Brexit poll: Jews voted 2-1 to remain in EU

Only 31% voted ‘Leave’; of those who did back a British exit from the European Union, 11% now say they regret their decision

By JTA 2 July 2016, 12:16 am 4 Edit

Illustrative: A man waves both a Union flag and a European flag together on College Green outside the UK Parliament on June 28, 2016. (Justin Tallis/AFP)

Twice as many British Jews voted to remain in the European Union rather than exit, according to a new survey.

Conducted by the Survation polling firm earlier this week for The Jewish Chronicle, the opinion poll of 1,000 British Jews showed that 59 percent were displeased by last week’s narrow vote to leave the EU, compared to 28.3% of respondents who were pleased with the result.

Surveyed after the vote, 59% of respondents said they voted Remain, with 31% voting Leave. Six percent did not vote, they said.

Of those who voted for a British exit, or Brexit, 11% said they now regret their decision.

A similar poll conducted ahead of the vote showed a 50-50 split.

As a result of the June 23 referendum, 38% of Jews indicated they felt less safe, compared to 42% who said they did not feel any decrease in their level of security.

Xenophobic hate speech saw an uptick in Britain following the vote, with dozens of cases involving nationalistic rhetoric observed within days of the vote. But the Community Security Trust, the Jewish community’s watchdog on anti-Semitism, said none of the reported incidents show a direct link to anti-Semitism.