The British government has called on universities to take decisive action to protect Jewish students following a deadly terror attack outside a synagogue in northern England and amid rising concerns over antisemitism on campuses in both the UK and the United States, Reuters reported on Saturday.
On October 2, a British man of Syrian descent rammed his car into pedestrians and stabbed several individuals outside Manchester’s Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. Two men were killed in the attack.
Education Minister Bridget Phillipson issued a strong statement Saturday, declaring, “One instance of antisemitic abuse is one too many. 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.”
Phillipson also wrote to university vice-chancellors urging “practical and proportionate steps” to ensure campuses remain safe spaces. She emphasized the need to equip young people to identify and challenge online misinformation and called on institutions to use every available tool to confront hate and division.
New regulations introduced in August require universities to implement clear policies and reporting mechanisms to address harassment of all kinds.
The Community Security Trust, which provides protection to Jewish organizations across Britain, reported over 3,500 antisemitic incidents last year - the second-highest total in modern UK history. Data released Thursday by the interior ministry revealed that Jews suffered the highest rate of religious hate crimes in England and Wales in the year ending March.