Sunak backs police action as Jewish students condemn ‘toxic’ protests

The prime minister has backed a police crackdown on any outbreak of disorder on university campuses after Jewish students said pro-Palestinian encampments were creating a “hostile and toxic atmosphere”.

In recent days, new encampments have been set up at the universities of Manchester, Sheffield, Bristol and Newcastle, among others, after violent scenes on US campuses resulted in mass arrests of students and staff.

The Union of Jewish Students issued a statement on Thursday in which they said Jewish students were angry, tired and hurt by “the continuous torrent of antisemitic hatred on campus” since the 7 October attacks by Hamas.

The group, which claims to represent 9,000 Jewish students in the UK and Ireland, said: “While students have a right to protest, these encampments create a hostile and toxic atmosphere on campus for Jewish students.”

It urged universities to fulfil their responsibilities. “Let us be clear. We will not stand for this hatred. It’s time that universities took their duty of care to Jewish students seriously,” it said.

Rishi Sunak’s official spokesperson said on Thursday: “We have always been clear that Jewish students must feel safe on campuses. Whilst our universities rightfully pride themselves on their openness and tolerance and diversity, it is obviously absolutely clear that any antisemitism shouldn’t be tolerated.

“While we firmly believe in the power of rigorous free speech and debate, the right to that does not include the right to harass others or incite others to violence or terrorism.”

The spokesperson added: “Obviously the police already have extensive public order powers to tackle disorder at protests and will continue to have our full support in doing so if needed.”

Students participating in the protests have insisted that the encampments, the latest of which began at University College London, were peaceful and opposed to all forms of hate speech including antisemitism.

Stella Swain, youth and student campaigns officer at the Palestinian Solidarity campaign, said: “There is nothing to suggest these student encampments are anything but completely peaceful. Peaceful protest is completely legal in this country.”

A research student participating in the encampment at the University of Sheffield, who wished to remain anonymous, added: “Some of the most committed campaigners for Palestinian liberation on our campus are Jewish students. We are a fundamentally anti-racist movement. The fight against antisemitism is part and parcel of the fight against racism.”

More than 100 students at the University of Manchester spent Wednesday night in the “camp of resistance for Palestine” in Brunswick Park. A statement issued by Manchester students said: “Our camp is welcoming to people from all faiths, united by the unwavering solidarity with the Palestinians and their struggle for liberation and justice.”

Unlike the violent scenes on US campuses, protests by UK students since the crisis in Gaza began have been generally peaceful and on a much smaller scale. There has, however, been an increase in reported incidents of antisemitism at UK universities, according to the Community Security Trust, a charity that protects British Jews from antisemitism and related threats.

The leader of the Commons, Penny Mordaunt, earlier condemned the “disgusting” scenes in the US, which resulted in the arrest of more than 1,000 protesters, and said UK protesters should be met with an “extremely strict response” if they attempt to replicate the violent demonstrations seen on US university campuses.

Mordaunt said: “I think, and I hope, all UK universities will be in no doubt about their responsibilities to all that attend their campuses and their facilities but, in particular, those communities that are feeling particularly under attack.

“That is what we expect of them and we hope and expect that they will meet any such notion of similar protests with an extremely strict response.”

Tom Southerden, Amnesty International UK’s law and human rights director, said it was vital that UK universities and the police respect and protect peaceful student protests on Gaza. “The authorities in the UK must avoid the dangerous clampdown we’ve witnessed at university campuses across the US.”

Universities UK, which represents 142 institutions, said: “The priority of UUK and our member universities is to ensure that our campuses remain safe for all our students and staff. We will do everything we can to prevent hate crime, antisemitism, Islamophobia, and intolerance, and support our universities to respond appropriately if incidents involving these take place.”

• This article was amended on 2 May 2024 to clarify comments made by Penny Mordaunt.