The Trump administration has discussed the possibility of offering refuge in the United States to British Jews, against the backdrop of a sharp rise in antisemitism in that country, British newspaper The Telegraph reported Sunday.
Robert Garson, the U.S. president’s personal lawyer, told The Telegraph that Britain is “no longer a safe place” for Jews. He said he has held talks with the U.S. State Department about offering asylum to Jews fleeing Britain because of antisemitism.
Garson, who hails from Manchester, said that a Yom Kippur attack on a synagogue in his hometown, and the widespread antisemitism that followed Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel, led him to the conclusion that the United States should offer safe haven to British Jews.
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Manchester synagogue attack scene, United Kingdom
(Photo: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
In an interview, Garson said he sees “no future” for Jews in Britain and placed much of the blame on Prime Minister Keir Starmer, whom he accused of allowing antisemitism to flourish.
The Telegraph also reported that Garson raised the idea of offering the U.S. as a safe refuge for British Jews with Trump’s envoy for combating antisemitism, Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, in his role as a board member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council.
“This is certainly not an unattractive proposal," according to Garson. "It is a very educated community. I have spoken to people in the State Department and I have mentioned it also in my role on the United States Holocaust Memorial Council. This is a population that speaks English as a native language, is educated, and does not have a high rate of criminality. There have been talks. When I look at what is happening to Jews in Britain, and when I examine the demographic changes, I don’t believe — and I’ve discussed this with people in the Trump administration — that there is a future for Jews in the United Kingdom. To me it is especially sad.”
Singing 'Hatikvah' at a rally in Manchester following an antisemtic attack
(Video: Tamar Sebok)
Earlier on Sunday, it was reported that the number of schools marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day in Britain has fallen by more than half since the Hamas terror attacks of October 7, 2023. The Sunday Times reported early Monday morning that hundreds of schools have stopped holding events for International Holocaust Remembrance Day, in part due to fear of backlash from parents.
More than 2,000 secondary schools across Britain held events for Holocaust Memorial Day on January 27, 2023, according to data from the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust. Participation had risen every year since 2019. However, since the murderous Hamas attacks, the number of participating schools dropped to fewer than 1,200 in 2024 and just 854 in 2025 — a decline of nearly 60%.
With about 4,200 secondary schools in Britain, that means only about 20% of British high schools marked the day last year, compared with roughly 50% in 2023.