The future of UK aliyah with Corbyn and without,
Recent poll found two in five British Jews consider leaving UK over antisemitism
“Should I stay or should I go?” goes the well-known song by British band The Clash.
With the possibility that UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn could become prime minister, British Jews have been asking themselves that very question: “if Jeremy Corbyn comes to power, should I stay or should I go?”
A recent YouGov poll commissioned by the Campaign Against Antisemitism found that “two in five British Jews have considered leaving the UK over antisemitism in the past two years alone, 85% of them because of antisemitism in politics, with two-thirds expressly mentioning the Labour Party or its leader as their reason.”
So should Israel be preparing for mass aliyah from the UK if Corbyn comes to power?
Avinoam Bar-Yosef, president and founding director of the The Jewish People Policy Institute, told The Jerusalem Post that the Jewish community in the UK and the West is facing a challenging time.
“A decision to immigrate is not easy – the trauma of it – especially for UK Jewry who are so rooted in British culture,” he said. “But at the same time, we are recommending that the [Israeli] government prepare for a significant aliyah from Britain and the West in general.”
Bar-Yosef explained that antisemitic attacks in the UK are higher than those in France, but because British Jews “trust in the government,” there hasn’t been mass immigrations to Israel, like has been the case with France.
“If Corbyn becomes prime minister, this will change the picture,” he said. “Up until now they have felt safer because of their trust in the government.”
Bar-Yosef said that although he doubted Corbyn would get a majority in Thursday’s election, “the rise of antisemitism should be a red light to Israel. There needs to be some serious work done. We prepared well especially with immigration from the former Soviet Union. Now we need to see what can or can’t work for immigrants from the West.”
According to Bar-Yosef, antisemitism is a rising wave and “we don’t know how long it will last and how Jews will react. If the government prepares well, they may succeed in bringing a solid group of members of the Jewish community in the West who will also contribute to this thriving country.”
He added that in Britain, trust in the government has always been critically important, “and now it is in serious decline.”
The Jewish Agency said that it “is prepared to facilitate aliyah from everywhere in world, be it aliyah of those choosing to fulfil the generations-long dream of building the Land of Israel, or those needing to be brought to safety in Israel from places of compromised security. The State of Israel is the homeland of the Jewish people and it is always our mission to support aliyah.”
A spokesman for Campaign Against Antisemitism said on Thursday that its Antisemitism Barometer 2019, which was published in late November, “showed that 42% of British Jews have considered leaving the UK, which was a record high figure for our polling, almost a quarter of whom have made concrete plans to move.”
Neville Teller, a veteran writer on the Middle East who is originally from the UK, said if a Corbyn government were to come to power, “it will be a great problem for the Jewish community.” He said there is no doubt the group in the Labour Party that pushed Corbyn into his leadership role is hard leftists, and that it could have a serious effect on Jewish life in the UK.
“Corbyn has made it clear that if he gets into power, he will immediately recognize the State of Palestine and cut off all arms exports to Israel,” he said – and that it could get worse from there. “Soon after that, what will happen is anyone’s guess – they may attack ritual slaughter and circumcision,” said Teller. “The prospect for Jewish life under Corbyn is not a happy one.”
He said that whether Jews will then make aliyah is difficult to say.
“A Corbyn-led government will see changes in the mediumto long-term,” Teller said. “Whether Jews will make aliyah or decide to stick it out until the next election, or wait to see what happens,” remains to be seen.