New JPR report NJA’s disappointment in FCDO

A new Jewish Policy Research report looks into Jewish migration from 15 European countries.

The publication, ‘Jewish migration today: What it may mean for Europe’, by Dr Daniel Staetsky, Director of JPR’s European Demography Unit, represents 94% of Jews living in Europe and compares data from recent years to previous periods over the last century.

The report focuses on the signal that the current levels of Jewish migration from Europe send about the political realities perceived and experienced by European Jews.

Dr Jonathan Boyd, JPR’s Executive Director said: “Understanding migration patterns from Europe is a key part of European Jewish demography. Without accurate assessments of the numbers of Jews migrating into and out of Europe, serious community planning is impossible. The figures generated in this report will feed into community planning across the continent whilst also providing important insights into the economic and security situation of Europe’s Jews, and determining more accurately how Jews in Ukraine and Russia are faring in the context of the current war.”

Peak Jewish migration from Germany (1930s), North Africa (1960s) and the former Soviet Union (1990s) saw 50%-75% of national Jewish populations migrate in no more than a decade.

No European Jewish population has shown signs of migration near that level for several decades.

Last year was a watershed year for Russian and Ukrainian Jews. If migration stays at 2022-23 levels until 2030 around 80%-90% of Ukrainian Jews and 50%-60% of Russian Jews (2021 figures) will have emigrated.

France, Belgium, Italy and Spain saw strong surges in Jewish emigration in the first half of the 2010s, which declined but not as far as pre-surge levels. Higher levels of migration measured in these counties during the last decade have not reached critical values indicating serious Jewish ‘exodus’.

Jewish emigration from the UK, Germany, Sweden, Netherlands, Austria and Denmark has been stable or declining since the mid-1980s. In Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands there has been some decline in Jewish migration over the period, with migration settling at a new or lower levels.

The National Jewish Assembly is deeply disappointed by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office’s refusal to disclose and publish documents pertaining to the auditing of British aid provided to the Palestinian Authority.

The request for transparency was made by We Believe in Israel and B’nai B’rith UK to ensure British taxpayer funds do not support Palestinian terrorism.

Specifically, the request aimed to examine the notorious “Pay for Slay” scheme, in which the Palestinian Authority incentivises terrorism by providing salaries to convicted terrorists or their families, which only serves to encourage and perpetuate the cycle of violence.

An NJA spokesman said: “Regrettably, the FCDO has justified its refusal by claiming that the disclosure of audit reports could potentially harm the bilateral relationship between the UK and Palestine. While recognising the importance of maintaining diplomatic ties, we believe that transparency and accountability are equally essential, and such a relationship should not come at the expense of UK taxpayer funding of Palestinian terrorism. The refusal to disclose this information raises concerns about the integrity of foreign aid distribution, especially concerning the Palestinian Authority.”

They added: “The FCDO’s suggestion that the presence of third-party personal data prevented publication is highly questionable as such content can easily be redacted to protect privacy, and could therefore be provided.”

The NJA supports We Believe in Israel and B’nai B’rith UK in their pursuit of transparency and accountability.

A spokesman observed: “It is disappointing to see the FCDO deviate from the precedent set by the Information Commissioner’s Office in 2019 when similar documents were released upon request by UK Lawyers for Israel. Transparency in the distribution of foreign aid is crucial to ensure that British taxpayers’ money is not inadvertently supporting terrorism.”

The NJA has called on the FCDO to reconsider its decision, fulfil its obligation to provide requested documents, and demonstrate its commitment to transparency and accountability.

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