Antisemitism has become normalized on British campuses, with one in five students saying he would be reluctant to or refuse to share a house with a Jewish student, a report published on Monday found.
The Union of Jewish Students of the United Kingdom and Ireland, the group behind the “Time for Change” report, called on government, regulators, police and university leaders to take immediate action against the rise of antisemitism in institutions of higher education, “to restore Jewish students’ confidence.”
The report was prepared by JL Partners, which surveyed 1,000 students from Jan. 26 to Feb. 4.
Nearly 25% of students have witnessed behavior that targets Jewish students for their religion or ethnicity, and a little less than half have witnessed incidents where terrorist groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah were glorified, the survey found.
Additionally, 47% of students heard justifications of the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel, rising to 77% among those who encounter Israel-Palestine protests regularly.
Of those polled, 69% said that they disapprove of protests that disrupt their learning.
The paper, co-supported by Baroness Luciana Berger and Lord Daniel Finkelstein, also contains testimonies from Jewish students who report strained friendships, social boycott, harassment, intimidation and even physical assault.
“This report demonstrates that antisemitism on campus is not isolated, but normalized. No Jewish student should have to face social ostracization, abusive language or physical violence. There is a right to protest, but not to harass,” Union of Jewish Students President Louis Danker was quoted as saying.
Berger wrote in the report, “Jewish students continue to be attacked at the hands of the same people, year after year after year. What will British campuses feel like for Jewish students when my own children, now aged just six and eight, reach university age?”
The Union of Jewish Students has represented Jewish students across the U.K. and Ireland for over a century, supporting more than 10,000 Jewish students across 80 Jewish societies.
