65% of young British Muslims oppose Israel’s right to exist (by Archie Earle)

 

Two-thirds of young British Muslims believe Israel should not exist as a Jewish homeland, according to a major new poll.

Based on a survey of 1000 British Muslims, an astonishing 65% of the religious group aged 18-24 said they did not believe Israel has a right to exist. Within the 45-54 demographic, the percentage of those who agree with the statement is almost half that, at 34%. Across all age groups, the proportion who agreed with the statement is 49%.

The J.L. Partners survey also found that 80% of respondents in both the 18-24 and 25-34 brackets believe that Israel is a racist endeavour, compared to 67% in the 55+ age category, suggesting younger British Muslims have far stronger views on the Israel-Palestine conflict.

These results come six months after Hamas’s 7 October attack, where public opinion has gradually hardened against Israel since. As early as February of this year, more Brits sympathised with Palestinians than with each side equally for the first time since the beginning of the war. As of March, 28% of Brits sympathise with Palestine more than Israel, whilst 27% sympathise equally with both sides and only 15% sympathise more with Israel.

According to the JLP poll, more than a third of respondents aged 18-34 said that they view Hamas positively, and over a quarter said they have a favourable view of jihad.

The JLP poll also asked respondents about attitudes toward various social issues including homosexuality, Christianity in public life and the influence of Jewish people in society. The findings show that 36% of Muslims in the 18-24 age group believe that Jews have too much power in the media and financial sectors, while 44% think Jews have excessive influence over government policy.

These findings arrive at a fraught moment in British Muslim relations. Nearly three years on from the Batley Grammar School incident, Dame Sara Khan published a report on the threats to social cohesion in British public life. It found that there was “a climate of fear” being created at some schools as community faith leaders had aggressively interfered in school teaching, while schools had not been given sufficient support to combat the problem.

The JLP data suggests that a substantial number of British Muslims may show similar hardline views. Of Britain’s young Muslims, 59% believe it would be very or somewhat desirable to make showing a picture of the Prophet Mohammed illegal, with 33% saying that implementing Sharia law in the UK would be desirable.

According to the 2021 census, Britain’s Muslim population currently stands at 3.9 million, making up roughly 6.5% of all UK citizens. This was up from a population of 2.7 million in 2011, when the Muslim population made up 5% of British citizens.

After three British aid workers were killed in an airstrike that hit a World Central Kitchen convoy, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has come under increasing pressure to take a tougher line on Israel. He responded to the deaths by calling on Benjamin Netanyahu to look for a humanitarian pause which will lead to a “long-term sustainable ceasefire”.

On Sunday, Netanyahu responded to calls for a ceasefire by suggesting that Israel was “one step away from victory”, and that no truce would be achieved until Hamas has released all hostages.

65% of young British Muslims oppose Israel's right to exist - UnHerd