Jewish schools fear new deluge of antisemitism after Labour’s West Bank sanctions

Jewish community leaders fear sanctions on illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank will increase antisemitism in the UK, with the Government accused of having “quasi-legitimised Jew hatred”. Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis led the condemnation, branding it “truly a dark day for British Jews”. He accused the Government of “political flag-bearing for mendacious anti-Israel rhetoric”. Some British Jews also believe the Government introduced sanctions for domestic political gain to appease voters on the left. The Green Party of England and Wales is set to mount a stiff challenge to Labour in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election triggered by Sir Keir Starmer’s resignation. Shorts Since the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, there has been a record surge in antisemitism in the UK. The Community Security Trust (CST), a charity that monitors anti-Jewish hate crime, recorded 1,926 antisemitic incidents from January to June of 2026 – up by a fifth on the first half of last year. Rabbi David Meyer, chief executive of the Partnership for Jewish Schools (PaJeS), said leaders of the Jewish community met Government officials before the sanctions announcement was unveiled by Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband. They expressed concern about the “potential impact it was going to have on increasing levels of antisemitism in the UK”. Meyer said it was hard to see how the Government’s “significant statements of criticism of Israel” would not embolden “some extremists” who, he said, have repeatedly used the actions of Israel to target British Jews. “From a Jewish schools’ perspective, it just raises the levels of anxiety,” he added. Jewish children as young as three and four are drilled in what to do in the event of a terror attack by practising “invacuations”, where they have to hide in protected areas in their classroom, community leaders have previously told The i Paper. Security guards at Jewish schools and synagogues in the UK are co-ordinated through the CST, with fencing and cameras around community buildings due to the threat of antisemitic attacks. “They [the government] need to understand that the actions and the statements that have been made over the last 24 hours are without doubt going to raise the concerns, and I think have raised some concerns, across the community about the potential of increased antisemitism,” Meyer said. Rabbi David Meyer, the CEO of Partnerships for Jewish Schools, said: ‘From a Jewish schools’ perspective, it just raises the levels of anxiety’ “I met a grandmother yesterday. The first thing that she said to me is, ‘I am worried about my grandson going to school’. He added: “We have got to be moving from a situation of building higher walls and ghettos for the Jewish community in order to protect them to a situation where, as a British society, we do not allow antisemitism to be manifest.” Golders Green, the heart of Britain’s Jewish community, has seen a wave of violent antisemitic attacks in recent years, with two men stabbed and four Jewish community ambulances set alight in separate attacks this year. Peter Zinkin, Barnet Council’s leader of the Conservative group and a councillor for the north-west London ward, said actions of the Government, including the latest sanctions, “seems to have quasi legitimised Jew hatred”. “We shouldn’t call it antisemitism. We should call it by its original name, which was Jew hatred,” he said. Many members of the Jewish community , he added, felt “despair” towards Labour, who had “allowed their obsession with the Middle East to cause damage in the UK”. “Every action of this Government just makes it worse for the community because they don’t care. They just don’t care,” he said. But a body representing almost a third of synagogue members across the UK and Ireland has said Government sanctions on illegal Israeli settlements “are not the same as an attack on Jews”. The Movement for Progressive Judaism said holding the Israeli government “accountable for its actions does not cause antisemitism”. They said “while the vulnerability of British Jews must not be ignored”, measures aimed at Israeli settlements “are not the same as an attack on Jews”. “We should take care not to collapse the distinction between them,” it said in a statement. Speaking to Jewish News, Miliband also rejected allegations he is putting the security of British Jews at risk with his announcement of new sanctions against Israel. The Government has introduced a ban on imports from illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank and sanctions on individuals and firms providing services to settlers. Miliband said the Government believed the occupation as a whole was unlawful, going beyond the previous position that only described the settlements themselves as illegal. He said the government took the actions to “salvage the only course for peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians – the two state solution”. This was “based on an explicit belief that the only route to security for both peoples is to live side by side in peaceful co-existence with freedom, security and self-determination,” Miliband added. Prime Minister Andy Burnham also told MPs that in a “difficult and dangerous world, Britain has to stand for something, Britain has to show leadership, Britain has to stand for fairness against injustice. “Where people are being bullied out of their homes and intimidated, we will always stand with the underdog and take what action we can to support them. “That is what the British people expect of us and that is what this government will do.” Retired Rabbi Arnold Saunders, says he is ‘very worried’ about an increase in antisemitism after Ed Miliband unveiled a package of sanctions against illegal Israeli settlements But Jewish communities are concerned. Retired Rabbi Arnold Saunders, a Conservative councillor on Salford City Council, has been a frequent worshipper at Heaton Park synagogue in Manchester, where two Jewish men were killed in a terrorist attack in 2025 He was a close friend of one of the victims, Melvin Cravitz and in 2024, was berated outside a mosque he had been invited to speak at and called a “snake” by a worshipper. Rabbi Saunders said he was “very worried” about an uptick in antisemitism following the Government’s announcement, adding “the majority feel let down”. “You can go past certain synagogues. There are security firms patrolling or outside doors,” he said. “I’m not saying that it’s totally because of what the government has done, but that doesn’t help.” Duche Sorotzkin, 27, from London, was targeted with antisemitic abuse in Trafalgar Square in 2023 following a pro-Palestine march. The former Labour activist previously described how a group shouted at him and accused him of “murdering babies” as they took off his kippah, with one woman encouraging the men to hit him. Duche Sorotzkin, 27, was the victim of antisemitic abuse in 2023 after a pro-Palestinian march in London He said: “I believe…Ed Millband was appointed Foreign Secretary, so that when they announced this package the government can say, ‘But we have a Jewish man presenting this package’. “People believe this is done for local Labour Party politics, they believe an election is nearby, and the party is trying to shore up the left wing.”