines items addressing Judeophobic antisemitism and anti-Zionist positions, and its authors say it was based on the International Definition of Antisemitism. The inclusion of anti-Zionism and criticism of Israel within measures of antisemitism is contested, and some scholars and activists argue that political opposition to Israeli policies is not necessarily equivalent to antisemitism.
The polling comes amid sustained international attention on the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians following the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks and subsequent Israeli military operations. The CAA and other Jewish communal organisations have reported rising incidents of antisemitic abuse, vandalism and threats across the UK since late 2023.
Organisers of the March Against Antisemitism said participants — Jewish community members and allies — would gather at the corner of Weymouth Street and Hallam Street in Marylebone at 1 p.m. to begin the procession. The planned demonstration follows earlier marches and a spate of reported incidents, including vandalism and targeted attacks on Jewish institutions in London and elsewhere.
The CAA urged authorities and institutions to take the poll's findings seriously and to act to counter rising anti-Jewish sentiment. YouGov said the results reflect responses from a representative sample of the adult population and noted the survey was administered online over two days in early September.