Former United Synagogue Jewish charity chief Jeremy Jacobs is leaving the UK after losing faith in British society due to rising antisemitism in the country.
Jacobs, in a letter published by The Daily Telegraph, explained his reasons to leave the UK and relocate to Israel alongside his wife.
He cited growing anti-Israel sentiment in the aftermath of Hamas’ October 7, 2023 terrorist attack on Israel and recounted episodes of harassment he experienced since then — warning “Britain is no longer the country it was.”
“I lost my faith in British society,” Jacobs said per The Telegraph. “I no longer believe that people would protect us. Certainly not the majority.”
Protesters with a placard that reads “British Jews slaughtered on your watch Starmer” as they gather for the ‘Britain Stands With British Jews’ rally at Downing Street on May 10, 2026 in London, England. The rally is being held after the recent attack in Golders Green, the murder of two Jews at Heaton Park Synagogue in Manchester, and multiple arson attacks targeting the Jewish community. (Alishia Abodunde/Getty Images)
He pointed out he has already put up his house for sale as of last week and is already making arrangements to “start a new life in Israel.”
The Telegraph noted Jacobs’ ancestors came to Britain in the 1850s. Jacobs said his children and grandchildren will remain in the UK for the moment due to school, business, or work — however, he expressed to be worried on “how long” the choice of being able to stay is going to last for his family with the current climate of antisemitism.
The former United Synagogue chief detailed that, in November 2023 — a month after the October 7 attack — students at the University College London harassed three of his young grandchildren at a time when the students protested the UK’s arm sales to Israel.
“They shouted at me because I was wearing a kippah. It was so uncomfortable, having to push my three young granddaughters forward, hoping that they weren’t fully aware of what was going on,” he recounted.
“I’m hesitant to refer to what happened in the 1920s and 1930s, but in Germany, it was in academia where the hatred really started to develop, before it was picked up by the political classes. That’s what is happening in the UK today,” he continued, stressing that he also has friends and family at university who are suffering similar situations.
“Any connection with Israel is seen as unacceptable,” he added.
Jacobs announcement that he is leaving the UK for Israel comes right as Britain experienced a string of harrowing antisemitic terrorist attacks against the UK’s Jewish community in recent weeks — including, but not limited to, the failed terrorist attack against the Israeli embassy in London planned by 34-year-old Kuwaiti migrant Abdullah Sabah Albadri.
In late April, a Somali migrant stabbed two Jewish men in Golders Green, London. The gruesome Golders Green stabbing attack was preceded by the March burning of Jewish community service ambulances in the same suburb. The Iranian-backed Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya (HAYI) claimed responsibility for the attack on the ambulances.
Jacobs, however, emphasized in his letter to The Telegraph that rising antisemitism is not limited to the UK alone. He recounted an experienced he witnessed in France last year. At the time, Jacobs detailed, he was walking with a friend while wearing his kippah when a lady approached him and warned, “I really wouldn’t have your kippah on. It’s dangerous here.”
“It’s extraordinarily sad. This was a Jewish lady from Paris, on holiday, yet fearful for the safety of Jews in her own country,” Jacobs said.
Despite the episodes of harassment, Jacobs noted that he has also experienced hopeful moments in which regular people have expressed support and said, “No government can do this, only individuals. One-on-one support – I can’t tell you how much it helps.”
“None of us want to see people being hurt or killed,” Jacobs told The Telegraph. “We’re desperate for the violence to end. Yet every time we come across these marches, or find Free Palestine stickers plastered everywhere, it suggests to me that we’ve passed the point of no return.”
“I don’t think non-Jews quite understand how distressing it is. I see myself as British – a proud Brit – but Britain is no longer the country it was,” he warned.
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