IN ONE Jewish school in London, pupils drill for a possible terrorist attack. A synagogue has cancelled a children’s trip to Disneyland in France. Police and community groups have stepped up patrols in Jewish areas. After the murderous attack on a kosher supermarket in Paris on January 9th, British Jews are scared. Should they be?Jews worried even before the killings. In a study of British Jews last year by the Institute for Jewish Policy Research (JPR), almost 70% said that they felt anti-Semitism had increased in the past five years. Considering the atrocities in Paris, it should come as no surprise that many Jews feel uneasy in a way that they have not for some time, says Ephraim Mirvis, Britain’s chief rabbi. But he cautions against alarmism. Indeed: though some statistics suggest otherwise, anti-Semitism is not rising.Research last year from the Pew Global Attitudes survey suggests that just 7% of Britons harbour unfavourable views of Jews. That is a little less than in France and much lower than in Italy or Greece, where the rates are 24% and 47% respectively. The figure in Britain has been fairly stable—hovering between 7% and 9%—for a decade, points out Daniel Staetsky of JPR. Levels of prejudice against Muslims are higher in Britain, as in other European countries.The Community Security Trust (CST), a charity that monitors anti-Semitic incidents, reckons that there...
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