Emigration from the United Kingdom reached a 40-year record high in 2025 amid concerns about antisemitism, according to an Institute for Jewish Policy Research report published on Monday, but historical trends indicated that the aliyah rates remained largely stable.
JPR Executive Director Dr. Jonathan Boyd’s report “Time to leave the UK? Patterns of Jewish migration to Israel post-October 7” showed that while 742 British Jews made aliyah in 2025, when appreciated with the last three years, the average of 566 emigrants per annum fell well within the narrow range of 400 to 740.
The lowest number of Jewish emigrants from the UK in the last two decades was recorded in 2023, with just 396 olim.
Nevertheless, Boyd cautioned that it was still too early to come to conclusions about the post-October 7 massacre landscape, as it was rare to see two consecutive years of increases of aliyah, with 561 people emigrating in 2024, and again rising in 2025.
He suggested that the high count in 2025 could be the result of prospective olim renewing plans that had been disrupted due to the war.
Relative to the rest of the world, only a small number of British Jews left their country, around 0.2 percent each year. This figure is higher than among Jews in Canada, where it stands at 0.07%, but lower than in France, where aliyah is at 06.4%.
Emigration of Jews from Britain also occurs within the context of around one Israeli moving to the UK for each Jew who leaves for Israel.
“There is no Jewish exodus from the UK, at least not yet: Migration to Israel has remained strikingly stable over two decades, and even the elevated figures seen in 2025 fall well within a narrow historical range,” Boyd said in a statement.
“But focusing on the numbers alone misses the deeper significance of what is happening. Since October 7, more British Jews are quietly reassessing what the future holds – not because they are rushing to leave, but because rising antisemitism, recurring shocks, and a growing sense of conditional security are reshaping how people think about belonging and long-term viability.”
The October 7 massacre led to a rise in interest in Aliyah
JPR surveys indicated that British Jews have increasingly considered the possibility of making aliyah over the next five years. After the October 7 massacre, respondents likely to make aliyah rose from 10% to 14%. Those unlikely to make aliyah decreased from 73% to 67%.
In his report, Boyd noted that this shift in sentiment predated the October Heaton Park Synagogue terrorist attack and the recent London arson attacks that began with the March 23 Golders Green Hatzola ambulance arson.
Attitudes may have shifted even more following those incidents.
Boyd found that while younger people were the most likely to be considering aliyah, those aged 50 to 69 offered an anomaly, scoring almost as high as the youngest group and bucking a declining trend.
Another trend reflected in the report indicated that considerations for aliyah have risen with religious orthodoxy – though unaffiliated Jews were more likely to be seriously considering aliyah than progressive Jews. Paradoxically, the more attached to their local Jewish community, the more likely British Jews were to say that they were likely to make aliyah and leave that community in the coming years.
The perception of antisemitism in the UK appears to influence the desire to make aliyah, as those who saw Jew hatred in the country as a greater problem also believed that they would be making Aliyah in the coming years. Those who had experienced antisemitism were more likely to say that they might make aliyah, as were those more pessimistic about Jewish life in the UK.
Socioeconomic factors may also influence the likelihood of making aliyah in the coming years, as those with lower financial well-being were more likely to make aliyah, according to the survey.
The feeling among the UK Jewish community raised “hard questions about resilience, leadership and continuity,” for Jewish community leaders, Boyd reported.
“For government, it is a test of whether equal citizenship and freedom to live openly as a Jew can be guaranteed in practice, not just in principle. And for the wider public, it is a reminder that when a minority’s sense of security becomes uncertain, that uncertainty ultimately reflects back on society as a whole.”