Nadhim Zahawi / gov.uk
Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi has led the call to tackle antisemitic abuse on campuses, stating at urgent action is required ahead of a summit he is hosting with vice chancellors, university reps and Jewish rights groups today.
The Antisemitism summit, being held by the Education Secretary ahead of Holocaust Memorial Day (27 January), will look at the incidents of Antisemitism on campus and discuss measures and commitments that can be taken to ensure Jewish students and staff feel safe in higher education, a government statement says.
The statement adds that this could include working with the Community Security Trust (CST) to improve data reporting from universities to help build a better picture of this issue and sharing cases of best practice. Alongside these discussions, the Union of Jewish Students (UJS) will run a training workshop for attendees about how to improve support for Jewish students who have been victims of antisemitism.
Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi said: “In November I visited Auschwitz and was humbled by the experience. Seeing first-hand the spectre of a concentration camp which bestowed so many horrors is something which will stay with me for the rest of my life”.
“It also strengthened my resolve to fight the lingering plague of antisemitism still sadly present in our society. Ahead of Holocaust Memorial Day, today’s summit marks a significant step towards that goal”, Mr Zahawi added.
“Education is the vaccine against antisemitism. No Jewish students or staff members should be subjected to antisemitic abuse, and by working together we will send out a clear message that antisemitism – like other forms of racism – will never be tolerated in our classrooms or campuses”.
Minister of State for Higher and Further Education Michelle Donelan MP said: “I am horrified by the very thought of even one incident of antisemitism on campus – it has no place within any of our world leading universities. I will work hand-in-hand with the sector to take forward commitments agreed to today and ensure providers have the right tools to tackle this issue”.
Calling on universities to sign up to the IHRA definition of antisemitism, she underlined: “Finally, I want to take this opportunity to urge those few universities yet to sign up to the IHRA’s definition of antisemitism to follow in the footsteps of many others and do so now. Without a universal recognition of antisemitism, we cannot hope for its abolition”.
Figures published by The Times in November 2021 showed there were 111 antisemitic incidents recorded at British universities in the 2020/21 academic year – a rise of 59% on the previous academic year.
95 UK universities have now signed up to the IHRA definition of antisemitism, following the Department for Education’s call for them to do so.
