'Lack of Jews hasn't meant lack of antisemitism,' Expert on Jews in Wales tells 'Post' - interview

OCTOBER 26, 2026 20:27"The absence of Jews in Wales hasn't meant the absence of antisemitism; it's actually the opposite," Bangor University Professor and expert in Welsh Jewry, Professor Nathan Abrams, told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday.Abrams was born into a Jewish family in North London but has lived in Wales for twenty years and speaks Welsh fluently.He recently published a book, Jews in the Welsh Imagination: Medieval Times to the Present, which explores the nation's attitudes towards Jews over the centuries.“For most of Wales’s existence as an entity – for 15 centuries – there have been no Jews here. The fascination the Welsh have with Jews is inversely proportional to the numbers," he said. "So the absence of Jews hasn't meant the absence of antisemitism or similar attitudes. It's actually the opposite."According to the 2021 UK Census, 2,044 people in Wales identified as Jewish by religion, representing approximately 0.07% of Wales's population of 3.1 million.A counter-protest displaying Israeli flags watches as a National March in support of Palestine, organized by Palestine Solidarity Campaign, moves through central London on October 10, 2026 (credit: JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP)Most of Wales' Jews are located in Cardiff, where there are two synagogues: a Reform synagogue and an Orthodox synagogue. A Chabad synagogue also serves Llandudno, and small community-organized groups or individual Jews exist in other cities.Antisemitism in Wales often overshadowed by wider UK statisticsJews in Wales are not a commonly discussed topic in Jewish media, and reporting on antisemitism in the nation is often swallowed by wider UK statistics, which do not typically show breakdowns by country.The latest Welsh policing figures show 6,157 police-recorded hate crimes across Wales between April 2025 and March 2026, including 4,098 motivated by race and 325 motivated by religion.Of those, 325 had a religious motivation, down from 451; however, there is no breakdown of which religion was targeted, so it is not possible from these figures to determine the number of anti-Jewish crimes.The UK's Community Security Trust, however, separately recorded 25 antisemitic incidents geographically associated with Wales during calendar year 2025, including 13 in North Wales, 8 in South Wales, 2 in Dyfed-Powys and 2 in Gwent.Separately, a Freedom of Information disclosure from Dyfed-Powys Police shows the force recorded 17 crimes classified as anti-Jewish in 2025, up from 12 in 2024, an increase of about 42%.The figures are for the Dyfed-Powys policing area, not all Wales. They also do not necessarily capture every antisemitic offense recorded under other categories. It also, of course, differs from the CST reporting, suggesting that on-the-ground figures may far exceed those ultimately reported to CST.While the available national police statistics do not establish how many anti-Jewish crimes occurred specifically in Wales, the number is clearly high enough to be deemed serious, as the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) recently met with Jewish community representatives from across Wales to discuss tackling antisemitism.During the meeting, Jewish community representatives spoke about growing anxiety about antisemitism, including routine verbal abuse, concerns about children in schools and people changing their behavior to avoid identifying as Jewish in public.The South Wales Jewish Representative Council said: “The Welsh Jewish community is long-established and deeply rooted.""We are a resilient community, but there is no doubt that the rise in antisemitism in recent years has left many people shaken and concerned."Forms, sources of antisemitism in WalesWhat forms does antisemitism take in Wales, and who does it come from?"In a sense, it's a microcosm of England, and similarly a lot of the antisemitism is on social media," Abrams told the Post. "Obviously, a lot of it coalesces around the Israel-Palestine conflict."Abrams referenced the phenomenon known as "ambient antisemitism," which speaks to the impact demonstrations, ripping down posters, putting up stickers, ripping down stickers, and the like have on creating an environment that is hostile to Jews."It's not specifically hurting Jews, physically, but it creates an environment in which Jews are not comfortable being themselves. And I think that's quite a good way to describe it here."Abrams' experience of antisemitism, he continued, is shaped by living in the northwest of Wales, which is highly nationalist, Welsh-speaking and supportive of Plaid Cymru, the left-leaning Welsh nationalist political party.Plaid Cymru's official stance is critical of Israel and very supportive of Palestine. It has long campaigned for Palestinian State recognition, and deems Israel's actions to be genocide. In September 2025, the party leader called for "harsh sanctions against the Israeli Government" in light of its actions in Gaza."Wales has always been a place where there's been eyes on Palestine. It fits in with the narrative that the Welsh Nationalists have of themselves. The first colony of the British Empire was the Welsh, so [they see themselves as] the Palestinians of the British.""Because of this, the antisemitism here is kind of an obsession with Israel," Abrams continued. "You'll get the antisemitism that's expressed by people who don't think they're being antisemitic.""The position I would take [in Wales] is that many people are well-meaning but cross the line into antisemitism through repetition of age-old tropes. They won't know that this emphasis on killing babies has been used throughout history."Abrams also noted a class difference in Wales regarding who cares about Israel-Palestine and who does not."If you're working class, you probably don't care; you probably hate the demonstrators more. Whereas the middle-class protesters are kind of indistinguishable from the academic antisemitism.""A lot of it is not expressed in front of Jews, because Welsh society is polite. Older, middle-class Brits, right, aren't so vulgar as to be openly racist.""So I would say across Wales, outside of the metropolises, it's older white people, do-gooders, right thinking, wrong application."As discussed in his book, Welsh attitudes towards Jews started with Israel and now, 1600 years later, have returned full circle."The complexity of Jewishness is still reduced to the Middle East conflict," Abrams concluded.Follow us on Google