Campus antisemitic incidents rise again, charity reports

Antisemitic incidents affecting students and staff at UK universities rose during the latest academic year, according to monitoring by the Community Security Trust (CST), a charity that tracks antisemitism in the country.

The CST recorded 95 "university-related" incidents in the 2025-26 academic year, up from 83 in 2024-25. The figures cover abuse, threats, damage and violence directed at Jewish students, academics and university staff members, on campus and online.

The charity applies a specific test when logging such cases. An incident is treated as university-related if it involves a student, member of staff or academic at a UK university acting "in their academic or student capacity" — a definition that sweeps in events in lecture rooms, halls of residence, social spaces and digital platforms used by the university community.

Even so, the charity and the sector's main representative body describe the latest data as deeply worrying. Lucy Powell, education secretary in England, said the findings were "deeply troubling" and said the government expects universities to adopt a zero-tolerance approach to antisemitism. She said training was being provided to help university staff recognise incidents and respond to them swiftly.

The year-on-year increase follows a sharp fall from far higher levels. In 2022-23, the final academic year before the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, the CST logged 53 incidents. That figure surged to 272 in 2023-24, the year in which the war in Gaza began. The following year, reported incidents dropped to 83, before climbing back to 95 in the year under review. The charity said the current level remains "substantially higher" than it was before October 2023, and that a report covering the past two academic years shows incidents declining in 2024-25 and then rising again in 2025-26.

Much of that pattern is tied to the conflicts in the Middle East. The war in Gaza was triggered by Hamas's attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage. Israel responded with a large-scale military offensive on Gaza which, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, has killed around 74,000 people.

The CST's two-year report found that around two-thirds of recorded incidents involved antisemitic language or targeting appearing alongside references to Israel, Gaza, Hamas, the 7 October attack and the subsequent regional conflicts — suggesting that the dispute over the war is, in a significant share of cases, the trigger for hostility towards Jewish individuals rather than the sole subject of the exchange.

The charity is careful to draw a distinction on that point. Its report notes that criticism of Israel and Zionism is not, in itself, antisemitic, while warning that the data show anti-Zionist language is frequently deployed together with hostility aimed at Jews and Jewish organisations. The finding places the burden on universities to police a difficult line between legitimate political expression and harassment, a challenge repeatedly raised by sector representatives.

Abusive behaviour was the most frequently recorded category of incident across both years. The CST categorised this as verbal abuse, including remarks made face to face or posted online, as well as antisemitic graffiti.

Violence and criminality were less common but, the charity stressed, more serious. The report recorded two occurrences of extreme violence in 2024-25 — the first time such incidents had been logged. Across the two years combined there were six reported assaults, eight incidents of damage to or desecration of Jewish property, five of them in student accommodation, and ten threats.

Mark Gardner, the CST's chief executive, said Jewish people remain "very serious" targets of campus antisemitism and described the growing share of incidents involving university staff as particularly troubling. He said universities have a duty to ensure Jewish students and employees can study, work and take part in campus life on equal terms with everyone else.

Raphi Leon, president of the Union of Jewish Students, said the report should serve as "a shot in the arm" for institutions, galvanising action to back Jewish students and confront antisemitism on campus.

Universities UK, which represents more than 140 institutions, echoed the concern. Its chief executive, Vivienne Stern, said the rise in antisemitic incidents across the UK, including on campuses, was a serious concern, and that universities have a responsibility to protect Jewish students and staff from abuse. She said institutions also need to make clear to students and staff where the expression of a firmly held opinion tips over into antisemitism and harassment.

Stern said UUK has worked with groups including the CST to produce guidance for universities, but acknowledged there was "more to do" — particularly in building confidence that disciplinary processes actually work when complaints are made.

That last point is likely to shape the coming debate. The CST figures count reported incidents, meaning they reflect both what happens on campuses and how willing students and staff are to come forward. A rising number alongside low confidence in sanctions could point to a system that is not yet deterring abuse, even as universities publicly commit to a zero-tolerance stance. With the 2026-27 year under way, the charity's next report will indicate whether the increase to 95 marks a further escalation or a return to the elevated levels seen after October 2023.