Jewish students fear climate of antisemitism on campus stoked by Israel-Hamas war

By Lianne Kolirin, CNN

(CNN) — Up and down the United Kingdom, parents have been packing their cars with bedding, crockery and much more as they hold back the tears and drive their children to university.

But the usual concerns about how they will fend for themselves have taken on an added dimension for some.

As a new academic year begins, many Jewish students and their families are apprehensive about a worsening climate of antisemitism on British campuses after Hamas’ October 7 attacks on Israel last year, which triggered the ongoing war in Gaza.

The latest report from the Community Security Trust (CST), a charity that protects the UK Jewish community, revealed a 465% increase in reported antisemitic incidents in higher-education settings in the first six months of this year compared with the same period in 2023.

In total, 96 university-related incidents were reported to the CST, compared with 17 in 2023. There were reports of assaults, threats, damage or desecration and abusive behavior, both in person and online.

One mother, whose son has just begun his studies in Leeds, northern England, and who asked not to be identified, told CNN: “My son was so excited to be starting this new chapter but it was such a shame this excitement was tainted with a fear of being judged for being Jewish: He felt it might be harder to make friends as people would think all Jews are Zionist and all Zionists are evil.”

Another mother, who also asked to remain anonymous and did not want to identify the university concerned, said: “We’ve told our daughter not to wear any jewelry that shows her Jewish identity because we don’t believe it’s safe for her to do so.”

That would not have “crossed our minds before October 7,” she added. “So many people are now so unashamedly vocal and confident in expressing their antisemitism that it fills us with the deepest fear that our child could be exposed to this on campus without our protection.”

These are not merely over-anxious parents. In February, the University of Leeds’ Hillel House – the center for Jewish life on campus – was daubed with antisemitic graffiti. In a separate incident, the Jewish chaplain there was targeted with death threats after it emerged that he was an IDF reservist.

Gil, 21, who graduated from the University of Leeds this summer and asked CNN not to use his full name, said he had been part of a grassroots organization called “The Table,” set up by Jewish students after October 7 to promote Jewish identity on campus.

“The idea was that all you need to defend against antisemitism is a table and a couple of Jewish students willing to have a conversation,” he explained.

There were “positive conversations,” said Gil, but on one occasion the table was vandalized. Nevertheless, he and his peers continued to present a Jewish front on campus, despite growing anti-Israel demonstrations.

“The things being said transitioned from an anti-Zionist agenda to antisemitic comments,” he said, giving one example of Zionists being compared to “judenrats” – councils of Jews appointed by the Nazis to implement their antisemitic agenda.

Gil said the defacing of Hillel House was the “biggest shock,” as well as the abuse leveled at the chaplain, who has since stepped down.

“It was a very difficult time and a lot of Jewish students started to become scared. People weren’t wearing their magen david (Star of David) on campus or going to campus as often.”

A University of Leeds spokesperson said in a statement to CNN that it recognizes “the specific concerns our Jewish and Muslim students have,” adding the “safety and wellbeing of all our students remains our priority.”

“As a university, we’re committed to supporting free speech within the law, which means tolerating a wide range of views while respecting the rights of others,” the spokesperson said.

“Antisemitism, Islamophobia, abuse, or harassment of any kind is not acceptable. The university does not support any views or actions which seek to exclude or make Jewish, Muslim or any other people unwelcome on campus.”

Universities have long been a “crucible for different types of politics, including extremist politics,” with people from different backgrounds “coming together in a close-knit community,” according to Dave Rich, CST’s director of policy.

Rich described the uptick in antisemitism as “entirely predictable,” as the organization’s data, collected over the last four decades, shows antisemitism rises when trouble flares in Israel. Yet the last year has been “much worse” than ever before, he said.

“Some of this comes from ignorance and some comes from more hardline extremist groups. It only ever involves a minority of students, but the problem is it can affect the atmosphere for everybody.”

He said pro-Palestinian encampments on UK campuses were smaller than in the United States and largely peaceful, though often accompanied by “very noisy protests and banners and chanting about genocide” which many Jewish students find unsettling.

“Most students aren’t involved in this and there’s always a balance to be struck between the right to protest and free speech and the right of everyone else to go about their daily lives without disruption,” he said.

Rabbi Michael Rosenfeld, Jewish chaplain at Oxford University until this summer, told CNN the atmosphere on campus had been “pretty horrendous” throughout the last academic year.

The level of antisemitism was “unprecedented – quantitatively and qualitatively,” he said, adding: “I’d never experienced anything like it in my 10 years at Oxford.

“For me, one of the things that was most difficult and would have been unfathomable before October 7, were the calls for intifada (uprising). It was extremist language that became almost normalized overnight.”

‘We are very worried’

Britain is not the only European country experiencing these tensions on campus and on the streets.

“Jewish students had a terrible year last year,” Emma Hallali, president of the European Union of Jewish Students (EUJS), an umbrella organization representing 160,000 young people in 36 different countries, told CNN.

She said the situation has been particularly bad in Western European countries including France, Germany and the Netherlands.

In France, where religion is generally kept separate from academic settings, a government study published in June noted a steep increase in antisemitic acts on campuses since October 7, with 67 instances recorded – twice as many as were registered in the 2022-2023 academic year. The real figure was likely higher, the report noted.

Reports to EUJS have included many cases of harassment – both verbal and physical – Hallali said, and it has recently been informed of a particularly unsettling potential development.

“We have some information about student organizations on campus planning to celebrate the one-year anniversary of October 7,” she said. “It’s very problematic because the universities are not planning on doing anything as of now. So, we are pushing (for action) and our national unions will be ready to react, but we are very worried.”

The antisemitism experienced on university campuses has been mirrored too by rising incidents in wider society.

“Jewish students ask themselves a painful question every day: whether there’s still a future for Jewish life on European campuses and whether there’s still a future for Jewish life in Europe,” said Hallali.

Comparative literature student Emilia Kartovaara told CNN she feels “unwelcome” at the university where she’s studying in Helsinki, Finland, following several episodes she felt were antisemitic in nature, including a confrontation with encampment demonstrators who “openly admitted to supporting Hamas and Hezbollah.”

In common with other students who CNN spoke with, Kartovaara said complaints to the university authorities have made little difference.

“When contacted about their responsibility to provide a safe environment for Jewish students and faculty, the university administration said we could use an ‘alternative entrance,’” she said. “Jewish students were basically told to use a back door.”

Markus Laitinen, head of development at the University of Helsinki, told CNN that in response to “concerned feedback from the university community members as well as general public,” the university had asked for help from the police to clear the encampment in June, and that it had not returned. The university is “determined to be a safe place for its community and visitors, whilst respecting the constitutional rights of freedom of expression and assembly,” he added.

Laitinen said the suggestion that students use alternative entrances in order to avoid the encampment “was not in reference to representatives of any particular faith” and that the university cannot by law keep a record of students’ religious beliefs. “Again, campus safety is of utmost concern to us, and this applies to everyone.”

Mental health impact

Bleak as the situation appears, Rosenfeld is keen to point out a silver lining – Jewish students strengthening their own ties.

“The community of Jewish students in Oxford has never been stronger and it’s a really vibrant place to be,” he said.

Sami Berkoff, president of the UK Union of Jewish Students (UJS), said the pattern has been replicated across the country, with her organization having boosted its membership by 2,000 students this year.

“It’s really a want for a ‘Jewish space’ where you feel at home, where you feel seen and heard and you’re talking to people with shared experiences,” said Berkoff.

“It’s a kind of breather where you aren’t having to discuss the conflict if you don’t want to.”

A “hotline” set up by the UJS to support students during the Israel-Hamas war has been inundated with calls, Berkoff added, with many students saying their mental health has been affected. UJS has had more than 1,000 calls to the hotline since it was set up on October 8 last year.

Last week, Berkoff and other Jewish students met with the UK’s newly appointed solicitor general, Sarah Sackman, who won a seat in Parliament in July, and shared their feelings about antisemitism on campus and perceived inaction from the authorities.

According to a news release from the Union of Jewish Students, Sackman told the students the government was “actively considering” how best to tackle support for groups like Hamas on campus and beyond.

“I’m confident we’ll see changes and we’re seeing the need for changes from universities,” said Berkoff, adding that UJS is running antisemitism awareness training for thousands of university employees, student bodies and societies.

“The ultimate goal is to make sure Jewish student life isn’t just surviving and plodding along, but really thriving on campus. You can wear a kippah on campus, you can wear a Star of David and you can be proud to do that.”

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