British-Israeli Survivor Warns Antisemitism 'Running Riot' in UK After October 7 Attack
Anat Ron-Kendall, the sole known UK-based British-Israeli dual national to survive the October 7 terror attack, has broken her silence to declare that antisemitism is "running riot" across the United Kingdom. In her first public testimony, Ms Ron-Kendall, whose father Shlomo Ron was tragically killed during the 2023 assault, described scenes of "dystopia" and "chaos," alongside a profound sense of "abandonment" by British authorities.
Harrowing Account of Survival
Ms Ron-Kendall, aged 55 at the time, was visiting her parents in the Nahal Oz kibbutz, where she grew up, with her son Jordan on October 7, 2023, when Hamas militants launched their devastating attack. Fleeing to a safe room within their home, she endured escalating gunfire and shouting, leading her to call her husband to convey a final message of love to their children, convinced she would not survive the ordeal.
After more than twelve hours, she was eventually evacuated to safety, recalling a "scene of dystopia, it was a scene of chaos." She stated, "There were bodies which I didn’t want to look at. It was just like something that you imagine in the movies."
Feeling Unsafe in the UK
Speaking more than two years after the attack, Ms Ron-Kendall expressed feeling unsafe in the UK, where she believes antisemitism has become normalised. She asserted, "I was abandoned by the British government at a time of total vulnerability. The British government is allowing what’s going on ever since, in demonstrations and in antisemitism running riot, students in universities suffering – Jewish students, communities affected every day since – and that’s been allowed to happen."
She added, "To me, I still live under threat. I cannot feel safe in a country that normalises this kind of behaviour. I had no recognition. I came back to the UK, expected to be grateful that I survived and put that event behind me and just function in my everyday life."
Updated Parliamentary Report
Her testimony forms part of an updated report on the October 7 assault, commissioned by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Israel and led by historian and Conservative peer Lord Andrew Roberts. The first edition, published just over a year ago, named all 18 British nationals killed in the Hamas attack.
The second edition, released recently, also includes details on the experience of British-Israeli Emily Damari, who was held hostage for more than 400 days after the attack. The report notes, "She was forcibly taken at 10:33. During the abduction, she was shot in the hand and her leg. Her dog, Chucha, was later found shot dead in her room." It describes how Ms Damari’s mother campaigned tirelessly for her release, leading to a reunion during the January 2025 ceasefire hostage releases.
Historical Context and Call to Action
Ms Ron-Kendall, whose grandfather fought in the Second World War for the British Army’s Jewish Brigade and was captured by the Nazis as a prisoner of war for four years, emphasised the importance of people reading the report to know that the October 7 attack "really did happen." She stated, "It happened to me. I am a testament that it did happen and I survived it."
Lord Roberts commented, "As we continue to uncover yet more horrors, the updated report continues to serve as a permanent memorial and enduring resource for governments, educators, and civil society in order to safeguard the truth against denialism and distortion. The purpose of commissioning our report has always been to chronicle the events of 7 October with clarity and meticulous, fact-checking precision, to ensure it is never forgotten, diminished or disregarded by malign forces intent on washing away the true scale of that fateful day."
Rising Antisemitism in the UK
Latest official figures on hate crime recorded by police in England and Wales reveal that Jewish people face the highest rate of religious hate crimes among any faith group. In the year to March 2025, there were 106 religious hate crimes per 10,000 population targeted at Jewish people, according to Home Office data published in October.
Separate figures from the Community Security Trust (CST), covering the 12 months of 2025, show the second-highest annual total ever recorded for anti-Jewish hate incidents, at 3,700 – a 4% increase from the 3,556 incidents recorded in 2024. The CST, which monitors antisemitism in the UK, noted that the annual record high remains at 4,298 antisemitic incidents reported in 2023, the year of the October 7 attack, which triggered a spike in anti-Jewish hate cases. The 2025 report marked the first time more than 200 cases of anti-Jewish hate were recorded in every calendar month.
Government Response
A Government spokesperson responded, "Antisemitism is becoming normalised in the UK, but the Government will not stand by whilst this scourge spreads. We are tackling antisemitism in schools, colleges, universities, and the NHS, and we will continue to work closely with Jewish communities to ensure that our efforts fix this scandal."
