Antisemitism incidents at universities reach record high

Universities saw a near six-fold increase in antisemitic incidents in the first six months of 2024 amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

New figures released by the Community Security Trust, a Jewish charity, show there were 96 reported antisemitic incidents in which the victims or offenders were students or academics, or which involved students’ unions, societies or other representative bodies, compared with 17 in the same period in 2023.

Antisemitic incidents have drastically increased across the country since the 7 October Hamas attacks on Israel and the subsequent military action in Palestine, including record numbers of attacks on synagogues, Jewish businesses and community centres, CST’s report highlights.

It notes that while not all forms of anti-Israel protest are inherently antisemitic, they can become so when used “to harass, threaten and alarm Jewish people or organisations that were singled out because they are Jewish”.

Of the incidents reported at universities, two were classified as assault, five as damage and desecration, eight as threats and 81 as abusive behaviour. Forty-four of them took place on campus or university property, while 52 occurred away from campus, including 45 online incidents.

Seven in 10 (73 per cent) of the incidents reported at universities contained discourse relating to Israel, Palestine and the Middle East – compared with 52 per cent of the incidents not linked to higher education.

The report says that, while there is no single reason for this disparity, several aspects of university life “may be pertinent in assessing why this subject matter is represented disproportionately in the language of university-based antisemitism”.

Universities are often close-knit and insular communities, it adds, where “discourse concerning politics, identity and contemporary affairs are encouraged and facilitated by the university structure itself”.

“Additionally, the long-standing tradition of student anti-Israel activism can contribute to an environment in which some individuals respond to the current war in the Middle East in an antisemitic way.”

That antisemitism has increased in correlation with conflict in the Middle East might also be influenced by a desire to “belong to a cause” as well as the “proliferation of simplistic and antagonistic” online content around the topic of Israel and Gaza, the report says.

Dave Rish, director of policy at CST, said it was “utterly appalling” that antisemitism rose whenever Israel was at war, “yet it happens repeatedly”.

“Political protest is part of university life, but at times these protests are intimidating and disruptive, and Jewish students and staff are particularly affected,” he added.

“Institutions ought to be preparing now for the start of the new academic year to ensure that the level of antisemitism seen in the first half of this year cannot happen again.”

The news comes as the government halted freedom of speech legislation introduced under the Conservative administration following concerns that it would protect those using hate speech and leave minority groups vulnerable to attack.

Supporters of the legislation have, however, argued that these fears have been “misplaced”, claiming instead that the law would promote civilised debate where academics and students could “express their own opinions without fear of intimidation”.

juliette.rowsell@timeshighereducation.com