A leading university has been accused of telling a Jewish student that a swastika carved into a desk was an “ancient Hindu symbol”.

The anonymous undergraduate claimed King’s College London dismissed her concerns about the Nazi graffiti in a lecture room.

The allegation emerged in a report into anti-Semitism at British universities that unearthed an “unprecedented volume” of abuse towards Jewish students.

The student accused the university of failing to investigate who was responsible for carving the graffiti.

“In one of my classes, I saw a swastika carved into the desk in front of me,” the student said. “As a Jewish student, it was shocking and painful.

‘No investigation’

“I immediately told my lecturer and filed a complaint through the university’s reporting platform. The university’s response? They claimed it was probably the ancient Hindu symbol, removed the desk and didn’t follow up.

“There was no investigation, no effort to find out who did it and no accountability.”

A greater number of reports of anti-Semitism were made to StandWithUS UK, a pro-Israel education charity, about King’s College London than any other university.

These included a seminar on the Middle East in the Cold War, which one student said “turned into a 50-minute discussion defending Hamas’s actions on October 7”.

“I raised my objections, but I was told this was ‘protected academic discussion’ and encouraged to make a complaint through the King’s College London report and support system,” the student said.

A first-year undergraduate said when they received verbal abuse, a university “wellness adviser” suggested “I try to understand why the other students were behaving this way towards me”.