'Lack of Jews hasn't meant lack of antisemitism,' Expert on Jews in Wales tells 'Post' - interview

Professor Nathan Abrams, an expert in Welsh Jewry and a professor at Bangor University, clarified on Sunday that the lack of Jews in Wales has not led to a lack of antisemitism. In fact, he explained, it has been quite the opposite. Professor Abrams, who was born in North London to a Jewish family and has lived in Wales for 20 years, speaks Welsh fluently.

He recently published a book, "Jews in the Welsh Imagination: Medieval Times to the Present," which delves into the nation's attitudes towards Jews throughout history. Professor Abrams highlighted that for most of Wales's existence, spanning 15 centuries, there have been no Jews present. Despite this, the Welsh have maintained a fascination with Jews, which is inversely proportional to the number of Jews in the country.

This phenomenon suggests that the absence of Jews has not prevented the persistence of antisemitism or similar attitudes in Wales.

According to the 2021 UK Census, 2,044 people in Wales identified as Jewish by religion, accounting for roughly 0.07% of Wales's population of 3.1 million. These Jews are primarily located in Cardiff, where there are two synagogues: a Reform synagogue and an Orthodox synagogue. Additionally, a Chabad synagogue serves Llandudno, and small community-organized groups or individual Jews can be found in other cities.

However, reporting on antisemitism in Wales is often overshadowed by broader UK statistics, which typically do not break down the data by country. The latest Welsh policing figures for the period between April 2025 and March 2026 show 6,157 police-recorded hate crimes, including 4,098 motivated by race and 325 motivated by religion.

Out of those, 325 had a religious motivation, a decrease from 451 in the previous year. Nevertheless, there is no breakdown of the specific religion targeted, making it impossible to determine the exact number of anti-Jewish crimes using these figures.

The UK's Community Security Trust separately recorded 25 antisemitic incidents geographically associated with Wales during the calendar year 2025. These incidents were spread across North Wales, South Wales, Dyfed-Powys, and Gwent. A Freedom of Information disclosure from Dyfed-Powys Police revealed that the force recorded 17 crimes classified as anti-Jewish in 2025, an increase from 12 in 2024, representing approximately a 42% rise.

These figures are specific to the Dyfed-Powys policing area, not the entire country of Wales, and may not capture every antisemitic offense recorded under different categories. The Community Security Trust's reported numbers, however, suggest that the on-the-ground situation could be even more severe than the publicly disclosed statistics indicate.