What a rabbi and rebbetzin learnt when they went back to university

I recently listened to an account that shook me to the core. A young Jewish student found himself sitting in a history lecture listening to a teacher create a crude moral equivalence between the genuine civilian suffering in Gaza as Israel rooted out Hamas terrorists and other times in history when people have been systematically targeted in their millions because of their skin colour, religion or ethnicity. The student rose to challenge the teacher – a lone voice in an otherwise silent room. Her response was as disturbing as it was predictable. The lecturer refused to engage, declaring that as someone felt “uncomfortable” by the conversation, she would be changing the topic.

As unpleasant as this sounds, it wasn’t this account that really shook me. It was the story told by the next student in the group. During a conversation with a group of acquaintances on campus, a member of the group casually commented how someone they knew was dating “an ugly Jew”. The person who made this remark had no idea that someone in the group was Jewish, who was left wondering how and whether to respond. When I heard this, I was truly shocked. But perhaps in light of the recent Union of Jewish Students’ poll, I shouldn’t have been so surprised. This includes the startling statistic that one in five UK university students would be reluctant to share their house with a Jew, and some would never do so. The “normalisation of antisemitism on campus”, as the authors of the report put it, has arrived.

In our capacity as senior rabbi and rebbetzin of Finchley United Synagogue (Kinloss), we recently went on an illuminating campus tour, visiting Kinloss students in Bristol, Nottingham, Leeds, Birmingham and Cambridge. Our aim was simple – to show our students that we care about them and the challenges they face, knowing that nothing compares to showing up in person. Even more significantly, we wanted to demonstrate that wherever in the world people are, they are always part of our extended community. After 700 miles of driving, we emerged with a fascinating snapshot of Jewish life on campus – including, but definitely not limited to, conversations like the one highlighted above. Here’s what we learnt from our trip.

Rabbi Dr Yoni Birnbaum (Photo: courtesy)[Missing Credit]

Make no mistake, the hostility students face on campus is real, even when simply attempting to openly display their Jewish identity. Students described thinking twice about whether to walk around with visible Jewish symbols, such as a kippah or Magen David. And in terms of Israel, Jewish societies face an intractable dilemma. Engaging with the wider student body is vital in order to dispel unhelpful myths about Jewish practice and culture. More fundamentally, this is partly what all student societies are there for – to engage with others and share the vibrancy of their community life. But students described how, if Israel becomes a prominent feature in the society’s calendar of events, or an Israeli flag is displayed at a gathering, it can rapidly become a magnet for hostility. And here lies the problem. Delete Israel from the scene and there’s a chance of becoming an outward-facing Jewish student body, happy to take its place among the many other societies on campus. But delete Israel from the scene, and a major element of the Jewish ecosystem is excised, along with a central aspect of Jewish identity, which no one wants. Simply put – can Jewish life on campus, sans Israel, really be called a “Jewish” experience?

This dilemma is put into even sharper focus by the fact, as we discovered through many conversations on our trip, that Jewish students are incredibly proud of Israel as the Jewish homeland. Many have spent much time there and look forward to contributing to the Jewish state in some way in the future, realising the dream of generations of their ancestors. This is a powerful part of their identity, regardless of where they fall on the political spectrum, or their perspective on the current Israeli leadership. Hearing others declare Israel as an unmentionable, pariah state is simply intolerable for them – and creates more, not less, of an incentive to declare proud support for the country.

And yet, despite these significant challenges, we learnt something remarkably positive about Jewish students on campus in 2026. Many wonderful institutions are there to support them: UJS, J-Soc, University Jewish Chaplaincy, Chabad, Aish and their local Jewish community, whose efforts we – as community rabbinic leaders – salute and support wholeheartedly. But a profound observation we came away with is the fact that it is the students themselves who are leading the way with their embrace of Jewish life, commitment and community. We met group after group of students who are proud ambassadors of Judaism.

Their dedication to create a thriving Jewish life on campus fills us with confidence in those who will one day be the future leaders of our communities, whether in this country or elsewhere.

When they return home, let’s try to gift young people spaces to form their own micro-communities within established centres of Jewish life

It is difficult to overstate just how important this is. Rather than self-restricting Jewish life on campus, many students are discovering for the first time how fulfilling and rewarding Jewish community life can be. Part of the background to this is the fact that campus life presents the same set of conditions that have facilitated the formation of strong Jewish communities for millennia. In a new and unfamiliar environment, Jewish people seek each other out and create spaces of shared faith and community. These spaces provide a warm sense of home and identity, a place in which Jewish culture, prayer and tradition can flourish. In the student spaces we visited, we saw evidence of this in spades. For many students, this may be the first time that they see how much their participation matters – and where they are able to be part of the team facilitating Jewish experiences for others, rather than benefiting from that which others have created for them.

But there is a final and perhaps most important takeaway from our experiences. We realised that back home, our established communities have a responsibility to find ways to enable returning students to continue to engage with Jewish life in a way that works for them. On campus, students find joy and meaning in shared Friday night dinners, meaningful student learning and activism on behalf of Jewish causes that speak to them. When they return home, gifting them spaces to form their own micro-communities within established centres of Jewish life is a powerful way to facilitate this ongoing engagement.

At Kinloss, we have seen remarkable success on this front with the establishment of a new Shabbat service called “Minyan HaTzair”, which has just celebrated its one-year anniversary. Geared towards those in their twenties (the name “Tzair” means “young”), this service has now become a micro-community, hosted and supported by the wider Kinloss community. The secret to its success is simple. It is run and led by the people themselves, providing services, social events and much more – and acting as a magnet for graduates, young professionals and similar to come together, meet people and enjoy the power of Jewish communal life.

Wherever we went on campus, the existence of this minyan was met with enthusiasm and excitement. Jewish communal spaces have never been more significant throughout the diaspora – and we have a duty to create ones that work for the future young leaders of our communities.

I think often about that lone student raising his voice against the views of a hostile lecturer – and the fortitude of the student having to deal with overt antisemitic remarks coming up in conversation. They are heroes for their steadfast refusal to accept these situations as normal. But what fills me with pride is the knowledge that up and down this country, our students are able to do much more than simply respond to these critics with confidence. They are forming proud Jewish communities that demonstrate what Judaism really is and the essential values it stands for. As they do so, let’s give them every bit of support we can.

Rabbi Dr Yoni Birnbaum is senior rabbi of Finchley United Synagogue

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