UK universities told to crack down on anti-semitism after synagogue attack

LONDON – British universities must take stronger action to protect Jewish students, the government said on Oct 11, after a deadly attack on a synagogue in northern England and amid concerns over anti-semitism on campuses in Britain and the United States.

Young people must be equipped to spot and challenge misinformation online, the government said, urging universities to use every tool available to confront hate and division.

“One instance of antisemitic abuse is one too many,” education minister Bridget Phillipson said in a statement.

“So I’m clear: the buck stops with universities when it comes to ridding their campuses of hate - and they have my full backing to use their powers to do so.”

On Oct 2, a British man of Syrian descent

drove a car into pedestrians

and then began stabbing several people on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, outside Manchester’s Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue. Two men died in the attack.

In the aftermath, Ms Phillipson wrote to university vice-chancellors urging “practical and proportionate steps” to ensure campuses remain safe spaces.

New rules introduced in August require institutions to have clear policies and reporting mechanisms to address harassment of all kinds.

In 2024, Britain reported its second-worst year in modern times for anti-semitism, with more than 3,500 incidents recorded, the Community Security Trust, which provides security to Jewish organisations across the country, said earlier in 2025.

Data from Britain’s interior ministry on Oct 9 showed Jews suffered the highest rate of religious hate crimes in England and Wales in the year to March.

There has also been a surge in antisemitic incidents reported on US college campuses amid tensions over the Israel-Gaza war.

The Trump administration has threatened to cut federal funds to universities over campus pro-Palestinian protests. It says universities allowed displays of anti-semitism. REUTERS