1 in 5 UK university students ‘reluctant’ to share house with Jewish student — poll

One in five university students in the UK would be “reluctant” to share a house with a Jewish student or would never do so, according to a new poll commissioned by the British Union of Jewish Students.

The poll was conducted by JL Partners between January 26 and February 4, and polled a representative sample of 1,000 UK university students who study at 170 institutions. It does not give a margin of error.

The survey finds that nearly one in four respondents (23 percent) have seen behavior that targets Jewish students for their religion or ethnicity. Almost four in 10 (39%) who “witness regular Israel-Palestine protests” have seen frequent harassment of Jewish students, according to the poll.

In addition, close to half have heard chants or slogans “glorifying Hamas, Hezbollah or other proscribed groups on campus” (49%) or seen justification of the October 7, 2023, attack led by Hamas (47%), the poll says.

A large majority (82%) say calls to “Globalize the intifada” are antisemitic.

The poll found that most students say protests have disrupted their learning, and disapprove of demonstrations that block access to learning.