'Antisemitism felt relentless' - Jewish students on life at UK universities

Before graduating in July 2026, Oliver served as president of Cardiff University's Jewish Society

Some Jewish students have said they feel antisemitism has become "normalised" at UK universities and they routinely hide signs of their identity for fear of abuse.

Students at more than 10 universities in England and Wales told the BBC they had faced hostility, and warned of a "culture of antisemitism" on campuses.

A report into the issue by the Union of Jewish students in March 2026 called for new enforceable standards for how universities investigate and punish hate crime.

Universities UK, which represents more than 140 higher education institutions, said universities were working to improve support, reporting and campus safety for Jewish students.

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Cardiff University student Oliver, 21, said being Jewish had always been a central part of his identity.

He described his first week at the university in 2023 as "terrifying", because it had coincided with the 7 October attacks when Hamas militants attacked Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking hundreds hostage.

Israel responded to the attack by launching a military campaign in Gaza, in which it is estimated more than 70,000 Palestinians have died.

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Like many campuses across the UK, Cardiff University has seen pro-Palestine protests in recent years and Oliver said he believed some behaviour he witnessed crossed the line from criticism of Israel into antisemitism.

Holding Jewish people responsible for the actions of the Israeli government is a form of antisemitism, according to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.

"You go home and think, 'do I carry on? Do I try to go to the next day?'"

Oliver said he stopped speaking Hebrew outside his home, and hid his Star of David pendant when on campus.

Over the following three years, Oliver said the antisemitic abuse he experienced at university became "relentless".

"I've been in clubs [or] just wandering around the uni and you hear these conversations and you see pamphlets being handed around where it's literally saying that your belief and your history is fake," he said.

"I've been at house parties where, when someone's found out I'm Jewish they started calling me Netanyahu behind my back.

"Like you found out my religion and you've decided I'm a bad person."

Oliver said when he had reported an