Report shows young British Christians less sympathetic to Israel than older generations

In the study, “A Survey of British Christian Attitudes Towards the Israel-Palestine Conflict”, 33 per cent of British people aged 18-29 expressed support for Palestinians compared to 19 per cent supporting Israel

Young British Christians are less sympathetic towards Israel than older generations, according to new research.

A study of more than 2,000 Christians of all ages across the UK also found one third believe Jewish people “talk too much about what happened to them in the Holocaust”.

In the study, “A Survey of British Christian Attitudes Towards the Israel-Palestine Conflict”, 33 per cent of British people aged 18-29 expressed support for Palestinians compared to 19 per cent supporting Israel, while 14 per cent indicated “strong support” for Israel compared with 22 per cent of those aged over 65.

Roughly one in six agreed it’s “definitely not antisemitic to say that Israel doesn’t have the right to exist”, with a quarter (26 per cent) feeling it’s “probably true” that Jews “don’t care what happens to anyone but their own kind”. One in six (16.7 per cent) felt Jews were “responsible for most of the world’s wars”.

“Young Brits are significantly more likely to hold very negative opinions of Jews and Israel than older British Christians,” said researcher Dr Motti Inbari, a professor of Jewish studies at the University of North Carolina, and a co-author of the study, funded by a coalition of groups that oppose antisemitism.

“With antisemitism being openly celebrated, it’s important to understand why many British Christians, especially the young generation, still embrace old antisemitic Christian views,” said Inbari, who will present the research findings to the public at a London seminar on February 22 with co-researcher Dr. Kirill Bumin from Boston University in the U.S.

The in-depth study of 2,062 Christians was conducted in December 2024 and surveyed respondents who said they had a Christian upbringing or are practising Christians themselves. The sample included Christians of all denominations, ages, ethnicities, genders, and marital status, as well as across the income and educational spectrum. A similar study of Christians in the US was conducted by the same researchers in March 2024.

Overall, Brits are almost equally split on the Gaza conflict, with 23.6 per cent supporting Israel and 22.5 per cent backing Palestine. Most – 37.3 per cent – were neutral, and 16.6 percent “didn’t know”. There was widespread concern about the humanitarian situation in Gaza, with almost half – 47 per cent – saying they believe Israel has committed genocide in the Gaza Strip. Nearly four out of every ten UK Christians (38.8 per cent) believe Israel has deliberately targeted Palestinian civilians, the study showed.

The findings are “like a mirror, showing us exactly where Christians in the UK stand and it’s deeply concerning”, said Dr Mitch Glaser, chief executive of Chosen People, a global organisation that works with Jews and provided support for the research.

British Christians who hold left-leaning political and social views, such as strong concern about income inequality and climate change, showed less support for Israel than those with conservative views.

Across Christian sects, Protestants held higher levels of support for Israel than Roman Catholics, the least pro-Israel Christian denomination.

The research’s margin of error is three per cent.

The “Fresh Perspectives on Israel and the Church” event is taking place on February 22 at Emmanuel Centre on Marsham Street with several guest speakers, in addition to Inbari and Bumin. See more info here. 

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