The move comes after the Community Security Trust (CST) reported a surge in antisemitic incidents on campus, which jumped by a shocking 59 per cent in the last 12 months.
Mr Zahawi said: “Only last week I visited Auschwitz-Birkenau and that experience has left me even more determined to completely root out the evil of antisemitism from our campuses.
“We intend to bring together key stakeholders from the sector to examine what more can be done to make Jewish students and staff feel safe on campus.
“The Office for Students last week published a list of colleges and universities that have already adopted the IHRA definition and I was pleased to say that considerable progress has been made since last year. If universities do not take action against this worrying rise in antisemitic incidents, I will ask the OfS to explore whether action can be taken.”
According to figures published this week by the CST, antisemitic incidents on campus jumped by 59 per cent this academic year to 111 cases, an all-time high.
The CST said the rise should “ring alarm bells for everyone in the higher education sector”.
University regulators the Office for Students (OfS) last week published new figures which showed a three-fold increase in universities adopting the IHRA definition of antisemitism in the last 12 months.
The OfS said 95 universities had signed up to IHRA – a sharp increase on the figures reported by the Union of Jewish Students in September, 2020, which showed take up by just 28.
However ten universities were not named by the OFS as adopting IHRA: Brighton, Buckingham, Leeds Beckett, Norwich University of the Arts, AECC University College, Falmouth, Kingston, Ravensbourne, Northampton and the University of Creative Arts in London.
Chris Millward, director of fair access and participation at the OfS, said increase in take-up was a “testament to the excellent campaigning work by groups of Jewish students”
And he warned the OfS would consider “further action” if remaining universities did not meet expectations to combat antisemitism this academic year.
He said: “It is essential that universities and colleges act swiftly and decisively in response to any acts of antisemitism so that students are safe, and feel safe, on campus.”
In October, 2020, former Education Secretary Gavin Williamson warned Vice Chancellors that funding could be cut for universities that failed to adopt the IHRA definition.
The JC contacted the universities yet to take up IHRA. All condemned antisemitism and said they had strong policies in place to combat all forms of racism.
The CST said most incidents on campus were verbal, written or online abuse, with just one alleged assault. The majority of cases, (64) occurred during the 11-day conflict between Israel and Gaza in May.
Bristol University, which recently sacked controversial academic David Miller, and Warwick, had the highest number of cases, followed by University College London and Birmingham.
Universities Minister Michelle Donelan said it was “encouraging” to see so many universities had adopted IHRA over the year but there was “more work to do to end the scourge of antisemitism on our campuses”.
