A dedicated helpline has received more than 150 calls from worried Jewish students since it was set up a day after the Hamas attacks in Israel, a union said.
The Union of Jewish Students (UJS) said calls ranged from reports of antisemitic incidents on campus to people voicing concerns and anxieties about the situation.
Reports included those of verbal abuse, intimidation of students, offensive posters, Jewish students’ accommodation being targeted and even death threats, the union said.
It said that since creating the student welfare hotline on October 8, there had been “over 150 calls from Jewish students” up to Friday, adding that the figure is rising daily.
“Since Hamas’s murderous incursion into Israel, Jewish students have experienced an unprecedented rise in antisemitism on campuses across the UK and Ireland— Edward Isaacs, UJS president
The union said it had also “heard of academics and students’ union officers celebrating, condoning and supporting the terrorist actions of Hamas as a form of ‘liberation’ or ‘resistance’”, while Jewish Society WhatsApp groups “have also been infiltrated and subsequently bombarded” with offensive messages.
UJS president Edward Isaacs said: “Since Hamas’s murderous incursion into Israel, Jewish students have experienced an unprecedented rise in antisemitism on campuses across the UK and Ireland.
“UJS will always lead, defend and enrich Jewish life on campus, ensuring that all Jewish students can live meaningful Jewish lives on campus.”
Last week, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan and universities minister Robert Halfon wrote to vice-chancellors to demand that they “act quickly” against any threats to Jewish students’ safety and welfare.
Universities UK (UUK), which is the collective voice of 142 universities across the UK, said any student or staff member found to be supporting Hamas, which is a proscribed terrorist organisation, “will be in breach of UK law and universities treat this with the utmost seriousness”.
UUK also urged any students facing antisemitism or harassment or discrimination of any kind to inform their university and seek support.
