The number of antisemitic incidents recorded in UK universities has dropped from last year’s record but remains at historically high levels amid Israeli military action in the Middle East, according to a report.
The Community Security Trust (CST), a charity that monitors antisemitism across the UK, received 145 reports of antisemitic incidents involving students and academics during 2024.
While this was down 23 per cent on the 189 incidents recorded in 2023, it was the second-highest level tallied by the organisation, says a report published on 12 February. The 2022 total was just 60.
This comes after student encampments were set up on 36 campuses last summer, calling on institutions to break off investments and partnerships allegedly enabling Israeli military action in Gaza.
Some Jewish students have complained that they faced antisemitic abuse from protesters, while others have warned that the demonstrations “emboldened” such behaviour and “normalised” it.
There are signs of this in the CST report, which notes that antisemitic incidents in higher education were more likely to be “overtly related” to Israel than in society more widely. Sixty-eight per cent of university incidents referenced Israel and the Middle East, compared with 52 per cent overall.
“There are aspects of university life that may be relevant when assessing why the topic of Israel is disproportionately prevalent in the antisemitic incidents observed in these settings. The longstanding tradition of student anti-Israel activism can contribute to an environment in which some individuals react to war in the region with antisemitism: a consequence perhaps driven by the desire to belong to a cause, and the proliferation of simplistic, antagonistic online content around what is a complex and dense subject matter,” the report says.
Of the 145 incidents, six were classified as assault, 10 as damage and desecration, 12 as threats, one as literature, and 116 as abusive behaviour.
Sixty-six took place on campus or another university property, down two on last year, while 79 occurred off-campus, including 65 which happened online, down from 94 in 2023.
A major report on the encampments published by the Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi) last month notes that universities felt that they lacked clear guidance from ministers and, in England, the Office for Students about how to strike an appropriate balance between enabling freedom of speech and preventing hate crimes – including Islamophobic abuse directed towards protesters.
Commenting on the CST report, home secretary Yvette Cooper said that antisemitic incidents remained “unacceptably high”.
“Antisemitic hate must never be tolerated,” she said.