A poll from YouGov has shown the attitudes that Britons have towards Jewish people and Israel. Given the manufactured furore in the British media, you could be forgiven for thinking that the Green Party was exposed as being a hotbed of antisemitism. Instead:
Uncomfortable figures
The above was put together by commenter Cez using YouGov polling from September 2025:
Almost half of British people, and almost three quarters of Green voters, say that Israel treats the Palestinians like the Nazis treated the Jews.
Only a small minority of people hold antisemitic beliefs, the lowest rate being among people who are more likely to be anti-Zionist. pic.twitter.com/5JX0DBsa4I
— cez (@cezthesocialist) April 1, 2026
As you can see, Reform voters were:
- Considerably more likely to hold the antisemitic belief that “Jewish people chase money more than other people do”.
- Less open to having Jewish friends.
- Considerably more likely to be comfortable around Israel supporters.
This mixture of antisemitism with pro-Israel opinions is a phenomenon which you see at the highest levels of power. Take Donald Trump, for instance — the world’s most prominent Israel ally:
Trump just used the antisemitic slur “Shylock”
Surely all the people screaming about Zohran (who has done no such thing) will speak out against this 😕 pic.twitter.com/ICW3lJBO0K
— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) July 4, 2025
And as we reported in February:
Many American evangelicals support Israel, but not because they like Israelis. In actuality, they think the creation of Israel is a signifier that the end times are approaching, and that Israel will trigger the Rapture.
If you’re unfamiliar with the term, the ‘Rapture’ is the time when God calls his faithful back to heaven. Said ‘faithful’ will not include the Jewish men and women who live in Israel, even if they do play an instrumental role in jump starting the Armageddon.
Some will point to the polling on the Green Party’s criticism of Israel and its defenders as being antisemitic. As we constantly repeat, however, criticism of Israel, its actions, and its defenders is not antisemitism.
You wouldn’t call criticism of the ongoing genocide in Sudan ‘anti-Black racism’, so why should we treat Israel differently?
Campaign Against Antisemitism
Digging further into the YouGov polling, it does conflate opinions about Israel and Jewish people in weird ways. Take this question, for example:
- Israel can get away with anything because its supporters control the media.
The idea that Jewish people control the media is a conspiracy theory.
The idea that Israel and its backers have exerted influence over how the UK media reports on the genocide in Gaza is born out by copious studies and reporting.
Of course, it makes sense that the questions would be a little off. The study was conducted by YouGov on behalf of Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA). As Skwawkbox reported for the Canary:
CAGE International raised concerns that CAA and another notoriously aggressive ‘charity’, UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI), misuse their charitable status to defend Israel’s apartheid policies and genocide, and to suppress pro-Palestinian advocacy, through vexatious complaints – a breach of charity law. The Charity Commission has also placed UKLFI under investigation where it may face the same enforcement action.
The press release from CAGE International read:
[The sanction] follows a formal complaint submitted by CAGE International earlier this year against both the CAA and UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI), which detailed how both charities defend and advocate for the State of Israel’s apartheid and genocidal policies in a manner that contravenes their charitable purposes, while also engaging in vexatious and malicious complaints against pro-Palestinian individuals, universities, employers, and regulatory bodies – a tactic for which both organisations are notorious. This is done as a means of intimidating and silencing Pro-Palestinian activism.
The Commission’s intervention marks the second regulatory consequence resulting from CAGE’s complaint. In September, Middle East Eye revealed that the Commission had opened an active investigation into the UKLFI Charitable Trust, the fundraising arm of UK Lawyers for Israel, over concerns that “some of its activities may fall outside the scope of its charitable objectives.”
A spokesperson for the Charity Commission confirmed that, following the concerns raised by CAGE International, the Campaign Against Antisemitism has been issued a remedial Action Plan under section 15(2) of the Charities Act 2011. The plan requires the charity’s trustees to take specific steps to improve the administration, management, and governance of the organisation in light of the concerns raised. The Commission will follow up with the trustees to ensure that the charity implements the advice given.
The Commission’s regulatory engagement with both UKLFI and CAA comes amid mounting public scrutiny over the political use of charitable structures to defend Israel’s apartheid regime and suppress pro-Palestinian advocacy.
Bias
To be clear, the fact that CAA are a deeply problematic organisation who asked suspicious questions does not mean that YouGov conducted their polling unprofessionally. And by that, we mean we’ve no reason to doubt the statistics themselves (with the usual disclaimer that no poll can ever guarantee total accuracy).
What this means, then, is that there’s been credible polling since September last year that Reform UK is a hotbed of antisemitism.
Despite this, the Daily Mail doesn’t seem to be harassing Nigel Farage’s family — just the family of Zack Polanski — the UK’s only Jewish party leader.
Polanski was unequivocal – the harassment of his family is a red line — and now the Independent Press Standards Organisation has stepped in.@willem_moore_uk has more.https://t.co/sUnnfDrVnt
— Canary (@TheCanaryUK) April 2, 2026
So yet again, the hostile British media is stirring up antisemitism allegations to attack their political enemies.
Featured image via Cez
