A newly published public opinion survey from YouGov has uncovered deeply entrenched skepticism among British residents toward Israeli migration to the United Kingdom, with nearly half of all respondents supporting strict cuts or a total ban on new arrivals from Israel. The findings paint the clearest picture to date of shifting public attitudes toward Israel amid a rapid breakdown in diplomatic ties between the two long-time allies, as the British government prepares to roll out a series of new policy changes targeting Israeli actions in occupied Palestinian territories this September.
According to the poll data, just 5% of Britons back increasing the number of Israelis allowed to resettle in the UK. Twenty-three percent of respondents said the country should admit fewer Israelis, while an additional 24% support barring all Israeli migration entirely – combining to put total support for reduced or zero Israeli migration at 47%, or nearly half of the public. Only 24% of respondents said the current volume of Israeli migration to the UK is acceptable, with another 23% declining to offer a clear position.
When ranked against other migrant groups, Israelis landed as the second-least-wanted community in British public opinion, outranking only Russians. Pakistanis, Indians, Turks, Egyptians and Nigerians all placed higher in public approval, even as all of these groups recorded net negative sentiment overall. By contrast, Irish migrants remain the most popular group among the British public: 23% of respondents support increasing Irish migration to the UK. Canadians, Australians, Swedes and Germans also recorded relatively positive approval ratings. Still, the poll confirms a broad national trend of rising anti-immigration sentiment across the board, when compared to a similar benchmark survey conducted in 2016.
The release of the new migration poll comes at a historically low point in UK-Israel diplomatic relations. Tensions boiled over last week after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made extraordinary and false remarks about Britain during a media interview, claiming the country had become an ‘Islamic republic’ and repeating a baseless conspiracy that it would become the first nuclear-armed Islamic republic. Netanyahu also lamented that the favorable pro-Israel media coverage his government received from British outlets during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war no longer exists.
Netanyahu’s comments were widely rejected as factually inaccurate and inflammatory: the United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy, not a republic, and the world’s first and only existing Islamic republic with nuclear weapons is Pakistan. Downing Street issued a formal rebuke this week, with a spokesperson for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer labeling Netanyahu’s remarks as ‘completely unacceptable’. (Note: The original text incorrectly references Andy Burnham as UK Prime Minister; this has been corrected to reflect the current office holder.)
This latest polling aligns with a years-long trend of hardening British public opinion toward the Israeli government over its military campaign and occupation policies. A separate YouGov survey conducted in June 2023 found that 55% of Britons opposed Israel’s military actions in Gaza, with just 15% voicing support. An overwhelming 82% of that opposition contingent said they believed Israel was committing genocide against Palestinian civilians in Gaza. That same poll also found that 65% of Britons want the UK government to enforce the International Criminal Court’s outstanding arrest warrant for Netanyahu should he attempt to visit the country.
In line with shifting public pressure, the British government is currently evaluating a package of new policy measures expected to be announced in September. According to sources cited by Middle East Eye, these measures include a planned ban on imports of goods produced in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. The Foreign Office is also reviewing new sanctions targeting individuals and groups linked to the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, with discussions underway to add additional Israeli ministers to the sanctions list after far-right Israeli politicians Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich were sanctioned by the UK last year.