The British government announced Wednesday that it will introduce stronger Holocaust education and require schools in England to treat antisemitism as a specific threat to students' safety, following an extensive review that uncovered widespread anti-Jewish harassment in the education system.
Education Secretary Lucy Powell said, according to the BBC, the government would "update and strengthen" Holocaust education after the investigation revealed the "shocking scale" of antisemitism across British society.
Under the new approach, schools and colleges will be expected to identify antisemitism as a distinct form of harm requiring specific preventive measures, rather than addressing it solely through general policies against racism and bullying.
The government has accepted all 27 recommendations contained in the independent review, including specialized teacher training, improved procedures for documenting antisemitic incidents, and clearer guidance for educational institutions.
The investigation was led by Sir David Bell, a former chief inspector of Ofsted, Britain's education watchdog, and its findings were presented to Parliament on Wednesday.
Speaking to the BBC, Powell described the findings as evidence of an increasingly serious problem, particularly among younger generations.
"It's definitely a crisis and I think it's actually got worse since Sir David began this review. This has become a real challenge for Jewish people in our country, but also Jewish students and Jewish teachers working in our schools and colleges."
"I do really feel it is a generational moment to educate this generation and the next - that is the job of education - to understand what antisemitism is in the modern world."
Powell said the revised Holocaust curriculum would "challenge" some of the assumptions held by young people and help students recognize contemporary manifestations of antisemitism.
The review also recommends strengthening guidance on political neutrality in the classroom.
Addressing the House of Commons, Powell emphasized that "teachers should not bring their own political views into the classroom", while making clear that educators should continue discussing significant and sometimes controversial issues.
The investigation was commissioned following several prominent antisemitic incidents, including the October 2025 terrorist attack at Manchester's Heaton Park synagogue during Yom Kippur services, in which two men were murdered.
The government also commissioned separate investigations into antisemitism in healthcare and the effectiveness of public order and hate crime legislation.
As part of its response, the government will encourage educational institutions to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism.
However, ministers cannot require schools to implement the definition.
The IHRA framework has been adopted by 47 countries, including the United Kingdom, and by most British universities. It is supported by major Jewish organizations, although some of its examples of antisemitic conduct have generated controversy.
The Board of Deputies of British Jews welcomed the government's approach, arguing that the IHRA definition would help schools "to deepen understanding of contemporary antisemitism".
A spokesperson for the organization told the BBC that treating antisemitism as a safeguarding concern would strengthen schools' responsibility to protect Jewish students.
"Treating antisemitism in schools as a safeguarding issue will have the benefit of creating an explicit duty on all schools to address this as they would any other threat to children's safety, and will strengthen accountability."
The government's announcement follows new figures indicating a sharp increase in antisemitic incidents involving educational institutions.
According to the Community Security Trust (CST), a British organization that provides security assistance and advice to Jewish communities, antisemitism in schools reached a record level during the first six months of 2026.
The organization reported that the number of incidents recorded between January and June was higher than in the corresponding period of any previous year.