Education on antisemitism must be made mandatory in UK schools

Three years ago, I started a petition to make education about antisemitism mandatory in schools. At that time, I was experiencing antisemitic bullying in my own school, and after persuading my school to teach about contemporary anti-Jewish hatred, I saw the power of education. The hatred I witnessed and experienced came from a place of ignorance, and education led to a huge change in attitudes within my school; some even apologised to me. If it worked in my school, it can work all over the country.

Today, I am 16 and almost 35,000 people are backing me. Education was necessary when I started campaigning, and it is urgent now.

The CST recorded 3,700 antisemitic incidents in 2025 alone. Jewish people are nine times more likely to be a victim of a hate crime than any other faith group per capita. These figures demand a serious response; we deserve one. The government has announced many welcome measures, such as increasing security for Jewish communal buildings, but the fact that we even need security to stop us being attacked should not, and must not, be accepted as normal in Britain.

The abuse I experienced in school and the violent attacks in Golders Green are all symptoms of the same hatred. It is now time to address the root causes of antisemitism as well as the symptoms; only education can address the root causes — and only schools can raise the next generation to understand what antisemitism is and to stand against it.

This is not an abstract policy issue. It is about the daily abuse that Jewish students in school face — Nazi salutes, gas chamber ‘jokes’, threats. I know it because I lived it. This campaign is about ensuring that the next generation of young Jews don’t have to experience this normalised hatred.

This would not be a costly or radical change to the education system. I am calling for one lesson which would have a long-term impact on curbing antisemitism. Public support is clear: recent polling by Jewish News found that 3 in 5 voters support education about antisemitism in schools, and only 15% oppose this. The policy even has the support of the government’s own independent adviser on antisemitism, Lord Mann.

There is simply no reason for the government not to make antisemitism education mandatory.

The Prime Minister is right that it is “not enough to simply say we stand with Jewish communities”. That is why, if the government is serious about addressing what the Prime Minister has called a “crisis”, they must take action to educate the next generation about antisemitism.

Britain cannot keep moving on from each attack without a long-term solution to fight the poison of antisemitism. I saw how education fought antisemitism in my school. Now is the time to replicate this in every classroom.

Jonathan Frisher’s petition can be accessed here.