US Considering Asylum for British Jews

Garson, 49, a former British lawyer who practiced in London before relocating to the U.S. in 2008, said he felt the U.K. was "no longer a safe place for Jews."

He added that recent events — such as an Islamist attack on a Manchester synagogue and what he described as widespread antisemitism following the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 — had led him to believe that British Jews should be given the option of sanctuary in the U.S.

Garson said he could see "no future" for Jews in the U.K. and placed much of the responsibility on British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, accusing him of allowing antisemitism to grow.

Garson said that the proposition of offering asylum to British Jews is attractive, because "it is a populous that speaks English natively, that is highly educated and doesn't have a high proportion of criminals." 

He added, "When I look at what is going on with Jews in Britain, and when I look at the changing demographics, I don't believe — and I have discussed this with people in the Trump administration — that there is a future for Jews in the United Kingdom. For me, that is particularly sad."

Garson said he raised the idea of the U.S. acting as a refuge for British Jews with Trump's special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, Yehuda Kaploun, in his role as a board member of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council.

A survey carried out by the Institute for Jewish Policy Research last year found that feelings of safety in the British Jewish community have fallen significantly in recent years, with 35% of Jews feeling unsafe in the U.K. in 2025, compared with 9% in 2023 before the Hamas attacks and the protests in Britain against the Israeli assault on Gaza.

Perceptions of antisemitism have also intensified, with 47% of British Jews seeing it as a "very big" problem — up from just 11% in 2012.

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