Britain’s Chancellor Rishi Sunak will on Thursday tell university leaders to do more to combat anti-Semitism on university campuses, a sign of growing discontent. government over the recent proliferation of camps set up by students to protest the war in Gaza.
Mr Sunak’s office said in a statement issued ahead of the meeting that vice-chancellors from a number of prominent British universities had been invited to Downing Street to discuss “day-to-day anti-Semitic abuse”. increased among Jewish students in the UK.”
Britain has never before seen unrest like this Facilities in the US. But small, largely peaceful protest camps have appeared recently around several universities, including Oxford, Cambridge, Newcastle, Leeds and Manchester.
Mr Sunak said in a statement issued by his office ahead of the meeting: “Universities must be places of rigorous debate but also bastions of tolerance and respect for all members of our communities. Surname”. “A vocal minority on our campus is disrupting the lives and education of their fellow students, and in some cases, propagating harassment and abuse blatantly anti-Semitic. That has to stop.”
The chancellor’s office did not mention specific camps in its statement, but cited concerns from the Jewish Student Alliance, which said it represents 9,000 Jewish students across England and Ireland. The organization said recently that “although students have the right to protest, these encampments create a hostile and toxic atmosphere on campus for Jewish students.”
Downing Street also cited data from a charity that aims to protect British Jews from anti-Semitism, the Community Security Fund, for 2023. recorded 182 anti-Semitic incidents related to the universitytriple the number recorded in 2022. Tell mom, one government-sponsored group monitors Islamophobia incidents and supports victims, said it had also recorded a recent increase in anti-Muslim incidents on campus.
Although British police have so far not intervened significantly to disperse student protests, they have been on the frontline of large-scale pro-Gaza demonstrations, especially in London.
Last year, Mr Sunak and former Home Secretary Suella Braverman called on police to ban a march but it eventually went ahead. Ms Braverman was later fired after describing tens of thousands of people attending Saturday’s regular protests in London in support of Palestinians as “hate marchers”, “muslims”. ” and “crowds,” despite the fact that the protests were mostly peaceful. .
On Thursday, the government plans to state that universities must take immediate disciplinary action if any student is found inciting racial hatred or violence and must contact the police. police if they believe a crime has been committed, Downing Street said.
The talks will also aim to help shape new official guidance on combating anti-Semitism on campuses. The government says that the Office for Students, the higher education regulator, could also be empowered to impose penalties if it is clear that universities have not taken adequate or appropriate action. appropriate to address harassment, including anti-Semitic abuse.
Gavriel Sacks, co-chair of the Jewish Society of Cambridge University, said in a phone interview that the group has increased its support for students by organizing mental health events and screening nights. movie.
Mr. Sacks, 20, said anxiety at Cambridge had increased among some Jewish students in recent months, and especially so in the past week, following the establishment of the encampment on Monday.
But the encampment itself and the protests were “mostly peaceful,” he said, and although people had reason to be worried, he said he still felt safe and secure within the grounds. campus.
“We don’t want to overstate it or make people more worried,” he said.
Mr. Sacks said that he had been informed of some anti-Semitic comments made toward people who identified as Jews at the protests. Two Jewish students on their way to morning prayers Tuesday were called “pigs,” he said.
“We believe it represents a minority,” he said of the anti-Semitic rhetoric. Still, he said, there are concerns.
However, groups representing Jewish students at Cambridge and other institutions were also among those supporting the pro-Palestinian encampment. For example, the SOAS Jewish Association at SOAS University of London, said on social networks that it was “shoulder to shoulder” with classmates who set up camp on Monday.
“We will not stand by while the media uses false concerns about Jewish safety to smear our cause,” the group said.
Professor Deborah Prentice, vice-chancellor of Cambridge, said in a statement that the university is “fully committed to freedom of expression within the law and the right to protest”. She added that the university’s top priority remains “the safety of our staff and students. We will not tolerate anti-Semitism, Islamophobia or any other form of racial or religious hatred in our community.”
