Antisemitic incidents hit record levels in UK schools, according to 'distressing reports'

Antisemitism in British schools has reached record levels since the Hamas Oct. 7, 2023, massacre, according to an investigation by The Telegraph. A total of 4,298 antisemitic incidents were reported in 2023. Although the figure dropped to 3,556 in 2024, it rose again in 2025, increasing by 4% to 3,700 reported cases.

Conservative opposition lawmaker Saqib Bhatti, who has the role of Britain’s shadow education minister, lamented the rise of antisemitism in the British school system. 

“These distressing reports should worry us all. Our education system should be a safe space for all our children, irrespective of their faith. As a society, we must not accept any instance of racism, and our Jewish children must be allowed to go to school free from antisemitism,” Bhatti stated in response to the report. 

“I fear this is just the tip of the iceberg. Antisemitism has spread throughout our education system at an alarming rate,” he warned. 

“We must not allow Jewish children to be targeted for such horrendous abuse. The education secretary should make clear to all headteachers that enough is enough,” the lawmaker added. 

British Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson also articulated concerns about the rising levels of antisemitism in the country’s schools. 

“Too many Jewish teachers who raised concerns felt that nothing was done. That is not acceptable,” Phillipson said without elaborating. 

Even young Jewish children are no longer immune to Jew-hatred in the UK. Two six-year-old Jewish students were called “baby killers” by their classmates after singing an Israeli song in Hebrew. School authorities reportedly informed the parents of the offending children that this behavior is not acceptable in British schools. 

“I can only assume the children who shouted ‘baby killers,’ who were slightly older, picked up their attitude in the home or wider community. They are only children themselves,” assessed a mother of an eight-year-old girl. Like in much of the Western world, radicalized Muslims and far-left individuals have played a central role in the dramatic rise in Jew-hatred in the UK. 

In another incident, a 13-year-old Jewish girl who traveled by bus from Hebrew school in London was harassed by several children who shouted “f**k Israel” while banging on the bus. 

The report found that the majority of antisemitic incidents involved Jewish students being attacked by their peers. However, the investigation also documented cases in which Jewish students came under attack from hostile teachers, including during classes where pro-Hamas and anti-Israel symbols were displayed.

Some parents have raised concerns that these symbols create “a hostile atmosphere for Jewish students.” In one instance, parents said an anti-Jewish teacher claimed that attacks on Israeli soldiers were justified because the perpetrators were “fighting against an army committing genocide.”

In the city of Devon, a student performed a Nazi salute while stating, “Jews shouldn’t have the same rights as others.” Some parents from the specific schools expressed concerns that content in class could “promote a hostile environment against Israel, and easily translate into violence against Jewish people.”

Jewish students in Leeds noted that many schoolbooks attempt to erase the strong connection between Jews and the Land of Israel. One textbook claimed that “Jesus was born in Palestine.”

“Describing the land as ‘Palestine’ prior to the Bar Kochba revolt is not only historically inaccurate but has the compounding effect of suppressing Jewish national identity long before the Romans officially imposed this name on the province of Judea,” the legal lobby organization UK Lawyers for Israel told The Telegraph. 

One in five British students are reportedly reluctant or opposed to sharing a flat with a Jew according to a poll that was conducted last month by the Union of Jewish Students. 

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair recently criticized the British government and its European counterparts for failing to combat antisemitism across Europe. While noting that leaders have condemned antisemitism, he emphasized that “their words haven’t stopped the attacks” on Jews and Jewish institutions in the UK and across the continent.