I'm Jonathan and I'm a 17-year-old Jew. Three years ago, I started this campaign after experiencing constant antisemitic bullying at school. After persuading my own school to implement one lesson on contemporary antisemitism, I saw attitudes genuinely change — some people even apologised to me. If it worked in my school, it can work in every school across the country.

At the synagogue I go to, the Rabbi asked the youth group how many of us had experienced antisemitism at school. Every single person put their hand up. This is a universal experience for Jewish students across Britain.

The recent terror attacks in Golders Green — stabbings near a synagogue, and an arson attack on Jewish ambulances — show how urgent this has become. Antisemitic bullying in schools and these violent attacks are all symptoms of the same hatred. It is no longer enough to keep treating the symptoms with increased security alone, without addressing the root causes and wider societal attitudes. That Jews have to be protected by security guards at every communal event should not, and must not, be accepted as normal in Britain.

After the Golders Green attacks — described by the Metropolitan Police Commissioner as an 'attack on British Jews' — we cannot afford to be complacent. The Prime Minister called it an antisemitic attack. The question now is: what comes next beyond more police on the street? Mandatory education is the long-term answer.

The statistics are deeply alarming. The CST recorded 3,700 antisemitic incidents in 2024 alone — more than double the 2022 figures — and Jewish people are nine times more likely to be a victim of a hate crime than any other faith group per capita. Antisemitism is on the rise, and the government must act proactively rather than reactively.

Whilst Holocaust education is mandatory, this is evidently not sufficient. Too many people still regard antisemitism as a lesser form of hatred, and the current curriculum is not tackling it. Holocaust education is too often studied in isolation — without the context of thousands of years of antisemitism before, or the 80 years of antisemitism since. Many young people assume antisemitism ended when the Holocaust ended. It did not.

This is not a costly or radical change. 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 this, with only 15% opposed. The policy has the support of the government's own independent adviser on antisemitism, Lord Mann. There is simply no reason for the government not to act.

The Prime Minister has called antisemitism a "crisis." If it is a crisis, it must be treated as one — with a long-term solution. Britain cannot keep moving on from each attack without addressing the roots of antisemitism. That solution lies in the classroom.

Education can change this. I saw it work in my school. Now is the time to replicate this in every classroom across the country.

Contact me about the campaign at jonathancampaigns1@gmail.com