British Jews have lost trust in all major UK institutions, a new report named “Listening to British Jews” has revealed.
The report was compiled by Professor Shani Orgad at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) between December 2025 and March 2026, across six focus groups.
Across all focus groups, participants expressed profound feelings of abandonment and of being unheard, dismissed, and betrayed by “the pillars of society.” As a result, they reported weak trust in Britain’s major institutions, particularly the police, the education system, the media, and the legal system.
Regarding the police, participants’ attitudes varied. On the one hand, participants showed appreciation for the efforts being made by the police to keep the Jewish community safe, especially following the Heaton Park synagogue attack in Manchester in October 2025.
Nevertheless, many participants felt that the police didn’t do enough to protect them day-to-day, beyond Jewish holidays, demonstrations, or in the aftermath of major antisemitic incidents.
A woman living in Glasgow noted that, “even straight after Manchester, the police have not really been evident at various events that took place in the Jewish community in Glasgow, which I don’t feel is right. They just keep saying that it’s not going to happen here because we’re such a small community.”
One of the greatest areas of concern was the policing of the pro‑Palestinian protests that have taken place in many cities across Britain since October 7, 2023. Participants described incidents when protesters had used antisemitic language and incited violence, which, according to them, were witnessed by police officers, but not acted upon, even when Jewish participants raised concerns on the spot.
There was also great concern regarding police trying to “shoo out the Jews and keep them away rather than actually protect them.” Many participants expressed their shock at a story reported in the news about a Jewish lawyer wearing a Star of David who was arrested in October.
In all the focus groups, participants felt they were fundamentally under-served by schools. Many described painful antisemitic incidents experienced by their children and grandchildren at schools. The mother of an eight-year-old living in Leeds complained to the school that some classmates had told him that all Jews should be dead; the school responded that it could not tell parents what to teach their children. Another mother said that her 12‑year‑old son was told by a kid in his class that he should be gassed. The school promised to investigate, but neither followed up nor checked on her son.
UK Jews share concerns over university antisemitism
Similar concerns were expressed about universities, which many said are systematically failing to protect Jewish students and staff. University student participants in all six focus groups shared first‑hand experiences of antisemitism at their universities, including jokes about Jews, chants on campus about “globalizing the intifada,” lecturers singling them out when discussing the Israel‑Hamas War, and student unions using antisemitic language.
Participants described several instances of reporting antisemitic incidents in which the university either failed to respond or responded only after a long delay, taking no effective action.
They also spoke of an intensifying informal marginalization and cancellation of Jewish students, culture, and history – including aspects relating to Israel, the Middle East, and Zionism.
Regarding social media and the news, particularly BBC news, all participants said the media is letting down British Jews. The first way it is said to let down Jews is by “limited interest in British Jews’ experiences and views.” The second is through what participants referred to as “profoundly skewed and potentially dangerous misrepresentation of Jewish people.”
Of everything, it was the BBC that most angered, upset, and disappointed participants. “We have a national broadcaster, a state-sponsored broadcaster, whose agenda seems antithetical to the news of the Jewish people in this country,” said one woman.
Finally, participants discussed the legal system. Overall, participants said the legal system is failing them significantly.
They were particularly angry about the weak and slow prosecution of antisemitic hate crimes, and there was a widespread view that antisemitic crimes are too often met with inadequate enforcement.
“Crucially, participants emphasized that they saw these not as isolated failures, but as part of broader structural challenges facing the justice system nationally, where, as a London participant described, ‘people [are] queuing for what they call justice for 10 years’ due to court backlogs, underfunding, and insufficient numbers of judges, barristers, and court staff,” the report said.
British Jewry demands institutions introduce change
The report concluded that there is an urgent need to achieve a “comprehensive and consistent understanding of the views, experiences, and concerns of the UK Jewish community in all its diversity.”
This, it said, requires a serious commitment from government institutions and Jewish leadership to listen carefully, systematically, and continuously to the diverse voices of British Jews and to use this information to introduce meaningful changes.
In terms of specific recommendations, the report urged the police to commission an independent review to examine antisemitism and the relationships between police services and the Jewish community across the UK, and to ensure police officers have the capacity to protect the Jewish community and enforce the law against antisemitic incidents consistently.
In schools and higher education, the report asked that educators and school staff be given mandatory training on antisemitism. The report also said that reporting, investigative processes, and implementation of actions in response to antisemitic incidents in schools must be improved.