Most Britons See Israel as a Serious Threat, NatCen Survey Finds

The National Centre for Social Research found that 78% of Britons regard Israel as a “very” or “quite a serious” threat to world peace over the next ten years or so, according to a spring 2026 Opinion Panel published Nov. 5 in British Social Attitudes: The 43rd Report. The figure, from an unweighted base of 1,973 prior BSA respondents, is a clear majority — nearly four in five — so the claim that “most” Britons take that view is accurate.

Respondents were asked: “Please say how serious a threat to world peace you think each of these countries is likely to be over the next ten years or so?” They could choose “a very serious threat,” “quite a serious threat,” “not a very serious threat” or “no threat at all.” The published totals combine the first two answers.

Among the seven countries tested that spring, Israel ranked second. Russia was seen as a serious threat by 89%, followed by Israel at 78%, Iran at 75%, the United States at 74%, North Korea at 66%, China at 62% and Saudi Arabia at 34%. The chapter, written by Sophia Gaston of King’s College London, says the average respondent now views about 4.8 of the seven countries as serious threats, up from 4.4 in 2024.

Views of Israel have hardened over two decades. Only 48% saw the country as a serious threat in 2005. That share rose to 73% in autumn 2024, after the Gaza war that followed Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack, then eased to 67% in spring 2025 and 68% in the autumn 2025 BSA survey. It climbed again to 78% in spring 2026, after the United States and Israel launched a bombing campaign against Iran in February 2026.

“Israel’s reputation, too, has seemingly suffered from its involvement in recent Middle East conflict,” the report said. NatCen added that some people in Britain may fear that developments involving Israel could trigger a broader regional confrontation.

The rise is visible across party lines, though gaps remain. In spring 2026, 88% of Green supporters, 84% of Labour supporters, 79% of Liberal Democrats, 70% of Conservatives and 62% of Reform UK supporters regarded Israel as a serious threat — a 26-point gap between Green and Reform identifiers.

Concern about the United States has also surged, from 36% in the 2024 BSA survey to 74% in spring 2026. The share reached 71% in spring 2025 after President Donald Trump returned to office and clashed with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House, fell to 54% around the time of Trump’s second State Visit to Britain, then rose again after disputes with NATO allies over Greenland and the Iran campaign. The finding comes as a separate poll found strong backlash against Prime Minister Keir Starmer for helping the Trump administration in that war. Washington has also threatened the UK and other European governments with sanctions over Israeli settlement boycotts.

The 78% result is from NatCen’s own BSA research and Opinion Panel, not a commissioned YouGov or Ipsos poll. Autumn 2025 BSA fieldwork ran from Aug. 26 to Oct. 5, 2025; the chapter does not give exact dates for the spring 2026 panel. The report was released Nov. 5, a week before the figures circulated widely in news coverage.