‘What’s our red line?’ the British Jews who question their safety

As antisemitic incidents rise, some Jewish people are asking if it’s time to leave – and where they might go next

For many Jews sitting down with family and friends for Friday night dinner, the conversation is now turning to their “red line”. “What do we do? Do we have to leave?” asked Barry Frankfurt.

Israel had once been a place some might have considered retiring to, to live by the sea. “Never in our lifetime has it been considered we need to run away, we need to seek refuge … and that place might have to be Israel,” said Frankfurt, a brand consultant in north London. “We might have to do that because we don’t feel safe in the country we call home.

“Every couple of weeks you’ll hear of another couple or family in the community who have moved or will be moving soon to Israel,” he said. “And that should be the thing that shocks us as a country.”