Half of Jewish teachers face antisemitism at school, union survey reveals

More than half of Jewish teachers in the UK have experienced antisemitism in school settings since May 2023, according to new figures from a leading education union.

In a survey conducted by NASUWT, the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers, 51 percent of Jewish teaching staff said they had been subjected to antisemitic incidents in their workplace.

The findings – first reported by The Telegraph – reveal a disturbing rise in abuse, with Jewish educators describing repeated incidents of swastika graffiti, chants of “Free Palestine” directed at them by students, and even explicit slurs including “f— the Jews”.

One teacher recalled: “On multiple occasions, students have shouted ‘Free Palestine’ at me. On another occasion, someone shouted ‘f— the Jews’ outside a meeting of Jewish students.”

A total of 44 percent of respondents reported seeing swastikas daubed at school, while 39 percent said they had witnessed or been targeted by Nazi-related comments. Nearly half (47 percent) reported general insults and taunts, and 56 percent described antisemitic “jokes and banter”.

More than three-quarters of those working in non-faith schools – 79 percent – said they had experienced antisemitism, compared to 29 percent of those in faith-based settings.

The abuse ranged from outright verbal slurs to subtler stereotypes. Some Jewish teachers were told it wasn’t racist to say, “Jews are rich”, while others reported assumptions that they were Israeli, not British.

NASUWT’s acting general secretary, Matt Wrack, said misinformation on social media and far-right rhetoric were fuelling the rise, but the union has faced criticism for overlooking abuse stemming from far-left or Islamist ideologies – particularly in the wake of the 7 October Hamas attack on Israel.

“Some teachers are fearful of even disclosing their religion at work. This cannot be allowed to continue,” Wrack said. “If we are going to stamp out discrimination in all its insidious forms, we need visible leadership from the Government.”

The union is now urging Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson to intervene, warning that schools lack adequate tools to deal with rising abuse.

One in three Jewish teachers say they did not feel able to report antisemitic incidents to their employer. Of those who did, just over half felt their concerns were not properly addressed.

Russell Langer, director of public affairs at the Jewish Leadership Council, said the figures were “shocking” and called for comprehensive guidance that recognises the full ideological spectrum of antisemitic hate.

“Any government guidance or union that truly wishes to address this issue must emphasise that it is not limited to the far-right, but also far-left and Islamist extremists,” he said.

The NASUWT survey comes just days after a separate report – commissioned by the Board of Deputies and co-authored by antisemitism adviser Lord Mann and former cabinet minister Dame Penny Mordaunt – highlighted widespread antisemitism across UK institutions, including the NHS, universities, and cultural sectors.

That report, published last week, warned that antisemitism had become normalised in parts of middle-class Britain.