UK Jews suffer ‘significant levels’ of PTSD from October 7 and antisemitic attacks

She found the results eye-opening for a number of reasons. “One was the role of learned helplessness, which we know is an important factor in traumas that occur in childhood or in the family. I didn’t think it would have such an impact on things like encountering antisemitism in your daily life.”

“Learned helplessness” refers to “when repeated negative experiences lead someone to believe they have no control, even when they do”, she said.

The report found a link between the level of exposure to events of October 7 through news channels or social media and the feelings of learned helplessness. “Participants who experienced higher exposure to October 7th events developed stronger beliefs for example, about their inability to control their safety, influence political outcomes, or protect their community from harm,” it said.

It was striking to see how the Holocaust is like an umbrella to all Jewish people’s reactions, regardless of their specific origin. Like the Holocaust is in all of our DNA

These feelings were compounded by experiences of antisemitism, which “created a climate of hypervigilance and social threat that significantly impacted participants’ sense of safety and belonging in British society...creating multiple sources of ongoing psychological stress”.

The other finding which startled Dr Ben-David was the effect of Holocaust reminders. “In Australia [for example], the Jewish community are mainly second-generation descendants of Holocaust survivors,” she explained. “For them, it is really clear to me why incidents of antisemitism and October 7 are so related to the Holocaust. The Jewish community in the UK is quite different – 75 per cent of our participants were not direct descendants of Holocaust survivors.

“So, it was striking to see how the Holocaust is like an umbrella to all Jewish people’s reactions, regardless of their specific origin. Like the Holocaust is in all of our DNA, regardless of whether it is in our actual DNA.”

These two factors are among many which contributed to the worrying prevalence of diagnosable PTSD, anxiety, and depression within the UK Jewish community, which, though not as high as in Israel, is “significantly higher than what we see in the general population worldwide”, Dr. Ben-David said.

While some people may benefit from therapeutic intervention, for others, “social support emerged as the most powerful protective factor” against psychological distress, said the report. High quality relationships with family, friends, and one’s community can help to moderate the effects of exposure to trauma.

And these relationships go both ways, said Ben-David. “By providing support to others you are much less helpless. We want to ‘unlearn’ this learned helplessness by showing that you can actually do things, that you are useful and meaningful to other people.

“Every person has something they can give, and once you give something, what you immediately get back is the feeling that you are meaningful to someone else, which is a huge protective factor.”

Rob Taub, executive director of Hadassah UK, said: “This report gives clinical clarity to what many in our community have been experiencing since October 7. By combining Hadassah Medical Organisation’s expertise with UK data, it highlights the profound mental health impact of both the war and rising antisemitism. At Hadassah UK, we are committed to working in partnership with other UK organisations to turn these findings into practical support, strengthening resilience and recovery across our community.”

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For the full report, go to: hadassahuk.org/hadassah-uk-report-trauma-and-recovery-in-the-face-of-october-7th-war/ or click here