Incidents of ‘extreme violence’ against Jews at university reported by CST for first time

A picture of the student's door in Cardiff showing the full daubing, written in what appears to be blood (Credit: CST)[Missing Credit]

CST defines ‘Extreme Violence’ as an attack that is life-threatening or potentially capable of causing loss of life or grievous bodily harm. The two cases occurred on campuses in Edinburgh and Leeds.

Incidents include messages in student group chats stating that the “best way to get rid of rats is the same way you get rid of Joos” [sic]; a message identifying Zionist students and threatening to run them over with a car; the destruction of an exhibition display commemorating Holocaust Memorial Day; and the words “Jude” and “die”, separated by a Star of David, scrawled in what appeared to be blood on the door of a Jewish student’s accommodation.

Across the two academic years covered by the report, CST recorded 178 university-related antisemitic incidents, compared to 272 incidents during the 2023/24 academic year, following October 7.

The overwhelming majority of incidents in the two years covered by the report – 149, or 84 per cent – were categorised as ‘Abusive Behaviour’.

There were also six incidents of assault, eight involving damage or desecration of Jewish property (five of which took place in student accommodation), 10 direct threats and three involving mass-produced antisemitic literature.

Of the 178 incidents, 111 occurred offline and 67 online. Instagram was the most commonly used platform for online incidents, followed by X and other messaging platforms.

Jewish body advertises a Friday night dinner on Instagram, on which someone commented: 'so if I have this app I can hunt Jews better' (Credit: CST)[Missing Credit]

The report also highlights concerns about university staff.

Staff were identified as responsible for 16 incidents – nine per cent of the total – including seven incidents that occurred in classroom settings.

References to Hitler, the Nazis, the Holocaust or Holocaust imagery or comparisons appeared in 26 per cent of total incidents.

The proportion was considerably higher among incidents attributed to university staff: 56 per cent referred to Hitler, the Nazis or the Holocaust, with 38 per cent of those explicitly comparing Israel with Nazi Germany.

University confessions page on Instagram, accusing the Jewish society of being a 'secretive cult' (Credit: CST)[Missing Credit]

Students were the largest identifiable perpetrator group, responsible for 61 incidents. A further 28 incidents were attributed to student societies or society representatives.

Jewish students accounted for most of the victims recorded by CST. There were also 23 incidents targeting Jewish campus organisations or representatives, including the Union of Jewish Students and university Jewish chaplaincy bodies.

The report found that 62 per cent of university-related antisemitic incidents contained references to Israel, Gaza, Hamas, October 7 or the Gaza war.

Freshers' WhatsApp group in which someone identified a student who was a Zionist and said they would run them over with a car (Credit: CST)[Missing Credit]

CST classifies an incident as university-related where it concerns a student, member of staff or academic at a UK university in their academic or student capacity. This includes incidents occurring on campus, incidents away from campus where the victim's university status is relevant, online incidents involving university students, staff or academics, and antisemitism directed at Jewish organisations focused on university campuses.

Education Secretary Lucy Powell said the report’s findings were “deeply troubling”.

She said: “No student should have to choose between expressing their identity and feeling safe on campus, yet for too many Jewish students that remains a reality. We expect universities to take a zero-tolerance approach to antisemitism, and are providing training to help university staff identify and respond to incidents swiftly.”

Shadow Education Secretary Laura Trott said: “Antisemitism is becoming frighteningly endemic in our universities… How we respond to these incidents is a test of us as a society, and some universities are simply not doing enough to crack down on them. While I welcome the review of antisemitism in our schools commissioned by the government, we need the same level of scrutiny for our universities. I wrote to the previous Education Secretary urging the Office for Students to set firm deadlines for tackling incidents, with penalties for universities that fail to act. There must be consequences for this vile behaviour.”

CST Chief Executive Mark Gardner said: “These figures show that Jews are still facing a very serious campus antisemitism problem. “Figures have fallen from their post 7 October 2023 peak but are still far higher than before that dreadful day.

"It is particularly troubling that a growing proportion of the anti-Jewish actions involve university staff, who carry authority and make victims feel especially vulnerable. Universities have a duty to ensure that Jewish students and staff can study, work and participate on campus the same as anyone else.

"Sympathy is not enough, it needs action against those who abuse, threaten or target Jews, whether they are students, staff or external activists.”

President of UJS, Raphi Leon, said: “This report must be a shot in the arm to boost action to support Jewish students and tackle antisemitism. Jewish students, like all students, should have the freedom and confidence to live proud Jewish lives, without fear of hatred, racism or violence. Alongside UJS' Time for Change report, CST's findings paint a clear picture of normalised antisemitism, with this hatred perpetuated by extremism on campus and in wider society.”