Jewish teenagers are concealing their identity at school because they fear being targeted by antisemitic classmates, a volunteer group supporting Jewish families has warned.
Parents Against Antisemitism (PAA) has received more than 110 submissions describing alleged Jew-hate and intolerance in British schools since it was established at the beginning of 2026.
The volunteer-led organisation says the reports could affect hundreds of children, ranging from nursery pupils to sixth-formers.
One case involved a 15-year-old Jewish girl who told classmates that she was Turkish because she was frightened of revealing her identity. She would return home and cry, telling her parents she wish she was not born Jewish.
Her parents had already removed her previous schools and felt they could not move her again, particularly because the latest school had otherwise suited her.
“That almost broke my heart the most,” PAA volunteer and mother-of-three Sasha Hopmann told the JC. “Are we really a free and tolerant society if a 15-year-old girl lies about who she is and comes home and cries? It is awful.”
In another case reported to the group, a Jewish boy was made to sit his A-levels in isolation because of fears about allowing him to sit alongside his peers.
Hopmann described antisemitism as an "epidemic.”
She said the problem was not confined to schools attended by Jewish children, and in some cases PAA has had reports of antisemitic conspiracy theories circulating in classrooms where there are not any single Jewish pupils.
“We are not just protecting Jewish children; we need to protect society at large,” she said.
Hopmann said her own daughters attended non-Jewish schools with only a small number of Jewish pupils. They have overheard classmates calling Jewish “baby killers” and expressing others views that showed how anti-Jewish ideas were “contaminating” young people.
The reports received by PAA include allegations of physical and verbal abuse, the scapegoating of Jewish pupils and teachers, Nazi-era tropes and the politicisation of classrooms.
One of its founders, who asked not to be named, said the group was formed by “a small group of parents” alarmed by the direction in which antisemitism in schools appeared to be heading.
The parents launched an anonymous reporting tool and passed information to the government commissioned review led by Sir David Bell. Families who go to PAA identify their local authority and the type of educational setting involved without naming the school.
“We wanted to understand the scale of the problem,” the founder said. “We were astounded by what came back across the board, from nursery to sixth form.”
The group is sharing data with the Community Security Trust (CST).
Among the incidents reported to PAA were young children covering their ears when a teacher announced that the class would be learning about Judaism, and pupils questioning why they should listen to a Holocaust survivor because, they claimed, the Holocaust had been fabricated or because of Gaza.
The group was also told of children mocking a recent stabbing in Golders Green.
Jewish pupils at mainstream schools could face overt harassment, bullying, abuse or more subtle exclusion, Hopmann said, while Jewish schools encountered a different threat, including abuse directed at pupils travelling on school buses or at sporting fixtures with non-Jewish schools.
Hopmann said some Jewish parents and pupils did not report incidents because they feared their experiences would not be considered serious enough.
“Sometimes it is a case of having someone listen to them and empathise with what their family has experienced,” the group’s founder said.
Depending on the incident and the wishes of the family or child, the organisation may help parents approach a headteacher, a designated safeguarding lead or another member of staff.
“We support parents feel less isolated,” Hopmann explained.
But sometimes this will mean not approaching the school.
“You don't want to prejudice your child standing in a school, and [you don’t want to] escalate it to a point of no return,” she said.
So while the group can help with legal support, Hopmann stressed such action was a last resort.
“You walk a very fine line when a child has experienced antisemitism,” she said. “Does the victim want to remain in the school? What is the child or the family willing to do?”
School leaders too often ignored complaints, offered excuses or “kicked the can down the road”. But when PAA has written to schools on behalf of parents, in some instances the institution has conceded that a complaint had been mishandled.
Hopmann said she had heard of remarkably few pupils being suspended for antisemitic conduct.
“Sometimes when it comes to antisemitism, it can be difficult to get schools to realise this is a real problem.
“Schools are so reluctant to use the measures at their disposal. They end up managing the child who has been harassed rather than dealing with the perpetrators.”
Schools have statutory safeguarding obligations, as well as duties relating to political impartiality and protection from discrimination under the Equality Act.
Political bias can sometimes emerge through classroom teaching and school fundraising, Hopmann explained. At one of her daughters’ schools, parents were assured that the institution was politically impartial, only for it to hold a Gaza fundraiser six months after October 7.
To learn more about PAA or report an incident, go to: https://parentsagainstantisemitism.org.uk/
To get more news, click here to sign up for our free daily newsletter.