A new UNESCO report published on Tuesday, International Holocaust Remembrance Day, reveals that antisemitism is prevalent in over three-quarters of classrooms in the EU.
The study, based on answers from 2,030 teachers in 23 EU countries, found that 78% had witnessed at least one antisemitic incident between students and more than a quarter reported having seen nine or more such incidents.
The findings also point to high levels of Holocaust denial. Some 61% of teachers said they had encountered denial or distortion of the Holocaust among pupils, with 11% saying this happened frequently.
One in ten teachers reported witnessing physical attacks on Jewish students, while 44% said they had seen Nazi gestures or symbols used at school.
Despite the scale of the issue, most teachers feel ill-equipped to respond. Around 70% said they had received no professional training on how to recognise or address contemporary antisemitism.
More than six in ten admitted they had been unable to answer students' questions on the issue at least once, and 42% said they had encountered antisemitic behaviour from fellow teachers.
"Hate speech, notably antisemitism and Holocaust denial, has reached levels not seen since the Second World War," said UNESCO Director-General Khaled El-Enany, warning that most educators lack the tools to deal with the problem, including new challenges linked to AI.
Alongside the report, UNESCO has released new resources for teachers, including a practical handbook on countering antisemitism in the classroom, a study of how Jews and antisemitism are presented in European school textbooks, and an online course on teaching violent pasts.
UNESCO said the work forms part of a broader effort to tackle antisemitism through education. Since 2023, more than 1,300 educators and policymakers across Europe have taken part in dedicated training programmes.
