Campus antisemitism has risen by 250 per cent in London and 22 per cent nationwide over the past two years, according to an alarming new report by the Community Security Trust (CST).  

Disturbing examples cited by the CST included a February 2022 incident in which youths shouted “f**king Jews” at a group of students before attacking one of them with a bat.   

The CST found online spaces found to be “especially hostile” and highlighted one incident in which a Jewish student’s face was edited onto an image of a guillotine. Another student received anonymous phone calls from a person stating they wanted to “shoot all your family… I hate the Jews”.  

The worst period of hate was during the May 2021 Israel-Hamas war, which saw almost a years’ worth of incidents in a single month. Three quarters of the incidents reported to the CST in that period occurred on social media or messaging apps.

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A student was sent this image of their face edited onto a guillotine (Screenshot via CST)

The CST recorded 150 university-related instances of antisemitism across UK campuses in the last two academic years, which marks a sharp increase on the 123 incidents from 2018 to 2020. In London, incidents more than doubled from 12 to 30.

UCL saw the highest number of incidents of any London university, and in response to the figures, Professor Kathy Armour, UCL’s Vice-Provost (Education & Student Experience) said: “We thoroughly condemn racism and prejudice in all its forms, and are deeply concerned and saddened by the reports of antisemitism, highlighted by the CST.

“As part of our ongoing commitment to raise awareness and understanding of antisemitism within our community, as well as combat it, we have recently appointed a dedicated Antisemitism Programme Manager.

“We encourage all members of our community to report any concerns or incidents of racism, including all forms of antisemitism, to UCL’s Report + Support tool, which can be done anonymously. Staff, students and members of the public can also report an incident through our formal complaints process. We will take firm action against anyone who is found to have carried out any form of discrimination."

Other shocking examples cited in the report included incidents in May 2021 a student received anonymous phone calls from a person stating they want to “shoot all your family... I hate the Jews”, and an antisemitic window display in December 2021 in a popular student area near Bristol University. In that last case, the student was called “Nazi boy” and was repeatedly verbally abused by a resident of the property when walking to campus. 

University staff were recorded as perpetrators of five incidents in the last two years, and the report details the cases of David Miller of Bristol University, Dr Abusalama who has recently been fired by Sheffield Hallam University, Dr Muir Houston of Glasgow University, and Professor Raymond Bush of the University of Leeds. 

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A Jewish student in Bristol endured antisemitic abuse after questioning this window display that read “bloody Israelis hands off Palestine” and “National Zionism=Nazism” (Image via CST)

In each of those cases, the academics referred to a “Zionist lobby” or the supposed influence of Israel on British Jews, and many of the comments made were in the context of the Israel/Palestine conflict. 

The report warns that students may be reticent to make complaints about staff due to the power imbalance and fears of their grades being affected. In its list of recommendations, it calls on universities to ensure that complaints processes are completely independent, “otherwise there is a risk that the investigation will not be objective, or will not inspire confidence that it is truly impartial.” 

It also calls on universities to speed up the time it takes to progress complaints, of which Jewish students have spoken of their “frustration”. The JC revealed in August that a complaint about David Miller at Bristol University took three years to be addressed, for which the student was awarded an apology and financial compensation after appealing to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator. 

Another area of concern for the CST is that the IHRA definition of antisemitism “is not always being applied accurately, proportionately and effectively, and as a consequence some investigators are failing to recognise antisemitic language.” It says that universities should institute training for staff to ensure that they understand the definition and have a “wider understanding of the nature, language and impact of antisemitism on British campuses.” 

The CST’s latest reports comes in the wake of Rebecca Tuck KC’s damning report into antisemitism at the National Union of Students, branding it a “hostile environment” for Jewish students. 

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A sign at the University of East Anglia was defaced with the phrase "F*** the Jew world order" (Image via CST)

CST Chief Executive Mark Gardner said: “Antisemitism at our universities has been a running sore for decades and these new findings show that far too many Jewish students suffer hatred and bias. This study also reinforces last week’s National Union of Students’ own report into antisemitism, including the link between antiIsrael hatred and racist treatment of British Jews.

"Students’ Unions and university authorities need to better support their Jewish students, taking concerns seriously and acting against antisemitism, whether it comes from students or academics.” 

Union of Jewish Students President Joel Rosen said: “Jewish students living away from home for the first time have the right to be who they are and to feel safe where they live and study. These incidents have a detrimental impact on the community, leading some to hide their identity and disengage from parts of university life.

"Jewish students are resilient and won’t let themselves be defined by the prejudice of others. In spite of the odds, Jewish life on campus continues. Our answer to those who would uproot our thriving student communities is to ensure that they continue to grow and flourish.”

And Sophie Dunoff, CEO of University Jewish Chaplaincy, an organisation supporting Jewish students on campuses across the UK, described the findings as "stark and shameful but come as no surprise."

She added: “The Chaplains’ monthly campus reports include the number of students they have supported to deal with antisemitism, tallying with the appalling CST findings.

"We are appalled and troubled that students face antisemitism from their peers and academics alike and will continue to work with the CST, UJS, universities and students across the UK in the hope that together we can help stamp out anti-Jewish hatred on our campuses.

"It is our hope that the CST recommendations will be quickly adopted by universities and that they will implement measures to improve the way they support Jewish students on campus as a matter of great urgency.”

READ MORE: I am constantly amazed by the bravery of Jewish students - Joel Rosen