Antisemitism on the rise at universities, charity warns

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.

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