Reported antisemitic incidents connected to UK universities rose in the latest academic year, according to newly released monitoring data. The figures record 95 university-related incidents in 2025/26, a 14% increase on the 83 recorded in 2024/25. The data cover the UK rather than London alone, so they do not show how many of the reports concerned a particular university, borough or campus in the capital.
The organisation behind the monitoring uses the term university-related where an incident concerns a student, member of staff or academic in their student or academic capacity. That can include conduct on a campus as well as online. The figures are recorded reports, rather than a measure of every experience that may have occurred, and the underlying records can be updated when further information is received.
What the latest figures show
There were 178 university-related reports across the two academic years from 2024/25 to 2025/26. The latest annual total is about 79% higher than the 53 reports recorded in 2022/23, the final academic year before the sharp rise in antisemitic incident reporting that followed events in the Middle East in October 2023. It remains below the 272 reported in 2023/24, the immediate post-October 2023 peak, but the increase from 83 to 95 means the downward movement did not continue in the most recent year.
Those comparisons describe recorded reports, not findings of criminal or disciplinary liability. They nevertheless provide a consistent way to assess the trend in reports reaching the monitor over time. For universities, the distinction matters: each report may call for an appropriate response and support for those affected, while any formal determination depends on the facts of the individual case and the relevant process.
Nature of the reports
Abusive behaviour was by far the largest category across the two years, with 149 reports, or 84% of the total. The category includes verbal abuse, antisemitic comments made in person or online, and graffiti directed at students, staff or Jewish organisations. The data also record six assaults, ten threats, eight cases of damage or desecration and three cases involving mass-produced antisemitic literature. Five of the damage or desecration cases were in student accommodation.
Two reports classed as extreme violence were recorded in 2024/25, described as the first university-related reports in that category. The monitoring data also categorised 16 reports across the two years as involving university staff as perpetrators. Where a perpetrator group was identified, students accounted for 61 reports and student societies or representatives for 28. These are classifications within incident reports, not conclusions about any named person.
Many of the reports contained political, religious or ideological material. In 62% of the total, the recorded incident included references to Israel, Gaza, Hamas, the 7 October attack or the subsequent Middle East conflict alongside anti-Jewish language, motivation or targeting. The monitor makes an important distinction: criticism of Israel or Zionism is not, by itself, antisemitic. The concern in the recorded cases is the accompanying anti-Jewish language, motivation or targeting.
Response and London context
The education secretary described the findings as deeply troubling and said universities should take a zero-tolerance approach to antisemitism. The government says it is providing training to help staff identify and respond to incidents quickly. A separate earlier government announcement referred to £7 million for training and resources across schools, colleges and universities. A sector body representing more than 140 institutions also said the latest findings were a serious concern and that institutions must protect Jewish students and staff.
For London readers, the new university total should not be treated as a count for the capital. Separate six-month monitoring figures recorded 994 antisemitic incidents of all types across Greater London between January and June 2026, including 28 linked to higher education. That is a different period and measure, so it cannot be used to derive a London share of the new 95-incident academic-year total. The absence of a city-level breakdown is significant: the published evidence supports concern about the national university trend, but not claims about the safety record of a particular London campus.
The immediate issue for institutions is therefore not simply the headline comparison. It is whether reporting routes are understood, concerns are assessed promptly and fairly, and Jewish students and staff can participate in university life without abuse or harassment. The new figures add urgency to that work while keeping the limits of the data clear.
