The Jewish population of the UK is less than half of one percent, so around 300,000. That's a minuscule amount, but many of us have been here for centuries, ever since Thomas Cromwell allowed us back into the country (having been expelled in the later 1200s (I think). As for others, some, like my family came to the UK in the late 1800s as a result of pogroms in Eastern Europe.
I might be ethnically Jewish, but I am also British, born in London, hold a UK passport. English is my mother tongue. Unusually for a Jew, I do not speak or read Hebrew although I can speak a little Yiddish. Tell me; where should I go?
More importantly, why should I leave? Why can't more be done to ensure antisemitism is properly stamped out. Zero tolerance, nothing less. Why is hatred of Jews - that's what antisemitism means - so endemic in the UK? One only has to read threads on here. It's insidious, it's so ingrained in the very fabric of the UK that many do not even realise they are antisemitic/supporting antisemitic tropes. There is also little knowledge about the history of the middle east, or even the fact that Judaism predates Islam by many millennia. This is frustrating, more so when I have people tell me that they have no problem with the modern state of Israel, but.... The but is always followed by something either antisemitic or woefully ignorant about Jewish history. Getting back to the UK, from the moment Jews came here, there has been antisemitism. It was at fever pitch in the 1930s and 40s thanks in part to the press such as the Daily Mail whipping up an antisemitic frenzy. It was only during the war when they realised what was happening to Jews in Europe that the Daily Mail changed tracks. But, over time, the antisemitism has crept back in, how could it not? It is never far from the surface. Today, the media are still culpable, ditto the present government.
To return to WWII, when fleeing Eastern Europe, many Jews choose not to settle in the UK because they did not feel safe here, it was too close to Europe. I have long wished my family had gone to the US too.
In real life, I do not engage with discussions about being Jewish or what is happening in Israel and Gaza because it's too distressing. I do not leave the house when there are marches happening as I feel uncomfortable, not that anyone would even know I am Jewish. But, I live in Central London, and seeing throngs of people supporting those who would happily see death to all Jews is too much for me. I make no bones that Hamas = radical Islam who are unashamed in their desire to kill all Jews (much like they are killing Nigerian Christians at present). While some attend pro-Palestinian marches with good liberal intentions, they're useful idiots blithely ignoring that one day, they will be Hamas' next target. They are, and to repeat, happily joining forces with those whom do not have good intentions, those who do truly hated Jews.