The College of Europe has launched an investigation after a Jewish student’s door was tagged with spray painted swastikas and other antisemitic graffiti Saturday night on the university’s Bruges campus, College Rector Frederica Mogherini confirmed in an email to students, threatening the perpetrators with “sanctions.”
“Promoting hate is not and will never be tolerated within our walls,” Mogherini said.
Antisemitic incidents have become commonplace on Western university campuses since the October 7th Hamas terror attacks on Israel last year, but this one is especially serious because the College of Europe proudly markets itself as the foremost educational institute for European studies, training generations of EU leaders, officials, and diplomats for the past seven decades.
Albeit likely just the tip of the iceberg, there has been a steep rise in recorded antisemitic hate crimes involving students across the continent in the past six months.
According to the European Union of Jewish Students’ (EUJS) latest report, the organization had received 110 reports of antisemitic incidents between October 7th and February 1st, not counting several dozen reports of online abuse and harassment. The report notes that this is merely “a glimpse into the dramatic surge of antisemitism” on European campuses because of significant underreporting.
In one way or another, the vast majority of incidents are connected to the war in Gaza and are carried out by Palestine sympathizers. The attacks range from verbal harassment to vandalism, desecration, and even physical abuse, and are often accompanied by popular pro-Palestinian slogans and tropes.
The geographical distribution of these reports reveals that antisemitism on campuses is mainly a Western European problem, as the same incidents are almost non-existent in Central Europe, despite the relatively high number of Jewish populations in countries such as Poland and Hungary.
“The situation is dire,” the report states. “Jewish and Israeli students are being targeted by fellow students, professors, and sometimes academic authorities, being told that these crimes against humanity are justified and that there is no place for them inside universities. … Universities have become so hostile and volatile that there are even Jewish students that do not attend classes or have dropped out of their courses.”
Emma Halali, the President of the EUJS condemned what happened in an X post, saying that it is a “betrayal of our European values and heritage,” the principles on which the College of Europe was founded.
Showing that the EUJS’ data is indeed just a glimpse into the true extent of the problem because most victims turn instead to national-level organizations, Unia—Belgium’s Center for Equal Opportunities and Opposition to Racism—has recorded over 90 Gaza-related antisemitic incidents in the country in the first three months alone. By comparison, Unia received 4-5 similar reports a month before October 7th.
The College of Europe chose not to disclose any further details of the incident until the investigation concludes.
