The past few weeks have seen the unleashing of naked Jew hatred across Britain and much of the world. For those with eyes to see it, this antisemitism has been festering under the surface — but clearly growing and mutating — in recent years.

Despite an inexorable rise in incidents, however, there has been a complacency among the authorities and those who have felt the right course of action has been to play it down. Now we see how wrong they were.

Even for those who have understood the problem, it did not feel like the raw, immediate threat that is now so widespread. It is shocking that the reaction of many to the worst atrocity against Jews since the Shoah has been to attack Jews, but that is what we have to face up to.

Sudden incidents of antisemitism have emerged in all sorts of places, from schools to the streets. But the hatred that is now being directed against Jews on campus is a case in point.

Among academics, the supposedly progressive ideology that has taken hold over recent decades is now finding its logical expression in the idea that Jews are to blame for the murder of Jews.

But there is a still more vicious hatred that is being acted out by students, with a combination of mass gatherings and individual attacks designed to intimidate Jews.

In response, almost all universities have been worse than useless, with some actually siding with the antisemites’ so-called right to protest.

This is a deeply troubling time, and it is difficult to see where or how the situation can be improved without firm action.

Many of those in positions of power in academia are themselves the problem. Tackling this is the work of a generation, but it has to start now. We cannot lose hope.