Antisemitism on the rise at universities, charity warns

Title: Antisemitism on the rise at universities, charity warns

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Published Time: 2026-09-30T00:36:22.860Z

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Antisemitism on the rise at universities, charity warns

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Hazel Shearing Education correspondent

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Cases of antisemitism affecting university students and staff in the UK increased in the last academic year, according to a charity that monitors antisemitic incidents.

The Community Security Trust (CST) said it had recorded 95 "university-related" incidents in the 2025-26 academic year – up from 83 the year before.

It said the number had fallen from its peak in the year after Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October 2023 and the war in Gaza began, but remains "substantially higher" than before that point.

Universities UK (UUK) represents more than 140 institutions and said its members needed to "protect Jewish students and staff", adding that the findings were a "serious concern".

Lucy Powell, education secretary in England, said the findings in the CST report were "deeply troubling".

"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," she said.

The CST defines an antisemitic incident as "university-related" if it concerns a student, member of staff or academic at a UK university "in their academic or student capacity" – including on campus and online.

In 2022-23, the last academic year before the 7 October attack, the CST recorded 53 incidents. That grew to 272 in 2023-24.

A report from the charity examining the past two academic years says reported incidents fell in 2024-25 and but grew again in 2025-26.

The most common type of incident recorded by CST over both years was abusive behaviour, including verbal abuse, comments made in person or online and antisemitic graffiti.

Its report said that, for the first time, there were two occurrences of extreme violence in 2024-25.

It said there were six reported assaults across both years, eight incidents of damage and desecration to Jewish property – five of which were in student accommodation – and ten threats.

Around two-thirds of reported incidents involved antisemitic language or targeting alongside references to Israel, Gaza, Hamas, the 7 October attack, and the subsequent conflicts in the Middle East.

The war in Gaza was triggered by the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others taken hostage.

Israel launched a mass military offensive on Gaza in response which has killed around 74,000 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

The CST report said: "While criticism of Israel and Zionism is not inherently antisemitic, the data in this report continue to demonstrate that anti-Zionist language is frequently deployed in conjunction with hostility towards Jews and Jewish organisations."

Mark Gardner, CST's chief executive, said "Jews are still facing a very serious campus antisemitism problem" and it was "particularly troubling that a growing proportion of the anti-Jewish actions involve university staff".

He added that universities had "a duty to ensure that Jewish students and staff can study, work and participate on campus the same as anyone else".

Raphi Leon, president of the Union of Jewish Students, said the report "must be a shot in the arm to boost action to support Jewish students and tackle antisemitism".

Vivienne Stern, chief executive of UUK, said: "The rise in antisemitic incidents in the UK, including on university campuses, is a serious concern.

"Universities have a responsibility to protect Jewish students and staff from abuse, and to ensure that students and staff clearly understand where the expression of a strongly held view becomes antisemitism and harassment."

She said UUK had worked with organisations including the CST on guidance for universities, but added there was "more to do, particularly in building confidence in the effectiveness of disciplinary processes".

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[Israel-Gaza war](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/c2vdnvdg6xxt)

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