Jewish Students Are Still Being Targeted on UK Campuses

Jewish students are still being targeted on UK campuses, and yet universities are not doing nearly enough to protect them. 

University is meant to be a time of growth, newfound independence, and community. But for many Jewish students across the UK, it’s become a time of fear and isolation. Since October 7 2023, antisemitism has surged across UK campuses, replacing open dialogue with hostility and intimidation. According to data from the Community Security Trust (CST), antisemitism on campuses in the UK has increased by 117% since 2023, with an “unprecedented number of complaints” regarding strong anti-Zionist language and implicit support for terrorism.

While universities have publicly pledged to protect students of all ethnicities, faiths and backgrounds, many Jewish students feel those promises have fallen short. Some institutions have adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism, which helps identify when anti-Israel sentiment crosses the line into discrimination, yet have failed to enforce it when it matters most. Events platforming extremist or inflammatory views are approved, complaints are dismissed, and students are left to navigate threats and harassment alone.

At King’s College London (KCL), the KCL Students for Justice in Palestine recently advertised an event titled ‘Slaves of Memory: Zionism, Education and the Politics of Victimhood’ featured disgraced academic Ilan Pappe, known for spreading falsehoods about zionism and delegitimising the Jewish state. The film being shown at the event also claims that Israel exploits Holocaust commemoration and that Zionism promotes “narratives of eternal victimhood”. These claims align with examples of antisemitism outlined in the IHRA working definition, including accusing Jews of exploiting the Holocaust for political gain, promoting narratives that deny the Jewish right to self-determination, and minimising Jewish historical trauma.

Events like this aren’t taking place in a vacuum. They result in Jewish students across the country feeling singled out, interrogated and ostracised. One university where this is prevalent is Royal Holloway University in London. On the one-year anniversary of the October 7 massacre, a bomb threat was directed at a Royal Holloway Jewish Society (JSoc) event. The incident was reported to the university, but students say the university failed to properly investigate the threat or provide reassurance. Instead of stepping in to protect those targeted, the university’s inaction left JSoc members to manage the fallout alone. Allowing threats of violence to pass without meaningful response not only endangers Jewish students, it sends a clear and dangerous message that their safety is not a priority.

This threat wasn’t an isolated incident. On the 20th March, Royal Holloway hosted an approved lecture by sociologist Martin Shaw, who has been criticised for Holocaust inversion after suggesting that the term “genocide” could be applied to Israeli actions, and being one of the first scholars to describe Israel’s retaliation of the October 7 massacre as genocidal. For many Jewish students, this timing and framing of the event felt provocative, especially without any balancing perspectives. Sienna-Faye, a Jewish student and committee member of the JSoc, raised her concerns to the university regarding this event but was told that the event wouldn’t affect Jewish students as attendence wasn’t compulsory, implying that the problem was her sensitivity rather than the fact that other students were being exposed to biased and inflammatory ideas without any balance. Platforming an individual like Martin Shaw can radicalise the students attending the event and further fuel hostility and hatred.

The recent experiences of student leader Sienna-Faye epitomise the growing culture of toxic activism taking hold on campus. Classmates provoked her after discovering she was Jewish, including telling her the Nova festival victims “had it coming” and that violence was the only solution. Other students voiced support for Hamas and reduced her identity to antisemitic stereotypes, saying she was befriended for “Hollywood connections.”

Despite raising these issues to university staff, including her tutor and the Executive Director of Student Journey, Sienna-Faye’s concerns were dismissed. Instead of addressing normalised antisemitism and support for terrorist organisations, she was offered a mediation session with the students who harassed her, risking further isolation. 

This was not a neutral conflict to be ‘talked out’, but a case involving individuals who expressed support for Hamas, a proscribed terrorist group in the UK, and whose support is an illegal offence under the Terrorism Act 2000. Asking a Jewish student to mediate with such individuals diminishes serious discrimination and terror support to a personal disagreement, placing the burden of resolution on the victim. Sienna-Faye was left feeling unsafe and unsupported, while those responsible for the harassment faced no consequences. 

These incidents aren’t anomalies; they are part of a growing pattern. Across the country, Jewish students are being harassed, excluded, and ignored, often under the guise of social justice activism or academic debate. There is a concern amongst Jewish student communities that universities are complicit in Jewish students’ unsafety through silence, platforming inflammatory views, and dismissing student concerns. 

While many universities, including Royal Holloway, have formally adopted the IHRA definition of antisemitism, few have used it to guide their policies. Endorsing a definition means little if it is not backed by action. Complaints are too often met with vague reassurances rather than real consequences, and students are ultimately left feeling unsafe in environments where those who glorify terrorism face no accountability. 

Universities are meant to be spaces for intellectual growth and community, but when antisemitism is normalised or excused, and when institutions fail to act decisively, they cease to be safe spaces for all. Universities urgently need to change how they deal with reports of antisemitism and take accountability for their duty of care towards students. Students explicitly supporting terror organisations and propagating hate-speech should face serious consequences, and external speakers should be thoroughly assessed to prevent fueling dangerous rhetoric.