'We’re leaving Britain - Jews aren’t safe here any more’

Simon and Honey Gould, married for more than 20 years and with two children, live a seemingly peaceful life in their handsome five-bedroom house in a quiet British suburb. Simon, 52, is a successful businessman running his own property company. Honey, 49, has pursued a career in marketing, while also raising son Arron, now 18, and daughter Angel, 16. Their wide circle of friends, close family and other relatives lives nearby. Yet this summer the Goulds will leave everything behind – their north Manchester home filled with memories, their lovely, rambling garden, their busy social life – and leave the UK for good.

We agree with you We had two graduate programs at Berkeley we turned down because of the horrible prejudicial climate and intimidation/ violence there. Highly regarded study programs but the place is just too slimy and risky (where is Gov Brown - with his commitment to public service and his seminary training/ conscious - he’s the one that could clean this cesspool up)? Other campuses too

We both agree on the generality but this article has come hard on the heels of a die-hard liberal luvvie like Maureen Lipman saying the same thing. I as you know am not Jewish so it is not for me to say whether antisemitism is on the rise on the UK but the fact remains that Jewish people who know these things say it is, so in fairness I must take their word for it.

Manchester has the second-largest Jewish population in the UK, but I would have to say knowing the ethnic make-up of large sections of that great city I dare say it would be very uncomfortable for an orthodox Jew to walk around even the city centre, in a way that is no way comparable to how confident a devout Muslim would feel.

I am reminded of my home town when the protestant population disappeared not quite overnight but within less than a decade. Everyone will tell you that there was no need for them to leave, any intimidation they might have suffered was low-level and just scumbaggery.

Nonetheless after a few years of that, of worrying about the insults your children would suffer on their way to and from school, the vandalism of your churches and institutions, the general air of not being wanted would soon wear you down till you just quietly packed up and left.

I can’t help but think for practising, and it’s important to stress practising, British Jews, it must be getting kind of uncomfortable in some parts of the UK.

Like I said it’s not Krystalnacht and we’re never going to get there, not in Britain, no chance, but I have to suspect that for the average British Jew it must be looking like things aren’t going to be going in his favour in the next couple of decades and keeping the options open for a departure is something to bear in mind.

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It should be noted that the headline states Jews aren’t safe here any more referring to 2014-2015, however his website notes it took Simon two years to research the most cost effective and least problematic route to a Visa, so he made this decision based on antisemitism in Britain in the 2011-12, prior to the recent increase in incidents and the attacks noted in the article.

1,168 antisemitic incidents last year in the UK.

Whilst that has risen (thanks to you know who), and is 1168 too many, that is in a country with a population of 62 MILLION, in a nation of almost 300000 Jews (the fifth largest in the world).

That means 0.4% of all UK Jews suffered antisemitism last year. And it means 99.6% did not.

So whilst we must be vigilant and tackle ANY incident, lets be sensible and stop talking about the UK as some anti-jewish hellhole.

Also according to Sky News, the 1168 includes reported internet/social media incidents. Again, terrible, but trolls not someone who is going to physically intimidate/insult a British Jew.

Final point: whilst the total has worryingly doubled, that means the normal amount of UK antisemitic incidents is 500-550 a year. Again, in a nation of 62m and 300000 Jews. So the normal amount of Jews affected is 0.2%. So 99.8% of UK Jews do not suffer any antisemitism a year.

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