UK Mother Questioned by Police Over Israel Trip and Jewish Interest

Holly Passmore, a mother of two from County Durham in northeast England, was reported to a UK government deradicalization program following a trip to Israel in July 2025. The report, revealed by The Telegraph, details how two plainclothes police officers visited Passmore's home to question her about her connections to Israel, her travel, and her interest in Jewish issues. She stated the officers asked about her ties to Israel and any plans to return, as well as her interest in "Jewish questions," noting the lack of a significant Jewish population in her area and inquiring if she had visited Auschwitz. Passmore, who is not Jewish, has a large following on X (formerly Twitter), where she has been posting messages denouncing antisemitism and supporting Israel since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks. During her visit to Israel, she visited Kibbutz Kfar Aza, which was attacked on October 7, and is pursuing a master's degree in Holocaust studies at the University of Haifa. She also cares for her son, who has severe autism. Months after the police visit, Passmore accessed documents related to the referral, which anonymously accused her of excessive identification with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and supporting Israel to the point of traveling there. The referral also mentioned alleged mental health issues and vulnerability to external influences, claims she denies. Passmore believes the authorities were aware she was not vulnerable and were monitoring her due to her support for Israel. Police intelligence documents reviewed by The Telegraph indicated that supporting Israel, a democracy, does not pose a terrorism risk, nor does traveling there. Passmore filed a complaint three days after the police visit. Subsequently, two other officers informed her she was not considered a terrorist or extremist. She also discovered that her medical records were classified as those of a vulnerable person for nearly a year after her return from Israel, without her knowledge, and she is investigating a potential link to the referral. She is questioning if this classification is connected to the referral and the subsequent proceedings against her.