British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said universities in the United Kingdom have for “far too long been tolerant of casual or indeed systematic anti-Semitism.”
The prime minister made the remark on Wednesday in response to a question by Parliament member Andrew Percy during the “Prime Minister’s Questions” event in the Commons Chamber, reported Britain’s news channel GBN. Percy asked about the National Union of Students inviting British rapper, activist and conspiracy theorist Lowkey to appear at its annual conference.
Lowkey was due to perform at the conference at the end of March but pulled out on Friday after Jewish students expressed concerns about his participation in the event.
Percy said Lowkey has “engaged in anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.”
The British MP called on Johnson to do “everything in his power to ensure campuses were a safe place for Jewish students,” according to Jewish News. He also noted the rise of anti-Semitism on college campuses and cited examples of Jewish students facing anti-Semitic attacks, and being “marked down by their own professors.”
Johnson said it was important that the United Kingdom have an anti-Semitism task force “devoted to rooting out” the problem “in education at all levels.” He also said it was “very important [that] we now have—and I hope everyone understands—the need for change, for rapid and irreversible change.”
