Universities urged to crack down on anti-Semitism ahead of Israel Apartheid Week

Universities have been warned over anti-Semitism ahead of Israel Apartheid Week as Jo Johnson urged institutions to tackle “intimidation and violence” against Jewish students.

Mr Johnson, the universities minister, has written to the chief executives of the representative bodies for higher education institutions, reminding them of their responsibility to ensure students do not suffer “discrimination, harassment or victimisation”.  

It comes after a spate of recent anti-Semitic incidents on campus, including Holocaust denial leaflets distributed at Cambridge University and swastikas discovered at Exeter University.

Mr Johnson said: “I am sure you share my concerns about the rising reports of anti-Semitic incidents in this country and will want to make sure that your own institution is a welcoming environment for all students and that the legal position and guidelines are universally understood and acted upon at all times.

Baroness Ruth Deech

“This will include events such as those that might take place under the banner of ‘Israel Apartheid’ events for instance. Such events need to be properly handled by higher education institutions to ensure that our values, expectations and laws are not violated.”

IAW is a series of events that seek to raise awareness about "Israel’s settler-colonial project and apartheid system over the Palestinian people", as well as encouraging the movement to boycott Israel. 

Events run under the IAW banner have courted controversy in the past. The co-chair of Oxford University’s Labour Club resigned in protest at its “problem with Jews” following its decision to endorse IAW last year.

The Telegraph revealed that an internal report found that Malia Bouattia, the president of National Union of Students, had made comments which “could be reasonably capable of being interpreted as anti-Semitic”  during an IAW event held at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS).

Baroness Ruth Deech, who has previously warned that some of Britain’s leading universities are gaining reputations as institutions where Jews are unwelcome, said that Mr Johnson's intervention was “a great step forward.”

Lady Deech, a cross-bench peer who formerly held the highest office dealing with student complaints, said that the timing of the letter is important because “too many Israel Apartheid Weeks very quickly morph into anti-Semitic activity, violent activity and discrimination against Jewish students”. 

In the annual grant letter to the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), sent yesterday [THURS], Mr Johnson said he is “concerned” by the number of recent reports of anti-Semitism on campus.

In the letter, in which Mr Johnson outlines the funding allocation for the next financial year, he urged HEFC to work with universities improve their record on tackling such incidents.

In October police were called to University College London to quell a violent anti- Israel protest which left Jewish students barricaded in a room, after being told their safety could not be guaranteed if they left alone.

It echoed an earlier event where Jewish students at King's College London were attacked by demonstrators after hosting a talk by the former head of the Israeli secret service Shin Bet.