Jewish pupils 'lose trust' in teachers after rise in antisemitic bullying including Nazi salutes

By ELEANOR HARDING, EDUCATION EDITOR Published: 16:22, 18 May 2026 | Updated: 16:22, 18 May 2026 Jewish pupils are 'losing trust' in teachers after a rise in antisemitic bullying including Nazi salutes, a new report has revealed. A group called Parents Against Antisemitism (PAA) has compiled a dossier of more than 100 accounts of abuse – committed by both pupils and teachers. It says anti-Jewish hatred is now 'routinely experienced' by youngsters, because schools do not know how to deal with incidents. In some cases, teachers and pupils involved in antisemitism have been spoken to or punished – but allowed to stay on in their schools. The dossier has now been sent to the Government's independent review on antisemitism in schools and colleges. One mother told how a teacher led a drama class activity which led to the only Jewish pupil in the class being surrounded by peers giving the Nazi salute. This was then later repeated in the playground. His class Snapchat group name was also changed to 'F*** Israel, Heil Hitler' and pupils recorded voice notes accusing the boy of being a paedophile 'who thinks he can get away with it because he's a Jew'. The mother told The Times: 'He lost trust in his teachers. He got to the point that he felt there was no point complaining about the behaviour because nothing was done. We had to take him out of the school.' Jewish pupils are 'losing trust' in teachers after a rise in antisemitic bullying including Nazi salutes, a new report has revealed (file picture) Meanwhile, another mother told how her children, also in a London secondary, had experienced other pupils calling 'Jew, Jew' and 'F*** Israel' towards them. Swastikas were drawn on school walls and one student commented in class that 'Jewish blood is toxic'. A teacher started a lesson with a picture of Israeli hostages being released, claiming that reports of poor treatment by Hamas were 'Israeli propaganda' and that they were well treated by their captors. It is understood the teacher was spoken to but was still in their post. The woman also said two female pupils were suspended and spoken to by the police when they told her son they would 'send our family to behead yours, like Jews deserve'. However, no further action was taken. The mother said: 'There is a very clear line that is being crossed, including by teachers, I think people need to wake up to how deep-seated antisemitism is.' The dossier also included an account from a London pupil who said she had been called a 'f***ing Zionist pig' in class after the October 7 attacks. 'There was a massive, massive shift in the way that I was treated in the school, both by the students and by the teachers,' she said. A spokesperson for PAA said: 'We urgently need political leadership and clear safeguarding measures to address the antisemitism crisis in schools so that Jewish pupils can feel safe again.' A spokeswoman for the Department for Education said: 'These are horrible and concerning allegations. 'Antisemitism has no place in our society or schools, and every student and staff member deserves to feel safe and respected. That's why the government is making Holocaust education a compulsory topic for all students.' No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.