Only in the modern UK will opposing antisemitism result in a police visit to check your radicalism.
The British authorities have developed a whole new way to express their hatred of Israel. It’s so convoluted that people can only shake their heads in disgust. The situation involves a British citizen who was deemed “vulnerable” to Israeli manipulation because she was a non-Jew supporting Jews and Israel. This episode recalls state police investigating a citizen’s supposedly suspicious activities in a totalitarian country.
Holly Passmore, 44, from County Durham, supports the Jewish community and Israel, particularly after October 7, 2023, even though she wasn’t Jewish. Because of her online influence, the Israeli embassy invited her to visit Israel with other media representatives, a trip she took in June 2025.
While Passmore was in Israel, someone made an anonymous report to a British counterterrorism program called Prevent, which is tasked with identifying people who are “vulnerable” to radicalization that could lead to terrorist acts.
The language used in the anonymous tip (which Passmore eventually obtained) was both sinister and absurd. According to the anonymous referrer, Passmore was “over-identified with the conflict between Israel and Palestine” and “supportive of Israel to the point that she has travelled to Israel.”
As a result of this report, after Passmore returned from Israel, two officers from Durham Constabulary showed up unexpectedly at her home in July 2025 with an odd set of questions:
‘They said it was a safeguarding matter [and said I] may be at risk of manipulation…They asked me what my links are to Israel, whether I planned on returning to Israel.
‘They asked me why I was interested in ‘Jewish issues’ because County Durham it’s not a Jewish area. They even asked me if I’d ever been to Auschwitz, and I said, ‘yes’.’
Remarkably, the police intelligence report itself acknowledged that supporting Israel and traveling there were not counterterrorism concerns. Nevertheless, Passmore found herself answering questions about her interest in Jews and Israel.
In October 2026, when Passmore eventually obtained a copy of the police file and the story made the news, she discovered that her National Health Service medical records had classified her as a “vulnerable adult” on June 23, 2025, just eight days after her return from Israel. That designation remained until May 18, 2026. Passmore suspects a connection between the designation and the Prevent investigation, although she has been unable to establish one.
It’s important to understand that although Passmore has some health issues, including autism and ADHD, she has demonstrated her competence by pursuing a master’s degree in Holocaust studies at the University of Haifa while raising a nine-year-old son with severe autism. Once investigators completed their interview with Passmore, it should have been apparent that, if anyone’s motives deserved investigation, the anonymous accuser’s did.
The police tried to explain that their investigation was a “safeguarding” matter and that they had removed the designation. However, a closer look at the facts suggests other explanations.
Apparently, British authorities are suspicious of anyone who supports Israel and the Jews. Passmore believed that the police knew she wasn’t at risk of manipulation but suspected that she might have nefarious intentions because of her “extreme” interest in Israel. Why would a non-Jew be so vocal about her support for Israelis and Jews?
The police used her supposed vulnerability to negative influences as a justification for their investigation and perhaps even as a way to discourage her from openly demonstrating her support for Israel and the Jewish community.
When Passmore requested a copy of the investigation report, two officers visited her again, supposedly to assure her that they didn’t consider her a threat or an extremist. They also “urged” her to stop discussing her case online. I’m sure she was mollified.
My assessment of the situation is more sinister. Whether those specific police officers intended to intimidate Passmore, their actions’ effect was unmistakable. A British citizen who had committed no crime found herself being questioned by police about her support for Jews and Israel. Even after assuring her that she wasn’t an extremist, officers reportedly urged her to stop discussing her experience online.
The message to other Britons is chilling: Show too much interest in Israel, express too much sympathy for Jews, or speak too publicly about either, and you may find yourself answering questions from the police.
In a supposedly free country, that’s extraordinary. This is what happens when a program intended to protect people from radicalization is used to investigate people who oppose antisemitism.
they should be asking why all the protesters are so interested in Gaza since they aren’t Arabs