This article includes references to and uses of offensive and antisemitic phrases. The interviewees in this article have been anonymised with fake names.
There were 36 reports of antisemitism made to the university in 2023/24, an increase from 5 in the year before, a Freedom of Information Request has revealed.
None of the 5 reports made in 2022/23 led to an investigation or disciplinary panel. In 2023/24, 4 cases (including one with ten respondents) were investigated by the university. The university said that “Of these, two cases were referred into the disciplinary panel process, but no findings of antisemitism were made specifically”.
The reports were made to the University’s Report and Support service. Reports were made by students and could be about other students, staff, or members of the public.
This increase in antisemitism reflects a national trend: the Community Security Trust reported 272 incidents across UK universities in the 2023/24 academic year—the highest ever recorded in a single academic year.
Concerns have also been raised about the University and Students’ Union’s responses to complaints of antisemitism.
The Mancunion interviewed students from the Manchester Jewish Society about their experiences of antisemitism last academic year.
Emma said: “So I’ve actually had a few, but the main one that would come to mind is last year, I was walking to a lecture on my campus, and I had my Star of David, and usually I would tuck it in and hide it, just in case because you never know. And it was obviously on show, and this girl came up to me, and she basically was calling me a baby killer and just all these horrible slurs. And then her friends came, and they all took turns to spit on me”.
Emma said that she felt she could not report the incident: “I felt I either wouldn’t be listened to, or I thought ‘Did I do anything to provoke it?'”.
She added: “Some of my friends have brought complaints to the university, and from what I’m aware, they felt like either they weren’t listened to, or when they were told, ‘We’ll look into it’, it just never really went anywhere”.
Another student, Josh, said: “I had abundantly always made it clear that I was not a supporter of Netanyahu. I was not a supporter of his party in government”.
“No matter how many times I clarified that, I was called multiple times a genocide supporter and a zio-Nazi”.
Josh added that, in his first year at the university, he was told by multiple students that “the Jews should go back home”.
Last year, antisemitic graffiti, including ‘kikes out’ was graffitied on the toilets in the Students’ Union.
At the time, a student told The Jewish Chronicle, “It took emailing the union, the university, and security before they removed the ‘Up Hamas’ graffiti”, adding that “Jewish students have lost faith in the university to tackle antisemitism”. Students interviewed by The Mancunion also shared their difficulties in getting the graffiti removed.
Students said they want a specific point of contact that would “actually listen to you” when dealing with antisemitism.
Concerns were further raised about the protests on campus last year and how some students felt unsafe.
Emma said: “There were a lot of Palestinian protests, which is fine, but a lot of us felt really unsafe because I think the problem with the antisemitism on campus is that people don’t know how to separate someone being Jewish and the politics around Israel because there is actually a lot of anti-Zionist Jews as well”.
“When the Jews come together, like the Jewish Society I’m in, and we do a stand or something, it almost feels like it’s not worth it because the abuse is so much more than the support that we get, even when we all come together. I think a lot of us are just scared to speak out”.
When asked what steps the university can take to combat antisemitism, Josh said: “I worry we’re at a point where we’re too far gone”, saying that he wanted the university to “stop pandering” to protest groups and called for the presence of the Socialist Workers Party to be banned on campus.
“With all the allegations against them [the Socialist Workers Party], to consistently allow them to be on campus and to consistently allow them to protest […] It’s dangerous”.
In 2010, a senior member of the Socialist Workers Party was accused of rape and sexual assault but was protected by the party’s disputes committee at the time. The incident has come to be known as the ‘Comrade Delta’ incident.
In response, a spokesperson for the Socialist Workers Party said that it supported “the right of the Palestinians to fight back against apartheid, ethnic cleansing, and genocide” and that its student members were involved with the “mass movement of solidarity” with them.
Regarding the ‘Comrade Delta’ incident, they referred The Mancunion to a statement which says: “Decisions made by the SWP in 2013 damaged our record—and the current leadership acknowledges the party’s mistakes and is committed to learning from them”. They also noted that the “SWP is opposed to all forms of sexism and oppression”.
The Mancunion asked Jewish Students’ Kehillah, an “inclusive, queer, feminist, anti-zionist” group how they can work with other Jewish student groups to address the rise in antisemitism while also continuing to advocate for Palestinian rights.
A spokesperson for the group said: “I do not think that there has ever been a legitimate case in history where [in] a people’s liberation or safety has necessarily relied on the infringement of another people’s liberation or safety”.
“I think that for Jewish people, we do not rely on Palestinian people being in apartheid, being oppressed by the Israeli state for our freedom. Nor do I think that the Palestinian people their freedom relies on the oppression of Jewish individuals whatsoever. So, I don’t think there is an antagonism”.
The Mancunion also asked the Jewish Society how they could work with other Jewish student groups. Josh said that Jewish Students’ Kehillah were “not representative of the majority of students”. He added: “That being said, the three members of JSK have always been more than welcome to come to JSoc, and they have regularly”.
Jewish Students’ Kehillah is run by a committee of three students, but told The Mancunion that their WhatsApp group has over 30 members.
Emma said: “I think we could all come together, like the Jewish community, and try and raise awareness about antisemitism, but I think we would also need backing from the university and reassurance that there would be someone there just to sort of be watching and protecting us”.
The University of Manchester and University of Manchester Students’ Union have released a joint statement in response to this article. It reads:
“Antisemitism has no place at the University and we do not tolerate it. No one should ever feel unsafe on campus”.
“Over the last year there have been a larger than normal number of complaints raised through the Report and Support system. Trained staff act on these as a priority and where we have sufficient information we investigate. All reports are acted upon, although anonymous or incomplete submissions can limit formal investigations. We continue to monitor the number and type of complaints we receive to ensure that our processes remain accessible, effective and robust”.
“Where misconduct is identified, disciplinary action is taken and disciplinary panels have the power to impose a range of sanctions”.
“If a student or staff member is concerned or feeling unsafe, our campus support and security staff are always contactable directly and through our Safezone app. We would urge you to continue to use the Report and Support system – where issues can be reported anonymously if you wish, and support is available from trained advisors”.
Jewish students can also access the following support resources:
- Union of Jewish Students- website: www.ujs.org.uk and welfare hotline: 020 7424 3288.
- Victim Support is available online at 0808 168 911. It is free and available 24/7.
- To report an antisemitic incident, visit CST: cst.org.uk/report-incident (always call 999 in an emergency).
