As Jews ditch UK, here's why their departure is bad news for rest of the country

It has become almost routine to switch on my phone each morning and be greeted by news of yet another antisemitic outrage in this country. Little wonder messages from friends and loved ones living in Israel and who – ironically – feel safer in the Jewish homeland are uncompromising and relentless: "What the hell are you still doing there?"

Indeed only yesterday a report revealed emigration to Israel from the UK reached a 40-year high in 2025. And that’s before taking into account the rapid succession of antisemitic incidents in recent months.

Meanwhile, as someone who lives in Manchester and was married at Heaton Park Synagogue – where a terrorist atrocity took place last October – driving past this building on a regular basis serves as a constant reminder of the level of threat that exists. But if we do all leave, should those who aren't part of the UK's Jewish community care about our departure?

Of course, the many decent people still living in this country might be sorry Britain has come to this. But if you're not Jewish, would it really impact your world if we pack our bags?

After all, the Jewish community is less than 0.5% of the UK population and concentrated largely in England – with over half in Greater London. Many people may rarely, if ever, knowingly encounter Jewish people. Would it matter if we just "got the hell out of here"? The answer is, yes it would since our departure would change the face of this country – and not for the better. For a start, British Jews as a homogenous group are patriotic, law-abiding, and respectful of the country’s traditions.

In my synagogue each week, we pray for the Royal Family. We are a visible presence at wartime remembrance services. If we go, that moderate presence is lost.

We are also disproportionately visible in public life. From law and the media (which, no, we don't control – otherwise how would the BBC get away with it?) to universities, politics and the arts. That visibility often translates into speaking out against and anti-British sentiment as well as defending liberal democratic norms. If we go, we take with us the balance of that debate.

Given the Jewish tradition is a scholastic one in which education is regarded as critical to achievement, the departure of the UK's Jewish community would be felt in the loss of countless skilled professionals. Along with the entrepreneurs who give horsepower to the economy. The 2021 UK Census found that 17% of Jewish people are self-employed compared to a national average of 11%. That equates to nearly 50,000 Jewish business owners across the UK.

(Both Marks and Spencer and Tesco were set up by Jews. Heck, even the first UK fish’n’chip shop was opened by Jewish immigrant Joseph Malin in 1860.)

And what of the money given to other causes by Jewish philanthropists such as the Reuben brothers, Sir Michael Moritz, and foundations like Pears which make substantial donations to universities, the arts and medical research?

Look to the Hatzolah ambulances, firebombed last month. They may have been run by Jewish volunteers but were open to all faiths and none. Offering a rapid response at a time when the NHS is buckling.

Meanwhile communal organisations such as CST not only protect Jewish people but are a vital source of intelligence, shared with the police which keeps everyone safe. Above all, if the Jews leave then the precedent is set. Britain would be a country where minorities are vulnerable to scapegoating. And as history has shown, where scapegoats are concerned it may start with the Jews but it never ends there.

That is why it matters if Jews are effectively pushed out. And why you should speak out. Otherwise, in the vacuum left behind, beware the sound of something deeply troubling taking shape.