United Kingdom Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson announced on Sunday that she had issued a letter to vice-chancellors across the country, calling for universities to intensify their policies and practices to counter antisemitism on campuses.
“Universities, just like everyone else in the country, have a clear role to play: not just keeping Jewish students safe, but as anchors to the communities they serve,” Phillipson wrote. The directive follows a recent deadly attack at Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Manchester, England, in which at least two people were killed.
The attack occurred on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in Judaism. The attack came on the same day as pro-Palestine rallies in several British cities, including Manchester. “Protesters could have chosen any of the other 364 days of the year to make their voices heard,” Phillipson wrote.
Authorities report that the assailant, identified as Jihad Al-Shamie, drove a vehicle into the synagogue’s gates before entering and attacking worshipers with a knife. At least two worshipers, Adrian Daulby and Melvin Cravitz, were killed. Daulby was later proved to have been slain by responding police, who fired as they arrived on the scene.
Phillipson continued that the Office for Students, an independent regulator of UK educational institutions, can fine universities and even “cut off public funding” if they “fail to uphold their responsibilities to protect Jewish students.”
Under new regulations introduced in August 2025, British higher education institutions are already required to maintain structured systems for reporting harassment and enforce codes of conduct.
However, the call to action comes amid rising incident numbers in the UK: in the past year, over 3,500 antisemitic incidents were recorded — the second worst figure in the nation’s modern history, according to the Community Security Trust (CST), a British charity that combats antisemitism and supports Jewish Britons. According to data collected by the CST, antisemitic incident counts more than doubled from 2022 to 2023, and the university sector saw a 117 percent increase in university-related incidents over two academic years.
“One instance of antisemitism is one too many, which is why I’m clear the buck stops with universities when it comes to ridding their campuses of hate,” Philipson wrote. “Institutions have my full backing to use their powers to do so and keep their students safe.”
