Nearly half of Britons want immigration from Israel reduced or stopped altogether, according to a new YouGov survey that places Israelis among the least-welcome nationalities examined and points to a sharp deterioration in Israel’s standing with the British public.
The poll found that 47% of respondents said Britain should either admit fewer immigrants from Israel or prevent them from coming entirely. Only Russia, at 58%, Pakistan at 52% and Nigeria at 48% received worse results among the 23 countries included in the survey.
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Pro-Israel and Jewish protesters outside BBC offices in Britain after October 7
(Photo: HENRY NICHOLLS / AFP)
The result represents an 8-point increase in opposition to Israeli immigration compared with a similar survey conducted a decade ago. The pollsters said the shift likely reflects, at least in part, the consequences of the Gaza war and the broader deterioration of Israel’s image in international public opinion.
Only 5% of respondents said Britain should accept more immigrants from Israel, while 24% favored keeping the current level unchanged. Another 24% said they did not know. In other words, just 29% supported maintaining or increasing the present level of Israeli immigration, with only Russia, Nigeria and Pakistan scoring lower on that measure.
The survey was conducted against the backdrop of a broader hardening of British attitudes toward immigration, one of the most politically explosive issues in the country. According to YouGov, 69% of Britons believe immigration over the past decade has been too high, while 43% say immigration has been mainly bad for Britain, up 10 points from 2016. Twenty-one percent said immigration is mainly good, while 29% said it has been both good and bad.
The national breakdown, however, revealed substantial differences in how immigrants from different countries are viewed. Alongside Israel, Russia, Pakistan and Nigeria, large shares of respondents also favored reducing or stopping immigration from Romania, Egypt, India and Turkey.
By contrast, immigrants from English-speaking and northern European countries were viewed far more positively. Sixty-nine percent supported maintaining or increasing immigration from Ireland, while Canada and Australia each received 68%. Sweden followed at 64%, Germany at 62%, Japan and France at 58%, the United States at 55% and Poland at 53%.
The survey also showed how international events can reshape attitudes toward particular nationalities. Russia, now the least favored country in the survey, did not rank at the bottom in 2016. Opposition to Russian immigration has since risen by 13 points, a shift the pollsters linked to Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine.
Attitudes toward Polish immigration moved in the opposite direction. The share of Britons seeking to reduce or stop immigration from Poland fell from 42% in 2016 to 26% today, a change the researchers suggested reflects the successful integration of many Polish immigrants in Britain. Opposition to Turkish immigration also declined, from 53% to 43%.
Pro-Palestinian protesters
(Photo: REUTERS/Hiba Kola)
Party affiliation produced another striking pattern.
Supporters of Nigel Farage’s anti-immigration Reform UK held the most restrictive views overall, followed by Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrat and Green voters. Reform supporters were also the most opposed to Israeli immigration, with 53% favoring a reduction or complete halt.
That result, however, fits Reform’s broader hostility to immigration from nearly every country examined. Its supporters were far more opposed to immigration from Pakistan, at 85%, Egypt and Nigeria at 79%, Romania at 76% and Turkey at 75% than they were to immigration from Israel.
The results among Green and Labour supporters were more notable because both groups tend to be relatively open to immigration overall.
Among Green supporters, 52% favored reducing or stopping immigration from Israel, the second-highest level of opposition after Reform voters. That stands in sharp contrast to Green voters’ generally welcoming attitudes toward immigrants from almost every other country in the survey.
Among Labour supporters, 48% opposed current levels of Israeli immigration, despite Labour voters generally being less restrictive than Conservatives and Reform supporters toward immigration from other countries.
Opposition stood at 45% among Conservative voters and 41% among Liberal Democrats.
The contrast suggests that attitudes toward Israeli immigration are being shaped not only by Britain’s broader immigration debate but also by political views of Israel itself. The divergence is particularly visible on the left, where parties and voters that are generally more supportive of immigration nevertheless show unusually high opposition when the immigrants in question are Israeli.
The survey therefore captures two trends unfolding simultaneously in Britain: a broader public backlash against immigration, and a more specific decline in attitudes toward Israel that appears to be affecting how Israelis themselves are perceived.