Nearly half of Britain holds anti-Semitic views while most Jewish families believe they have 'no future' in UK

Nearly half the population of Britain hold at least one anti-Semitic view, according to a survey.

When presented with an anti-Semitic view, around 45% of British adults said they believed it was "definitely or probably true", including (13%) who thought Jews talked about the Holocaust to get sympathy, according to the study.

The poll of more than 3,400 people also revealed 25% of Britons believed that Jews chase money more than other British people and 17% believed Jews had too much power in the media and felt they thought they were "better than other people".

Elsewhere, 10% of those asked said they would be unhappy if a member of their family married a Jewish person, and 11% think Jews were not as honest in business as other people.

The survey results also found Ukip voters "consistently believed more anti-Semitic statements to be true" by an average margin of 9%.

In a separate poll, 54% of British Jews feared they had no future in the UK and a quarter said they have considered leaving the country in the last two years.

The YouGov polls, both commissioned by Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA), were conducted before the recent terror attacks in Paris but coincided with a rise of anti-Semitic attacks in the UK over the past year.

Gideon Falter, chairman of the CAA, said the research is a "wake-up" call following the recent attacks in Paris which left 17 people dead, including four Jewish people in a Kosher supermarket.

He said: "Britain is at a tipping point. Unless anti-Semitism is met with zero tolerance, it will grow and British Jews will increasingly question their place in their own country. Britain's Jews must be shown that they are not alone."

Jonathan Sacerdoti, also from the campaign group, said: "Jewish people have contributed to almost every part of British life, yet rising anti-Semitism here and across Europe means that now more than ever Jews are afraid. Some are even reconsidering their future here.

"British values of tolerance and pluralism must be upheld, so that minority groups like Jews feel comfortable and protected."

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said: "Jews are an important part of the British community, and we would be diminished without them.

"Anyone who peddles anti-Semitic views is attacking Britain and British values.

"This Government has done much to enhance Britain's status as a safe, tolerant place for Jewish people but we are not complacent. We remain committed to tackling it wherever and whenever it occurs and continue to take a zero-tolerance approach.

"Those who commit hate crimes will be punished with the full force of the law."