The Community Security Trust (CST) has recorded incidents of “extreme violence” against Jews at British universities for the first time, as the number of university-related antisemitic incidents increased by 14 per cent during the 2025/26 academic year.

CST recorded 95 university-related antisemitic incidents in 2025/26, compared with 83 in 2024/25. The latest figure is 79 per cent higher than the 53 incidents recorded in 2022/23, the last full academic year before 7 October 2023.

Its report, Campus Antisemitism in Britain 2024–2026, also identifies two incidents classified as “Extreme Violence” during 2024/25, involving attacks on university campuses in Edinburgh and Leeds. CST defines the category as an attack that is life-threatening or potentially capable of causing loss of life or grievous bodily harm.

The incidents recorded by CST included messages in student group chats stating that the “best way to get rid of rats is the same way you get rid of Joos”; a message identifying Zionist students and threatening to run them over with a car; the destruction of an exhibition commemorating Holocaust Memorial Day; and antisemitic graffiti on the door of a Jewish student’s accommodation in Cardiff. The words “Jude” and “die”, separated by a Star of David, were written in what appeared to be blood.

Across the two academic years covered by the report, CST recorded 178 university-related antisemitic incidents. This compares with 272 incidents recorded during the 2023/24 academic year, following 7 October 2023. CST said that, although incidents have declined from the post-7 October peak, there is a “baseline level of antisemitism that is significantly higher” than before 7 October 2023.

The overwhelming majority of incidents, 149 or 84 per cent, were categorised as “Abusive Behaviour”. The report also records six assaults, eight incidents involving damage or desecration of Jewish property, 10 direct threats and three involving mass-produced antisemitic literature.

Of the 178 incidents, 111 occurred offline and 67 online. Instagram was the most frequently used platform for online incidents, followed by X and other messaging platforms.

The report also highlights incidents involving university staff. Staff were identified as responsible for 16 incidents, representing 9 per cent of the total, including seven incidents that occurred in classroom settings.

References to Hitler, the Nazis, the Holocaust or Holocaust imagery or comparisons appeared in 26 per cent of all incidents. Among incidents attributed to university staff, the proportion was 56 per cent, with 38 per cent of those explicitly comparing Israel with Nazi Germany.

Students were the largest identifiable perpetrator group, responsible for 61 incidents, while a further 28 incidents were attributed to student societies or society representatives. Jewish students accounted for most of the victims recorded by CST. A further 23 incidents targeted Jewish campus organisations or representatives, including the Union of Jewish Students and university Jewish chaplaincy bodies.

The report found that 62 per cent of university-related antisemitic incidents contained references to Israel, Gaza, Hamas, 7 October or the war in Gaza.

Education Secretary Lucy Powell described the findings as “deeply troubling”, saying that no student should have to choose between expressing their identity and feeling safe on campus. She said the government expected universities to take a zero-tolerance approach to antisemitism and was providing training to help university staff identify and respond to incidents.

Shadow Education Secretary Laura Trott said antisemitism was becoming “frighteningly endemic” in universities and called for greater scrutiny and stronger consequences for institutions that failed to address antisemitic incidents.

CST Chief Executive Mark Gardner said the figures showed that Jewish students and staff continued to face a serious problem with antisemitism on campus. He noted that the figures remained considerably higher than before 7 October 2023 and expressed particular concern about incidents involving university staff, given their positions of authority.

President of the Union of Jewish Students, Raphi Leon, said the report should strengthen efforts to support Jewish students and address antisemitism, stressing that Jewish students should be able to live openly and participate in university life without fear of hatred, racism or violence.

CST defines a university-related incident as one involving a student, member of staff or academic at a UK university in their academic or student capacity. This includes incidents occurring on campus, incidents away from campus where the victim’s university status is relevant, online incidents involving university students, staff or academics, and antisemitism directed at Jewish organisations focused on university campuses.