And so it went on. In the overheated atmosphere of mutual mistrust that has pervaded campuses, streets and social media following the Hamas atrocities of October 7 and the ongoing war waged by Israel in Gaza, “no bagels” was all it took to get things going. 

But this may not be surprising in the current climate, suggests Dr Dave Rich, director of policy at the Community Security Trust (CST), a Jewish charity in Britain.

“People are very sensitive at the moment about anti-Semitism because there’s so much of it around and so many Jewish people are experiencing it,” he says. “Seeing it occurring on social media means if there’s any anti-Semitism anywhere in the world, everyone sees it. So it’s not surprising that things like this, which at other times might get not that much attention, are being picked up on.”

Figures released earlier this year indicated that in 2023 the UK recorded its worst year for anti-Semitism since 1984, following the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas in October. The CST data showed the number of anti-Semitic incidents across the country reached 4,103 last year, more than twice the amount in 2022.