Jewish students must not be intimidated by pro-Palestine protests, says Gillian Keegan

Jewish students must not be intimidated by pro-Palestine protests at universities, the Education Secretary has said after demonstrators occupied lawns at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge.

Writing for The Telegraph, Gillian Keegan noted the “alarming levels of division and violence” at recent US protests and tells university leaders in the UK that the Government expects them to take swift action where necessary to ensure the safety of staff and students.

On Monday morning, a co-ordinated protest saw groups of people erect tents near famous sites in Oxford and Cambridge and call for tougher action on Israel over the Gaza conflict.

Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, has summoned university leaders for a meeting in Downing Street on Thursday about anti-Semitism on campuses which is expected to include how protests should be handled. He is expected to tell them that a “vocal and aggressive minority” must not be allowed to intimidate other students and academics.

Ms Keegan writes: “The sad fact is since the abhorrent 7 October [Hamas] attacks, there has been an unprecedented rise in incidents of anti-Semitic abuse and intimidation.

“This is creating a hostile and toxic atmosphere on campus, which these protests will add to, when students are beginning some of the most important exams of their lives.

“In light of this, I am making myself very clear: anti-Semitic abuse and intimidation must not be tolerated on university campuses and we will not stand by as Jewish students suffer.

“Freedom of speech and expression is vital to academic communities, but it must not be used to harass and intimidate, or cause significant disruption to the vital business of higher education.”

The Oxford and Cambridge protests began shortly after 8am yesterday, when demonstrators carrying sleeping bags, tents, and supplies began setting up camps.

In Oxford, activists targeted the Pitt Rivers Museum, declaring the grounds outside the building a “Liberated Zone”.

Simultaneously, in Cambridge, students carrying the same assortment of camping supplies and banners, occupied the lawn outside King’s College.

On social media, the two groups proclaimed that they were carrying out a “coordinated protest” after being inspired by similar events in the US.

In Oxford, protesters named their makeshift camp after the now infamous set up at Columbia University in the US which was stormed by riot police.

Thousands of students across America’s east and west coasts have brought their institutions to a standstill with the demonstrations, which at times have escalated into violent clashes with hundreds of arrests.

In a post explaining why they had targeted Oxbridge, the two groups claimed that “they lend financial and moral support to Israel’s genocide, occupation and ethnic cleansing of Palestine”.

The camp protest in Oxford was supported by more than 100 academics who wrote an open letter stating they “stood firmly in support of the members of the university community who have begun an encampment outside the Pitt Rivers Museum”.

The lecturers demanded that Oxford’s vice-chancellor “unequivocally condemn” the killing of university professors in Gaza and Israel’s bombardment of its education system.

Many of the protesters were masked and refused to reveal their identities, however among them was Rosy Wilson, an activist who previously heckled Nancy Pelosi, the former US Speaker, and confronted Anneliese Dodds, the Labour MP for Oxford East, over her stance on oil and gas licences.

In Cambridge, Harvey Brown, a student welfare officer who previously “liked” a series of posts on X, formerly Twitter, that supported the Oct 7 attack by Hamas on Israel, was spotted at the camp.

Chants of “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free” were heard at both events with activists leading the calls through a megaphone.

The police presence at both events was minimal and both universities issued statements saying they respected the right to free speech and to protest but would not tolerate anti-Semitism.

While the events were mostly peaceful, an American Jewish student who walked past the Cambridge camp said he was pushed by protesters before having an Israeli flag torn from his hand.

Jewish societies at both universities issued statements saying the creation of the camps left students feeling “on edge”, adding that “University inaction only serves to alienate Jewish students from campus”

Meanwhile in London, students set up a pro-Palestinian camp at SOAS University. SOAS is the second university in the capital to set up a camp behind University College London, where pro-Palestinian protesters allegedly spat at a group of counter-protesters on Sunday and told them to “go back to Poland”.