How has this past year affected our Jewishness? Has it changed our sense of attachment to Israel, the homeland of the Jewish People? Has it affected how we connect to the Jewish community here in the UK? Has it altered how we interact with our non-Jewish friends and colleagues?

In the third and last episode of Series 2 of the ‘Jews Do Count’ podcast, Jonathan and Raymond discuss the recent data on how the events of the past year have affected the Jewish lives of British Jews, including their connections with other Jews, their levels of community engagement, and their likelihood to emigrate to Israel. They are joined by Mandie Winston, the Chief Executive of the United Jewish Israel Appeal, one of the UK Jewish community’s leading charities.

In series 2 of the ‘Jews Do Count’ podcast, JW3’s Raymond Simonson and JPR’s Dr Jonathan Boyd explore how the events of October 7 and the subsequent year have changed British Jews, drawing on the brand new data from JPR’s landmark report ‘A year after October 7: British Jewish views on Israel, antisemitism and Jewish life’, with the help of top experts from the community.

Produced by Richard Miron from Earshot Strategies.

The past year has clearly affected British Jews’s sense of security and belonging in the UK: our new data show that 30% of all adult British Jews reported personally experiencing antisemitism in the first nine months after October 7. And between the October 7 attacks, the war in Gaza, and all of the public and media reactions to it, many Jews in the UK are feeling rattled and shaken and starting to show multiple signs of insecurity, concern and alienation from wider society.

In the second episode of Series 2 of the ‘Jews Do Count’ podcast, Jonathan and Raymond examine recent data and discuss how the reaction to the war in the media, political life, on university campuses, and at pro-Palestinian demonstrations is affecting British Jews’ sense of security in Britain. They do so with the help of Richard Ferrer, Editor of The Jewish News and a regular contributor on BBC Radio 4.

In series 2 of the ‘Jews Do Count’ podcast, JW3’s Raymond Simonson and JPR’s Dr Jonathan Boyd explore how the events of October 7 and the subsequent year have changed British Jews, drawing on the brand new data from JPR’s landmark report ‘A year after October 7: British Jewish views on Israel, antisemitism and Jewish life’, with the help of top experts from the community.

Produced by Richard Miron from Earshot Strategies.

What do British Jews think about how the Israeli government, its leaders and its army have prosecuted the war? What do British Jews feel about Israel’s future, the two-state solution or the threat Iran poses to Israel’s existence? How do Jews differ on these topics? And how have all of these opinions changed in the past year?

In the first episode of Series 2 of the ‘Jews Do Count’ podcast, Jonathan and Raymond discuss what the new data tell us about what British Jews think of Israel politically, and they talk to Israeli-British journalist and author Anshel Pfeffer, who’s covered Israel, the Diaspora and the wider Middle East for over three decades for publications such as Ha’aretz, The Times, The Spectator and now The Economist, and has written several books, including the definitive biography: Bibi: The Turbulent Life and Times of Benjamin Netanyahu.

In series 2 of the ‘Jews Do Count’ podcast, JW3’s Raymond Simonson and JPR’s Dr Jonathan Boyd explore how the events of October 7 and the subsequent year have changed British Jews, drawing on the brand new data from JPR’s landmark report ‘A year after October 7: British Jewish views on Israel, antisemitism and Jewish life’, with the help of top experts from the community.

Produced by Richard Miron from Earshot Strategies.

In series 2 of the ‘Jews Do Count’ podcast, JW3’s Raymond Simonson and JPR’s Dr Jonathan Boyd explore how the events of October 7 and the subsequent year have changed British Jews, drawing on the brand new data from JPR’s landmark report ‘A year after October 7: British Jewish views on Israel, antisemitism and Jewish life’, with the help of top experts from the community.

It’s hard to believe that it’s been a year since the horrific attacks on Israel, when 1200 people were brutally murdered and over 250 were taken hostage by Hamas terrorists, among whom almost a hundred still remain captive. It’s hard to believe the war in Gaza, northern Israel and now Lebanon continues a year on, causing a terrible toll of death, destruction, displacement and despair in its wake.  

The events of that day and the year since have profoundly affected Jews worldwide. They are the main topic of conversations around Friday night dinner tables, at hundreds of community events and webinars, and every week in our newspapers. They’re in our thoughts and prayers more or less daily. They have affected our views about Israel, our sense of security in the UK, and the very ways in which we live our Jewish lives. Learn exactly how in the new series of Jews Do Count.

Produced by Richard Miron from Earshot Strategies.

What does the future hold for Jews in the UK? In the seventh and final episode of the 'Jews Do Count' podcast, Raymond and Jon look back on their journey into Jewishness today and try to predict the future of the Jewish community in Britain, while producer Richard Miron brings the voices of community members. What would the community look like in terms of its size, shape and form? How will the tensions between the different denominations affect our religiosity, culture, education and representativeness? In the words of a famous Jewish poet named Robert Zimmerman (also known as Bob Dylan): Are the times a-changin'?

‘Kol Israel Arevim Zeh Bazeh’ – all members of the Jewish people are responsible for one another – says the Talmud. But do Jews in the UK feel that way today? In the sixth episode of the 'Jews Do Count' podcast, Raymond and Jon search for a Jewish Peoplehood: do we feel connected to other Jews in the UK and around the world? And if so, how exactly? They are joined by Clare Goldwater, Chief Strategy Officer at M Squared – The Institute for Experiential Jewish Education, to discuss the multiple aspects of Jewish Peoplehood and what can be done to strengthen it. 

We're in the UK. It's 2024. Raymond and Jon really would prefer not to talk about antisemitism in the UK in 2024 in the fifth episode of the 'Jews Do Count' podcast. But they have to, as antisemitism is still the biggest concern among Jews in the UK and the entire world today. With the number of antisemitic incidents spiking following the 7 October attack on Israel and the following war in Gaza, the two hosts are joined by Karen Pollock, Chief Executive of the Holocaust Education Trust, for a conversation about their own experiences with antisemitism and how it affects Jewish identity, and the ways Jews in the UK express it.  

What is it about Jews and Israel? In the fourth episode of the 'Jews Do Count' podcast, Raymond and Jon try to explain the ties that bind Jews in the UK and Israel by sharing some personal stories about their own connections, and producer Richard Miron is sent to ask community members what Israel means to them and how the 7 October attack on the country affected them. They are joined by Robin Moss, former Director of Strategy at UJIA and current Chief Executive of Unitas, Barnet Youth Zone, an educator and activist on Israel-related issues, to discuss why Israel now, more then ever, features in British Jewish life.

Can you have a strong Jewish identity without believing in God? In the third episode of the Jews Do Count podcast, Jon and Raymond discuss religiosity, and lack of it, with Joanne Greenaway, Chief Executive of the London School of Jewish Studies, looking at what the research shows about religious observance among British Jews, what the term means to different members of the community, and how it can affect one's Jewish identity.

Most Jews think that values and morals are an important part of their Jewishness, but what morals and values are they referring to exactly? In episode two of the Jews Do Count podcast, Jon and Raymond examine ‘Jewish values’ and discuss what it means to different people and sections of the community. They are joined by David Mason, a former United Synagogue Rabbi and the now Executive Director of HIAS+JCORE, the Jewish voice on refugees and racial justice. Are there any values we all share as Jews? And how do Jews in the UK compare to the rest of the population when it comes to donating money and time to social causes?