Antisemitism on campus in the United Kingdom has reached a point where Jewish high-schoolers heading to institutions of higher learning have started attending workshops to train for the expected abuse.
Robert Halfon, a former Conservative MP and minister in the Department for Education, after speaking to Jewish students at one workshop two weeks ago, said that levels of intimidation and antisemitism were a “shocking stain on our university system,” The Sunday Times reported on March 14.
In a recent example this month, pro-Palestinian protesters commandeered an event at King’s College London, titled “From Conflict to Connection: Israelis and Iranians in Dialogue.”
The event moderator, a 21-year-old Jewish student who wished to remain anonymous, told The Sunday Times that he hid in a nearby room when anti-Israel protesters burst in.
“It was a legitimate panel discussion that was focused on dialogue, so it is quite telling that it got shut down by the very people who say they don’t want violence,” he said.
Jews are made to feel unwelcome by some other students. “They say ‘Zionists off our streets,’ but they mean ‘Jews off our streets.’ It’s like saying breathing is OK, but oxygen is not allowed,” he said.
Universities that have allowed antisemitism to blossom on campus should have their funding cut, Halfon said. He called for Bridget Phillipson, secretary of state for education in Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s administration, to intervene.
“University is supposed to be the happiest years of your life. But Jewish students are frightened to walk from their halls of residence to lectures. And Jewish societies are being advised not to have stalls at freshers’ weeks. What’s going on is disgraceful—it’s not getting better, it’s getting worse,” Halfon said
Analysis by The Sunday Times found anti-Israel student groups lionizing Hamas, praising terrorist “martyrs,” including Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led invasion, and liking images on social media of Hamas terrorists.
Among the examples provided by the paper:
The Students Against Apartheid Coalition at the University of Leeds liked a post referring to “messages from the resistance” and showed a photograph of Hamas terrorists on a stage during an Israeli prisoner release propaganda ceremony. (Ceremonies in which Israeli hostages are paraded before braying Gazans and forced to thank their captors have been roundly condemned.)
The Leeds’ student group also said Palestinians would defeat “Nazi Zionism.” Comparing Israelis to Nazis is a common antisemitic trope.
Action For Palestine at Queen Mary University of London also posted in praise of terrorist “martyrs,” including Sinwar, who was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, and Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s leader in Lebanon, killed in an Israeli airstrike.
Cardiff Students for Palestine captioned an image of Hamas terrorists surrounding Israeli hostages: “Glory To The Resistance.” Among other pictures of terrorists was one surrounded by children with the caption “The resistance will never die.”
At the University of Cambridge, students disseminated a message on Instagram claiming Israel traffics in organs of Palestinians, a modern take on a classic medieval blood libel.
The Sunday Times said its analysis found many other examples of universities across the U.K. where student groups shared Hamas propaganda.
Also, the paper noted that the London School of Economics refused to cancel a launch event for a book critics said provided “a platform” for Hamas.
Helena Cobban, co-author of the book, “Understanding Hamas: And Why That Matters,” said she respected Ismael Haniyeh, an assassinated Hamas leader, and that the Oct. 7 terrorist attack focused on military targets.
The Community Security Trust, a British charity engaged in research and security for the U.K.’s Jewish community, said the university societies’ online support for terrorism required “urgent, clearly defined disciplinary action.”
Antisemitism on campuses has hit record highs, according to CST.
It reported 325 university-related antisemitic incidents in the last two academic years, a 117% increase over the previous two years.