, , , , ,

We are challenging the ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv Football Club

We have notified Birmingham City Council and West Midlands Police of our intention to bring a judicial review of the decision to ban away fans from attending the match between Aston Villa and Maccabi Tel Aviv next month.

Aston Villa’s Europa League match against Maccabi Tel Aviv is due to take place without Israeli fans in attendance—banned from Villa Park on “safety” grounds—as a result of the decision.

Our lawyers have written to the Council and Police in accordance with the pre-action protocol for judicial review.

Police forces and local councils must do whatever it takes to ensure that Britain is safe for everyone. The decision has rightly been condemned by the Government and opposition parties. We understand that the decision was not made by Aston Villa.

We will do whatever it takes to overturn this pernicious ban which has humiliated and angered the whole country.

Britain is increasingly waking up to the extremism in our midst but now we must all fight the instinctive appeasement within the authorities and our law enforcement.

Is it a crime to wear a Star of David?

It has been revealed that a Jewish man was arrested in late August after wearing a Star of David pendant, which police alleged had “antagonised” anti-Israel demonstrators.

The man, who is a lawyer, said that he was at the protest as an independent legal observer. He accused the Metropolitan Police of trying to “criminalise the wearing of a Star of David”.

The context does not matter. There can be no context ever that justifies calling a Magen David provocative.

Our authorities are paralysed by appeasement and two successive Governments have failed to muster the courage and policy to act.

The recipe is simple: End the appeasement. Enforce the law. The only missing ingredient is resolve.

But this has not been the only policing controversy that has come to light in relation to the protests.

Mark Birbeck and others from Our Fight UK were recently arrested after displaying signs reading: “We stand with Britain’s Jews.” The arrests came after they were pushed and abused by hate marchers.

Campaign Against Antisemitism provided solicitors to represent Mark and others who were arrested. We are proud to have the back of those who stand up for us.

There is a ceasefire now, but these marches were never really about a ceasefire. The marchers say that they are ‘anti-Zionist’, but this was never really about ‘Zionists’.

After Jews were murdered at a synagogue in Manchester on Yom Kippur, those brave and decent people daring to stand with us face abuse and arrest on the streets of London, because the ‘Free Palestine’ mobs cannot stand the sight of them.

These are hate marches, pure and simple. This cannot go on. We need action now.

These protests have taken over our streets for more than two years. Money well spent? Or should it go elsewhere?

Elie asked people how much they think the Palestine marches cost police forces. Hear what they have to say here.

The Prime Minister is starting to understand, but will he now act?

Last week, the Prime Minister affirmed what we and the Jewish community have been saying for two years but which the police, regulators and universities have hesitated or refused to acknowledge: calls to “Globalise the Intifada” represent a call to attack Jewish communities around the world.

He also told the JC that he believes the phrase “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free” is antisemitic, and disagrees with the Mayor of London, who recently said that it depends on the context.

Our polling has shown that 95% of British Jews consider the chant “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free” to be an antisemitic call to destroy the Jewish state. Only 2% do not.

We are grateful to the Prime Minister for affirming what the Jewish community has long known. But what is he going to do about it?

It is now up to the criminal justice system and regulatory bodies to catch up and take action when people use this racist language. Based on the experience of the past two years, they will not act unless made to.

Ofcom finds BBC committed “serious breach” of broadcasting rules

Ofcom has ruled that the BBC committed a “serious breach” of broadcasting rules after it failed to disclose that the narrator of its Gaza documentary was the son of a Hamas official.

The regulator found that the programme, which was broadcast earlier this year, was “materially misleading” and that this failure “had the potential to erode the significantly high levels of trust that audiences would have placed in a BBC factual programme about the Israel-Gaza war.”

The BBC will be required to broadcast a statement about Ofcom’s finding in a prime-time slot.

This was not a minor oversight — it was a grave lapse in editorial standards from our national broadcaster, just one of repeated antisemitism scandals that have recently engulfed the BBC, from paying licence fee funds to the family of a Hamas official to having to part ways with Gary Lineker after he posted an antisemitic meme and from refusing to call Hamas terrorists to broadcasting incendiary rhetoric about ‘Zionists’ and calls for death and destruction at Glastonbury.

We are long past talk of merely restoring trust.

The BBC needs fundamental reform. That must begin with an independent investigation into its coverage of Israel and matters of Jewish interest, and pending the outcome of that investigation the licence fee must be suspended.

Change cannot come soon enough to British medicine

The Government has announced that it is taking urgent action to tackle antisemitism and other forms of racism in the NHS.

We have been calling out severe regulatory failures in the NHS for two years now.

It is tragic, not to mention aggravating, that it has taken two dead Jews murdered in a terrorist attack for the authorities to begin to wake up to what our country has become.

Jewish staff and patients in NHS institutions are feeling intimidated at places that are supposed to be equally welcoming and inclusive to everyone. Regulators have been asleep at the wheel, where they haven’t made the problem even worse, while doctors’ unions have utterly failed their Jewish members. There has been nobody to turn to, which is why people have to turn to us.

Any steps by the Government, however belated, that force regulators to do their jobs quickly and efficiently will be welcome, as are rules that prohibit political accessories, which obviously have no place in our hospitals.

Our private prosecution against David Miller

At a hearing on Friday at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in the private prosecution against Dr David Miller brought by Campaign Against Antisemitism, a fourth charge was added to the existing three.

All four charges allege the sending of menacing communications on X by the Defendant contrary to section 127 of the Communications Act 2003.

The charges relate to the following posts:

  • A post on 8th November 2024 relating to violence in Amsterdam after a football match involving an Israeli team, calling for “material deZionisation on the streets” and the expunging of “Zionist terrorist entryists” from European institutions.
  • A post on 20th March 2025 stating that “every Zionist Jew must be held accountable and de-Zionised,” while stating that anti-Zionist Jews would be kept safe.
  • A post on 24th March 2025 calling for “the entire Zionist movement globally” to “live in fear of accountability until it is dismantled and its ideology eradicated,” and urging readers to “find out where” Zionists are.
  • A post on 4th May 2025 calling for a person in Manchester to be located and “held accountable,” stating that “what has been done has a price… that price is justice”. This is the post which was the subject of Friday’s additional charge.

Last week’s hearing mainly related to a detailed list of requests for disclosure made by the defendant. The judge ordered certain limited further disclosure, noting: “I am keeping it narrowly to that area; anything more would be a fishing expedition.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism exists to ensure that those who unlawfully harass, intimidate, or threaten members of the Jewish community online or offline face justice through the proper legal channels.

Workshopping hatred

Samuel Williams, a University of Oxford student, has reportedly been arrested on suspicion of inciting racial hatred after being filmed at a pro-Palestinian march leading a chant to “put the Zios in the ground”.

Footage appeared to show Mr Williams saying, “I don’t want to yap for too long, but a chant that we’ve been workshopping in Oxford that maybe you guys want to join in,” before leading the chant.

Oxford University has confirmed that a student has been suspended following the arrest and reiterated that there is “no place for hatred, antisemitism or discrimination” on campus.

We are monitoring the situation closely and will continue to press for robust action against those who spread or incite antisemitic violence, whether in the streets or at our universities.

Nazi-inspired extremists jailed

Three Nazi-inspired extremists have been jailed for up to eleven years for plotting terrorist attacks on synagogues and mosques.

Christopher Ringrose, Marco Pitzettu and Brogan Stewart – who had never met in person – amassed over 200 weapons, 3D-printed firearm components, and formed an online group called Einsatz 14 to “go to war” against minority communities.

Court documents revealed a dossier of their online activity glorifying Hitler, antisemitism, and mass killers, and filled with violent white supremacist ideology. Mr Stewart, the self-styled “Führer” of the group, recruited others with vetting forms asking who they hated most.

One message from Mr Stewart warned about then Prime Minister Rishi Sunak: “For Britain to have a p*** and Zionist in charge of the country is absolutely outrageous.”

Ms Justice Cutts noted that Mr Stewart had discussed torturing a Muslim leader. She warned that the extremists remain dangerous, handing down extended sentences and licence periods, noting that an attack “was likely in the not too distant future” but was thankfully thwarted by counterterrorism police.

A fourth man, Claudiu Cristea, was also jailed for possessing terrorist-related documents.

The case serves as a reminder of the danger still posed by neo-Nazi thugs so many decades since the defeat of Nazi Germany. We are grateful for the critical work of specialist police in thwarting these dangerous terrorists.

We are hiring!

Do you want to use your communications skills to raise awareness of antisemitism?

If so, this is the job for you.

Apply now at antisemitism.org/communications-and-research-officer/.

By omissions and commissions, police forces across Britain are making this country a place where people cannot be Jewish in public.

Want to walk on the street? Don’t be openly Jewish.

Want to go to a football match? Sorry, not as a Jew.

Want to go to synagogue? You take your life in your hands.

The antisemitism of the mob is no longer only the fault of the perpetrators but also increasingly of law enforcement officials who are enabling and indeed encouraging and rewarding it.

Two years of the worst antisemitism in living memory, antisemitic hate crimes on unprecedented levels, no end in sight, and not a single police chief has been held accountable by two successive governments for this monumental failure to keep one of Britain’s oldest minorities safe.

There is some hope, however. At last, the British public is awakening to this and they are furious. They want action too, and they want it now.

Image credit: Google

, , , , ,

Recognising a ‘Palestinian state’ is Sir Keir Starmer’s Neville Chamberlain moment

The British Government has recognised a ‘Palestinian state’. This is Sir Keir Starmer’s Neville Chamberlain moment.

Apparently the promises to do ‘everything possible’ to bring the hostages home meant nothing. The Government could have made recognition conditional on the return of the hostages — at the absolute very least — but Sir Keir refused even to do that, so urgent apparently was the need to delight terrorists and their supporters while betraying the families of the hostages whom he had looked in the eye and earnestly pledged to help.

The message could not be clearer: murder, rape, kidnapping and indoctrination are legitimate paths to diplomatic gain — Hamas leaders have called this moment “the fruit of 7th October”. Additional sanctions against Hamas will have zero impact and do nothing to blunt the delight amongst Hamas’ leaders. This is not statesmanship or peacemaking; it is the deliberate betrayal of those taken hostage and slain on 7th October 2023 and a reward that has delighted Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and their supporters.

This morally reprehensible decision was explicitly made in the context of a war between Israel, on which conditions were placed, against antisemitic terrorists, on whom no conditions were placed. It will surely prolong war by encouraging those terrorists to continue to hold hostages and to perpetrate further antisemitic terrorism because this act of recognition is a declaration that the UK rewards violence against Jews.

All but a small minority of British people recognise this and do not support this shameful betrayal of this country’s values, with a new poll showing that almost 90% of the British public do not back Sir Keir’s recognition of a ‘Palestinian state’.

We fear that our Government’s virtue signalling will have an impact here at home too, as Islamist terrorists around the world digest the lessons from this betrayal. History shows that appeasement eventually brings the aggressor to your door.

So why did Sir Keir announce it? “Because,” as the Prime Minister of Israel said at the UN, addressing him and the other Western leaders who made similar announcements, “you don’t have the guts to face down a hostile media and antisemitic mobs demanding Israel’s blood.”

Last weekend, the Prime Minister made his priorities clear.

We displayed outside Parliament the words of senior Hamas leader Ghazi Hamed: “The initiative by several countries to recognise a Palestinian state is one of the fruits of October 7.”

Sir Keir Starmer’s recognition of a ‘Palestinian state’ hands Hamas the reward it craves and tells the world that terrorism pays.

We have published an open letter to Sir Keir Starmer regarding the announcement.

Add your name and stand with the Jewish community.

Sir Keir Starmer decided to recognise a Palestinian state even as Jewish hostages continue to suffer in the hands of murderous Hamas terrorists.

Is this decision a reward for terror or a positive, overdue step?

Elie went onto the streets to find out. Watch the full video here.

Sir Keir’s Rosh Hashanah message to the Jewish community almost felt like he was trolling British Jews.

He was among the last people that the Jewish community were wanting to receive Rosh Hashanah greetings from, given his act of betrayal just days prior.

You cannot reward the Hamas rapists and murderers who carried out the worst pogrom against the Jews since the Holocaust and then the next day tell Jews that you “stand shoulder to shoulder” with us as though nothing had happened.

The man who vowed to “tear out antisemitism by its roots” has betrayed Britain’s Jews and poured fuel on the fire. It is unforgivable.

Is British taxpayer money going to Hamas?

We have previously written about how British taxpayer money not only may be going to Hamas, an antisemitic genocidal terrorist organisation that seeks to murder Jews, but could actually be one of its main sources of funding.

Now, the Daily Express has reported that a Foreign Office official met with Hamas terrorists just three months after the group was proscribed in full, and assured them that the newly extended ban would not prevent the continuation of British funding.

Although this meeting took place under the previous Government, it confirms recent reports about British aid money being transferred to Hamas-controlled entities and raises yet more questions about whether the Foreign Office is complying with the law.

Kneecap case thrown out after latest CPS debacle

The terrorism charge against Kneecap’s Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh has been thrown out.

The charge related to the alleged display of a flag in support of Hizballah, a proscribed antisemitic terrorist organisation, at a concert at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town on 21st November last year.

Footage of the concert in question appeared to show a member of the band, draped in a Hizballah flag, shouting to the crowd, “Up Hamas, up Hizballah.”

Hamas and Hizballah are both proscribed terrorist organisations in the UK.

The Chief Magistrate threw out the charge because the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) had failed to get the consent of the Attorney General to bring the case within the legal timeframe.

This is a matter of utter incompetence by the authorities.

For the avoidance of doubt, this does not mean that Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh is innocent of the charge: far from it. The Chief Magistrate underscored that point.

Rather, it means that the CPS has once again botched an antisemitism case. The list of bungled CPS prosecutions of antisemitic hate crimes is rapidly growing longer than the sparse list of successful ones. A minuscule ten percent of British Jews think that the CPS does enough to protect them, according to our representative polling. The CPS gives them little reason why they should not think that.

What good is our criminal justice system if it cannot get its act together in a case of a man stood draped in the flag of a proscribed terrorist organisation that wants to annihilate all Jews shouting “Up Hamas, up Hizballah”?

This is a prime example of how difficult it is for British Jews to get justice in this country. Not long ago, the CPS dropped all charges after men drove through London in broad daylight with a megaphone shouting “F*** the Jews…rape their daughters.”

A lot of Jewish people are starting to throw up their hands in despair at the dire state of our criminal justice system, which clearly is incapable of delivering justice.

At a time of raging antisemitic hate crime, the response of the criminal justice system has been beyond woeful, and its priorities have been embarrassing.

British Jews despair of their safety in Britain. That is not only because of the racist wickedness of the perpetrators but also because of the fecklessness of those we are all paying to protect us.

Heads should roll over this latest humiliating debacle. But they won’t.

It’s just the Jews, after all.

Goldsmiths: an antisemitism investigation

Goldsmiths, University of London has a reputation for producing some of Britain’s most successful creatives, and its arts degrees are consistently ranked highly across the board.

Earlier this year, however, it released the findings of a years-long independent investigation into antisemitism at the University following reports of anti-Jewish racism targeting students and staff.

Among the horrendous incidents cited in the report was graffiti on campus containing swastikas and the text, “Gas the Jews” and QR codes on campus with the text: “What you need to know about the Jews”. The QR code led to images of concentration camps. You can read more about the report here.

The report confirmed what the Jewish community had long known: Jews at Goldsmiths were facing antisemitism, and the University failed in its duty of care for them.

We decided to investigate for ourselves. Watch the full video here.

One NHS doctor suspended as another inexplicably has interim suspension lifted

A doctor who was photographed holding a placard with the Israeli flag and the words “rape”, “steal”, “cry”, “lie”, “cheat” and “kill” has reportedly been suspended over alleged social media activity.

Here are just some of the posts that were reportedly discovered:

  • “The ‘non-civilians’ are Hamas and whether they are 1% or 18% of the Palestinians slaughtered, they should not have been killed either. Do not inadvertently white wash the murder of Hamas members. They are a political party and oppressed resistence [sic] fighters. NOT terrorists.”
  • “Jews who do not oppose Zionism have feelings of superiority by definition. Anti Zionist Jews mostly STILL centre their identity. Feelings of superiority is a minority view in each group. Amongst Jews; vast majority. They are a privileged group, yet moan about anti-semitism etc.”
  • “And anybody saying ‘not all Jews’ doesn’t get it. You are like the ‘not all men’ (Me Too protests) and ‘all lives matter’ (BLM protests) brigades. Clutching your pearls and deflecting from the evil that is going on; Jews slaughtering non Jews.”
  • Clearly this rhetoric – some of which attempts to sanitise Hamas, an antisemitic genocidal terror group – is beyond the pale to any reasonable person.

Not only would Jewish staff and patients feel deeply uncomfortable working with or being treated by practitioners who openly espouse such deranged and inflammatory views, but so, frankly, would anybody else.

We want doctors who are level-headed, sober and professional and anyone who published posts like these are clearly anything but.

Meanwhile, in a total dereliction of duty, it has been decided that Dr Rahmeh Aladwan will be allowed to continue to practise despite being under investigation.

The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) ruled that Dr Aladwan, who uses her social media and public appearances to wage a campaign of hatred against British Jews, is fit to continue practising medicine while she is under investigation by the General Medical Council (GMC).

Dr Aladwan rose to notoriety earlier this year as some of her earlier rhetoric was revealed.

This is an inexplicable and disgraceful decision—one that marks the UK’s continued descent into the abyss, as institutions that carry the responsibility for protecting people from extremists are seemingly bending over backwards to appease and turn a blind eye to them.

The MPTS has failed spectacularly in its duty. It is staggering that it believes that a doctor who appears to defend armed jihad and violent attacks on Jews, posted a photo of a Hamas terrorist and described a hospital as a ‘cesspit of Jewish supremacy’ should continue to practise.

We will be closely following the GMC’s investigation, which must now proceed apace.

In the meantime, we are in discussion with our legal advisors with regard to the options open to us.

Following the decision, Health Secretary Wes Streeting said that he has no confidence in the medical regulation system.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Director of Investigations and Enforcement, Stephen Silverman, appeared on GB News to discuss the case.

The BBC: jokes and boycotts?

The BBC and Britain’s other public sector broadcasters have reportedly united to demand of Ofcom new regulations to force YouTube and other online platforms to give them more prominence in part to “combat misinformation”.

Is this a joke, we wondered?

Regardless of the merits or otherwise of regulating YouTube, anyone in the Jewish community – and many other groups besides – will find this from the BBC absolutely laughable.

When it comes to matters concerning the Jewish community and the Jewish state, the BBC is one of the biggest spreaders of misinformation in the UK, and has played an outsized role in fanning the flames of antisemitism in our country.

The notion that its journalism – some of which is so transparently biased as to barely deserve the name – should have even more advantages than it already receives is an insult to those of us who have long campaigned for fundamental reform at our national broadcaster, for which (unlike any YouTube channel) we are forced to pay.

Here are three examples from just the past week.

First, as Lord Austin courageously pointed out in the House of Lords, the BBC – and Parliament – largely ignored the Government’s assessment that Israel is not committing genocide in Gaza, but lavished attention on the conclusion of a UN Human Rights Council taskforce that it is.

This matters, because these slanders fuel hatred of Jews in Britain.

Second, the BBC has reportedly refused to rule out boycotting Eurovision 2026 if Israel is allowed to take part.

Eurovision is supposed to be a celebration of togetherness, using music to bring nations closer. Excluding the world’s only Jewish state represents the antithesis of this sentiment.

At this year’s Eurovision contest, Israel’s National Security Council was forced to issue a warning advising Jews and Israelis visiting Switzerland, the host country, to “avoid displaying Israeli and Jewish symbols in public” for their own safety.

More than four-fifths (84%) of British Jews agree that boycotts of Israeli artists, academics or businesses selling Israeli products constitute intimidation, according to our representative polling.

When antisemitism is at record levels, capitulating to those who hate the world’s only Jewish state does nothing to help. Quite the contrary, in fact.

Third, the BBC has ruled that Bob Vylan’s chant of “Death, death to the IDF” and antisemitic slurs at Glastonbury broke its rules on harm and offence — but ludicrously decided that this was not incitement to violence.

This absurd decision is yet another an insult to British Jews from our national broadcaster. The BBC had a chance to put right some of the harm that it caused by broadcasting this vile performance. Instead, it has betrayed the Jewish community yet again.

If openly calling for “death” is not incitement, then the BBC has abandoned all pretence of protecting the public – or at least the Jewish public. Until there is a full, truly independent inquiry, the BBC simply cannot be trusted.

We are continuing to write to venues intending to host musical duo Bob Vylan, requesting that they reconsider their invitations to the rappers.

In addition to chanting “Death to the IDF” and ranting about “working for f***ing Zionists” on stage at Glastonbury Festival, Pascal Robinson-Foster – one of Bob Vylan’s members – has also proclaimed: “The only good pig is a dead pig.”

Now, in a recent performance, reports claim that Mr Robinson-Foster said: “F*** the fascists, f**** the Zionists, get out there and fight there, get out there and meet them in the streets, get out there and let them know that you do not f***ing stand by them, you understand me?”

At that same concert, footage appears to show Mr Robinson-Foster mockingly dedicating a song to Charlie Kirk, a prominent political activist murdered last week: “The pronouns was/were. Cause if you chat s**** you will get banged. Rest in peace Charlie Kirk, you piece of s****.”

Join our team!

We are looking for a Communications and Research Officer, early in their career, to join our team and help us raise awareness of the reality and impact of antisemitism.

For more information, please visit antisemitism.org/jobs.

Become a Student Ambassador!

We are looking for Student Ambassadors for the coming academic year!

Apply now at antisemitism.org/become-a-student-ambassador.

Please share this link with anyone who may be interested in this role.

Let’s make a difference to campus life in the UK.

Help us expose.
Help us report.
Help us support.

Places are limited and applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis so don’t wait to apply!

Saying goodbye to Holocaust survivor Ruth Posner

We were heartbroken this week to learn of the passing of Ruth Posner BEM, Holocaust survivor and educator, and her husband Michael.

Ruth was forced into the Radom Ghetto as a child but, thanks to a plan created by her father, she managed to escape with her aunt. She later discovered, however, that her remaining family were murdered in the Treblinka extermination camp.

Ruth made her way to the United Kingdom as a teenager. Years later, she would meet her loving husband, Michael, and go on to live a remarkable life travelling and working across the world, becoming an accomplished dancer and actor, performing and teaching at some of the world’s most prestigious venues and institutions.

She would also go on to speak publicly of her experiences during the Holocaust, educating future generations and never shying away from taking part in the fight against antisemitism. Ruth was also a great friend of Campaign Against Antisemitism, standing proudly alongside us in this vital work.

We were honoured to have been able to feature her on Britain’s first-ever national billboard campaign against antisemitism in 2023.

We were also privileged to have interviewed her on an episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism. You can listen to her remarkable story here.

You can read her obituary in The Times here (paywall).

Thank you, Ruth. You were an inspiration and a shining example of how to use one’s voice for good in this world. You will be greatly missed.

May their memories be a blessing.

Our incredible supporters

Many of you have written to us thanking us for organising Britain’s March Against Antisemitism and telling us why it was so important to you to attend.

Here is just one of the myriad extraordinary messages that we received:

“You ask why I came to the March. I am a 79-year-old Scottish woman living in Sutherland. When I was fourteen I came across a book ‘Lest We Forget’ in the corner of a room we used for sports equipment, train sets, etc. I got halfway through and was sick.

“I could never go into that room again nor talk about what I saw for the next 30 years. I had and still have intrusive thoughts almost daily. Until very recently I could never watch or read anything about the Holocaust and still can’t look at any images.

“I now have terminal cancer and thinking of a lot of ‘doing one last things’. Attending the march came at the top.

“I asked a friend to look after my dogs but when she knew where I was going and why she refused. So I had to make the journey to and from London in one day as I couldn’t find a replacement dog sitter!

“I am a practicing Christian. I am so proud I did this! And I’m not afraid to speak up.”

You can find photographs of the march here, interviews with attendees here and videos of the speeches here.

You can also show your support for Campaign Against Antisemitism and the fight against the oldest hatred by wearing our merchandise and displaying your love for Jewish friends and opposition to Jew-hate.

Visit antisemitism.org/shop.

It is also customary at this time of year around Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) to make donations to charity.

Please consider supporting Campaign Against Antisemitism and safeguarding the future of Jewish life in Britain.

This week, Jews across Britain and around the world will be observing Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.

It is a time to reflect on shortcomings and missed opportunities, and commit to doing better in the coming year.

We hope that our Prime Minister atones for and reverses his morally reprehensible decision to recognise a ‘Palestinian state’ while Jewish hostages languish in dungeons.

To those celebrating next week, we also wish you a joyous Sukkot, albeit tempered by the second anniversary of 7th October as our thoughts remain with the hostages and their families and we all continue to endure the surge of antisemitism unleashed by the Hamas massacre.

,

Leeds students reportedly post images which appear to glorify terror attack

Leeds students reportedly posted images which appear to glorify a terror attack in Jerusalem, in which six people were murdered.

The posts reportedly feature a Carlo machine gun draped in a keffiyeh and Al-Aqsa Mosque with a giant gun.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “The celebration of a brutal attack by a proscribed terrorist organisation is not ‘political expression’ but extremist propaganda and it endangers Jewish people everywhere.

“Our latest polling shows that one in ten young people in Britain now hold a favourable view of Hamas. Posts like this illustrate that statistic and demonstrate that this dangerous extremism is pervasive.

“Leeds must expel the students responsible for this post. Our lawyers are also reviewing this material. Those who glorify antisemitic terrorism in Britain must be held to account.”

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].

, , , ,

British Jews have always stood with Britain. Now, we need you to stand with us.

Something is happening to our country. The bullies are trying to take over.

This weekend, we’re standing up to them. We need you to stand with us.

This Sunday, 7th September, march with us against antisemitism and extremism.

We set off at 13:00 this Sunday (7th September), gathering at the corner of Hallam Street and Weymouth Street, Marylebone, London W1W 6JJ.

Our first stop is the BBC, followed by other London landmarks.

There is more travel information below, and ways to get the latest updates for Britain’s March Against Antisemitism.

There are moments when we must all stand up and be counted. Given everything that is happening in our country right now, this is one of those moments.

Over the past few weeks, we have been projecting stories of antisemitism onto major institutions in Britain.

Here, you can watch videos of the projections on the BBC, the National Gallery and King’s College London, showcasing just how widespread prejudice and hatred towards Jews has become.

If we do not make our voices heard on Sunday, these trends in our country will continue to deteriorate.

Time is running out.

We Vow To Thee, Our Country

The difference between their marches and ours could not be clearer.

British Jews have always stood with Britain. Now, we need you to stand with us.

The Union Flag will be proudly flown on Sunday. Will you be flying it with us?

Everything you need to know

We are aware that there may be limited service on the London Underground on the day of Britain’s March Against Antisemitism this Sunday.

These strikes are usually cancelled, but in case this one is not, please find information in the graphic here.

More information will be available tomorrow to those who have signed up at antisemitism.org/march.

You can also get updates via our WhatsApp channel on the day of the March by clicking here.

So many of you have already signed up to march, because you rightly do not want to sit on the sidelines.

Britain’s March Against Antisemitism is an occasion not to be missed.

We look forward to seeing you on Sunday.

, , ,

This Sunday, we will gather near the BBC and march

Britain’s March Against Antisemitism is just one week away, and we can announce the starting point.

We set off at 13:00 this Sunday (7th September), gathering at the corner of Hallam Street and Weymouth Street, Marylebone, London W1W 6JJ, on a route that we will confirm later in the week, passing the BBC and London’s landmarks.

Don’t sit on the sidelines! Come march and make your voice heard!

How do I get to the march?

If you are driving, single yellow lines and pay-by-phone bays are free to use all day on Sundays in the area around the start of the march. Please always check signage yourself before parking.

We are aware that there may be a strike on the London Underground on the day of the march. These strikes are usually cancelled, but in case this one is not, we have a plan.

Please note that the Elizabeth line and the Overground lines will still be operating as normal on the day.

Please see below for advice on how to reach the starting point in the event that the strike proceeds.

  • From Euston: You can either walk for 15 minutes or take the 205 bus.
  • From Kings Cross/St Pancras: You can either walk for 25 minutes or take the 73 bus to Euston Square and walk for 15 minutes.
  • From Waterloo: You can either walk for 40 minutes or take the 139 bus to Oxford Circus and walk for 10 minutes.
  • From Paddington: You can either walk for 30 minutes, or take the Elizabeth line to Bond Street and walk for 15 minutes or take the 27 bus to Great Portland Street and then walk 6 minutes.
  • From Liverpool Street: You can either take the Elizabeth line to Bond Street and walk for 15 minutes or take the 205 bus to Great Portland Street and then walk 5 minutes.
  • From Marylebone: You can either walk 20 minutes or take the 453 bus from Great Central Street to New Cavendish Street.

If you still need advice on how to get to the march, please e-mail us.

No Bank Holiday from Hate

As the country returned to work from a relaxing bank holiday weekend, Bournemouth’s Jewish community was still recovering from a spate of incidents that took place during the Jewish Sabbath.

Rabbi Benzion Alperowitz walked out of his home in the city only to discover that someone had daubed a swastika — the Nazi symbol of the perpetrators of the genocide of six million Jewish men, women and children — on his house.

It transpired that a number of swastikas had been scrawled elsewhere across the area as well.

In Dorset, a Jewish boy had reportedly been shot at on Shabbat with an air rifle by someone in a car, who reportedly first took the opportunity to make derogatory comments towards him. It is understood that the boy sustained a head injury. Someone has been arrested in connection with this alleged assault.

At a protest outside the Israeli Embassy in London, an activist declared: “This will become the Embassy of Palestine. There will be no peace until Israel is destroyed. We want Palestine in the 1948 borders.”

In footage from a recent Bob Vylan concert, one of its members is heard calling for “armed resistance” against the IDF and the Metropolitan Police.

During the opening ceremony of the Wheelchair Basketball Nations Cup, every member of the British team turned their backs to the Israeli players during Israel’s national anthem.

For the past two years, British Jews and decent Britons across the country have watched in horror as our country has changed.

Extremists and bigots are getting their way, radicalising children, running rampant on our streets and campuses and even spreading venom through our national broadcaster, all without fear of consequences.

Too many of our civic institutions have responded, if at all, with appeasement. Many of our police forces have chosen to give into the marching mobs, arresting those who stand up against them.

This has to be the moment that the country wakes up.

We need you with us. Stand up. March. Make a difference. Go to antisemitism.org/march.

“Is there a f***ing Zionist in this group chat?”: Campaign Against Antisemitism projects campus antisemitism back onto KCL

Today, we published a video of a Jewish student recounting dire experiences in her first year at King’s College London (KCL). The video was projected onto KCL premises.

In the projection, the student, Tali, speaks about the hostilities that she has faced on campus from fellow students, including seeing messages in a group chat reading, “Is there a f***ing Zionist in this group chat?” and “Bitch get down,” in reference to her.

She also discusses the failures of university staff to assist her when she raised concerns for her safety, including potentially victim-blaming advice such as: “It may be helpful to try to understand why the other students are behaving this way.”

She had to rely on her brother to escort her to classes.

The video ends with Tali calling on people to join her at Britain’s March Against Antisemitism on Sunday 7th September.

Tali’s experience is absolutely scandalous.

What happened to her and the University’s apparent failure to address the threatening racism that she has faced is symptomatic of the deep rot of antisemitism that has spread across campuses nationwide. Behind the façade of virtuous anti-racism rhetoric, universities have become epicentres of Jew-hatred: Jewish students are abused, Jewish societies are trolled and Jewish institutions are vandalised.

Tali’s harrowing testimony lays bare not only the hostility faced by Jews on campus, but also the staggering failures of those in positions of responsibility. KCL has failed — and it must act decisively to protect Jewish students before more damage is done.

This vicious Jew-hatred and the authorities’ failure to grapple with it is why we will be marching in central London this Sunday against antisemitism and extremism.

Watch the full video here.

As Jewish children begin to return to school and Jewish students make preparations for university, many of them – and their parents – will be thinking not only of the opportunities ahead of them but also of the risks to their welfare and safety.
That may because of hostile teachers or radical academics, but it may also be because of racist peers who have a problem with Jews (sorry: ‘Zionists’).

At Campaign Against Antisemitism, we continue to do whatever we can to defend the rights and dignity of Jewish schoolchildren and students, as well as faculty and staff who face discrimination in the workplace and in their trade unions.

Sadly, the education sector is not only not immune to the pervasive antisemitism in our society but is actually one of its principal incubators. Our work is more essential than ever.

You can contribute to the fight against this scourge by supporting our work with youth and on campuses – educating, empowering, supporting victims and holding authorities to account.

If you want to support our work in the education sector, go to antisemitism.org/donate.

Become a Student Ambassador!

One example of our work on campus is our unique Student Ambassador programme.

We are looking for Student Ambassadors for the coming academic year who can make a real positive difference to campus life.

More information is available at antisemitism.org/become-a-student-ambassador.

Places are limited and applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis so don’t wait to apply!

What will you be wearing this Sunday?

Many of you have already bought our new apparel, including our I ♥️ my Jewish friends t-shirts, with some even sending us photos.

Also available in time for the march is our new United Against Antisemitism t-shirts.

How often can you walk in the centre of London and proudly declare your opposition to anti-Jewish racism without fear of strange looks or hostile reactions?

For once, this Sunday, you can.

You can get yours at antisemitism.org/shop.

It’s obvious to Australia, so why not to us?

It is obvious to the Australian Government: Iran is behind attacks on Jews in Australia.

It is obvious to the UK Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee.

It was obvious to Foreign Secretary David Lammy and to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper before the election when they promised to ban Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

So why is the IRGC still legal in the UK?

This Government must keep its word and proscribe the IRGC now, as Australia has just done, before people are hurt or killed on our streets.

Sign the petition now.

,

“Is there a f***ing Zionist in this group chat?”: CAA exposes antisemitism at King’s College London

Campaign Against Antisemitism has today published a video of a Jewish student recounting dire experiences in her first year at King’s College London (KCL).

The video was projected onto KCL premises.

In the projection, the student, Tali, speaks about the hostilities that she has faced on campus from fellow students, including seeing messages in a group chat reading, “Is there a f***ing Zionist in this group chat?” and “Bitch get down,” in reference to her.

She also discusses the failures of University staff to assist her when she raised concerns for her safety, including potentially victim-blaming advice such as: “It may be helpful to try to understand why the other students are behaving this way.”

The video ends with Tali calling on people to join her at Britain’s March Against Antisemitism, organised by Campaign Against Antisemitism for Sunday 7th September.

You can watch the full video here.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Tali’s experience is absolutely scandalous. What happened to her and the University’s apparent failure to address the threatening racism that she has faced is symptomatic of the deep rot of antisemitism that has spread across campuses nationwide. Behind the façade of virtuous anti-racism rhetoric, universities have become epicentres of Jew-hatred: Jewish students are abused, Jewish societies are trolled and Jewish institutions are vandalised. Tali’s testimony lays bare not only the hostility faced by Jews on campus, but also the staggering failures of those in positions of responsibility. King’s College London has failed — and it must act decisively to protect Jewish students before more damage is done. This vicious Jew-hatred and the authorities’ failure to grapple with it is why we will be marching in central London this Sunday against antisemitism and extremism.”

A spokesperson for King’s College London said: “We are in contact with the student who has submitted a complaint and have offered support while investigations are ongoing, including individual support through our wellbeing services and increased safety measures.

“We are also engaged with our Israeli, Jewish and wider student societies on a regular basis, and have provided extensive pastoral support and have enhanced security measures, both in person and via our SafeZone app, to keep our community safe on campus.

“There is no place at King’s for racism, antisemitism, abuse, incitement, harassment and bullying, and any reports made to Report and Support (our reporting system), are taken very seriously and are investigated in line with our robust policies and procedures.”

Tali’s full remarks in the video 

My name is Tali, and I am a Jewish student right here, at King’s College London. I’m up here to talk about the antisemitism that I, and countless other Jewish students, have had to endure over the past year and a half – and longer. The staff at KCL haven’t been particularly helpful so far. Maybe after this, they’ll finally listen.

I began my university journey with excitement, eager for the next stage of my life. I grew up in a Jewish home, went to a Jewish school, and was quite sheltered from the hate that others in the Jewish community experience in their youth.

I suppose you could say I was naive when it came to the realities of campus life. But that didn’t last long. In a group chat for those attending the Associateship of King’s College lecture series on the Middle East, my coursemates made comments about the lectures being “an attempt to educate the Zionist”.

I calmly asked them why they thought that. They proceeded with an inquisition. “Is everyone here not pro-Palestine or what?” they said. “I would assume in a degree that required critical thinking, Zionism would be nonexistent in our cohort,” one added.

When I tried to discuss our differing views in the chat, I was dismissed with accusations like “You’re indoctrinated” and “You’re horrifically outnumbered here.”

Then, the messages took an even darker turn.

“Is there a f***ing Zionist in this group chat?”

“We’ve fished out a Zionist.”

“Get ‘em out.”

“Can’t wait to see you tomorrow, Tali.” 

This went on for over two hours, leaving me in tears, and fearful for the next day.

That was my first day of university. That was my first day.

On my second day, I had to have my older brother escort me to my classes. Most of my classmates decided to ignore me from then on. I felt hostility in the air.

Then came 7th October 2024, one year on from Hamas’ horrific terrorist attacks. It was the one-year anniversary of a terrible trauma for the Jewish world. Instead of sympathy or even just not acknowledging the day, I was shocked to see a group of Palestine activists taking part in a scheduled walkout, leaving me and fellow Jewish students questioning to what extent support and sympathy for terrorism was rampant on our campus.

I made it clear I did not align with this walkout. Again, abusive messages began flooding my phone.

“Bitch get down.”

“You’re not the messiah you think you are.”

“The Zionists are actually everywhere.”

“As a group, we should just band together and carry her out.”

I began to be afraid of what might happen if I turned up to my classes again. Classes I was paying for. Classes I had a right to be in, safe and equal.

But I was being attacked because I was Jewish.

I was struggling to get through that week. So, I spoke with the university’s wellness advisor. Not five minutes into the conversation, the advisor advised that “it may be helpful to try to understand why the other students are behaving this way” towards me.

That was the advisor who was the one I was supposed to turn to – and did turn to – to help me.

I filed a report with the university and the police regarding the threats and harassment I experienced. I have heard nothing from the university, and the police said they were unable to help.

To this day, I cannot walk into a classroom without hostile looks thrown my way, without two empty seats on either side of me, without me trying to decide whether or not I should tuck in my Star of David.

The advisor told me to try to understand why the other students are behaving like this towards me. I do understand.

So do Jewish students across the country, who are forced to avoid their own campuses for fear of being targeted. Antisemitic and pro-terrorist chants and signs and encampments are commonplace, all while staff look the other way, or worse, encourage it or even take part.

90% of young British Jews blame their fellow students for the increase in antisemitic incidents on UK campuses. Only 3% of British Jews are confident that if a Jewish student reported an antisemitic incident on campus, the university’s administration would take appropriate action. I am an illustration of that statistic.

We put the contents of this video to King’s College London for comment.

This is what they said: “We are in contact with the student who has submitted a complaint and have offered support while investigations are ongoing, including individual support through our wellbeing services and increased safety measures. 

“We are also engaged with our Israeli, Jewish and wider student societies on a regular basis, and have provided extensive pastoral support and have enhanced security measures, both in person and via our SafeZone app, to keep our community safe on campus.

“There is no place at King’s for racism, antisemitism, abuse, incitement, harassment and bullying, and any reports made to Report and Support (our reporting system), are taken very seriously and are investigated in line with our robust policies and procedures.” 

Jewish students in Britain deserve better than this. This must be the moment that the country wakes up. People need to see that they are not alone in feeling this way. I encourage you to join Britain’s March Against Antisemitism on Sunday 7th September to say no to antisemitism and extremism. See you there.

Sign up now at antisemitism.org/march. 

Image credit: Jeremy Coleman/Campaign Against Antisemitism

, , , ,

Prime Minister announces Britain is to recognise a state of Palestine

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has announced that the UK would recognise a Palestinian state in September unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire.

In a statement, he said: “So today, as part of this process towards peace, I can confirm the UK will recognise the state of Palestine by the United Nations General Assembly in September unless the Israeli Government takes substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza, agree to a ceasefire and commit to a long-term, sustainable peace, reviving the prospect of a two state solution.”

He did not appear to impose any conditions at all on Hamas.

This was then confirmed in the subsequent days by the Business Secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, who explained why UK policy is to appease Hamas and pressure Israel: “Hamas is a terrorist organisation and we don’t put conditions on them because we don’t negotiate with terrorists.”

In other words, because Hamas is a terrorist organisation, the British Government will not put conditions on it, whereas because Israel is an ally, it will threaten it with an ultimatum.

That is some warped logic.

Hamas, which murdered 1,200 people in cold blood and abducted hundreds of innocents, will be rewarded with recognition regardless of whether or not it releases the hostages.

Any Hamas terrorist listening to the Prime Minister or the Business Secretary will have clearly understood that they need do nothing at all to receive their reward in September. Indeed, a senior Hamas official has welcomed the announcement, concluding that “International support for Palestinian self-determination shows we are moving in the right direction” and that “victory and liberation are closer than we expected”.

Two successive governments have now pledged that they would do everything possible to secure the release of the hostages. The events of this week have shown just how hollow those promises have been. Representatives of the families of British hostages have, following a meeting with officials, effectively confirmed that the Government has severed any connection between the release of the hostages and its plan to recognise a state of Palestine. As the representatives put it, the Government’s so-called Vision for Peace may well involve Jewish hostages continuing to rot in Hamas dungeons.

Our Prime Minister’s declaration is morally indefensible.

There are still hostages held in torturous conditions in Hamas dungeons in Gaza. Were they released, there would be a ceasefire immediately, as Israel and the United States have repeatedly said.

Sir Keir Starmer should be saying that he will take the issue of Palestinian statehood off the table if the hostages are not returned by September or sooner. Instead, he has decided to brandish recognition of a Palestinian state as a threat against the world’s only Jewish state as it seeks to retrieve the hostages still held nearly two years after the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.

This announcement sends the worst possible message: that mass murder, rape and hostage-taking are legitimate paths to diplomatic gain. This is not a step toward peace; it is a dangerous precedent. This is not about justice, peace or a negotiated two-state solution. This is about appeasement, and it will only embolden extremists, including Hamas, who now know that they need only hang on until September — holding the hostages and looting aid — to receive their reward.

Recognition of a Palestinian state should never be wielded as a political weapon. Doing so in the aftermath of an antisemitic pogrom is not only reckless: it is shameful.

“Smash the Zionist terrorist state!”

Footage showed Palestine protesters in our nation’s capital last week chanting: “Smash the Zionist terrorist state!”

80% of British Jews consider themselves to be Zionists; only 6% do not.

Other hideous slogans seen and heard included: “Zionism, terrorism!”; “This is your Holocaust,” in an apparent reference to Gaza; “Resistance isn’t a crime”; and “Deaf to the IOF [sic]” in reference to a recently popularised chant against the IDF.

According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” is an example of antisemitism.

Meanwhile, thousands of Palestine Action supporters are reportedly planning to flout terror laws in a coordinated attempt to overwhelm the police this weekend.

The plot, which we have been closely monitoring, by supporters of the terrorist organisation Palestine Action puts the lie to the common belief in Britain that terrorism cannot be popular.

Not only are Palestine Action and its tactics of sabotage and wanton destruction, criminal damage and intimidation of the Jewish community more popular in Britain than anyone would like to admit, but after over a year and a half of such limited repercussions for extremists in our country, what reason do they have to fear the state or indeed a society whose cultural and civic institutions tolerate and in some cases even appear to celebrate their conduct?

One of the organisations involved in this plot is Defend our Juries, whose name was attached to briefing documents circulated in advance that we have seen. The group seems to have made it a priority to encourage people to express support for Palestine Action, which is illegal.

We have reported the group to Counter Terrorism Policing and the Metropolitan Police, and they must now take immediate steps. Inaction sends a dangerous message about enforcement of our laws and broadcasts that extremism has no consequences. The way to deter large-scale flouting of the law is to enforce it against those organising the activism.

If the police are overwhelmed, we have the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Sir Mark Rowley, to blame. He has devoted his tenure as Britain’s top policeman to emboldening extremists. They believe that they have nothing to fear from him. He has given them every reason to think so.

It is past time to make them think otherwise.

Caprice: “I don’t recognise this country anymore.”

Supermodel Caprice Bourret has said that she has removed her mezuzah from her door out of fear for her safety.

“I don’t recognise this country anymore. Nobody should feel afraid or intimidated because of their religion. The whole concept is bizarre to me, but it’s happening right now,” she said.

Her experience of being Jewish in London illustrates just how bad antisemitism is in the UK right now.

Only one-third of British Jews believe that Jews have a long-term future in the UK, according to our representative polling.

Britain is losing its soul and losing the plot. This country needs to wake up urgently.

Join us and the thousands who have already signed up on 7th September in Central London for Britain’s March Against Antisemitism.

Sign up now at antisemitism.org/march.

The Express replies to Campaign Against Antisemitism over debunked ‘Madonna and child’ photograph

A clickbait image that went around the world before landing on the front page of The Express and being cited by numerous major media outlets across the world has now been debunked.

The child in this harrowing image is not suffering from malnutrition but from a genetic disorder, which is the cause of his gaunt appearance, as the researcher David Collier uncovered.

Real journalists would have investigated that before running it – but real journalists are very few and far between these days, especially when it comes to reporting on the Jewish state.

We wrote to The Express calling for a prominent retraction and apology.

The newspaper has a duty to investigate and verify its stories prior to publication—a basic standard of professional journalism. That duty becomes even more important when publishing emotive and potentially misleading images of minors in order to attract reader attention.

A clarification was added to the online article noting the child’s pre-existing health issues. However, this was a later and insufficiently prominent amendment that fails to undo the damage caused by the original presentation. The clarification states that the child “was also suffering” from these issues—wording that implies other causes for the child’s condition. The implication is that the child’s physical condition has somehow been affected by the war in Gaza, but no evidence is presented to explain why this is so in light of the revelation of his pre-existing condition.

We wanted to know on what basis The Express claims that the child was suffering from anything else and how the image supports the newspaper’s original contention.

Such misreporting on Israel has a severe impact on British Jews, 92% of whom believe that media bias against Israel fuels persecution of Jews in Britain, according to our representative polling.

Instead of taking accountability and issuing a proper apology, The Express came back to us with the following: “The attacks carried out by Hamas on October 7 were unequivocally condemned and we fully acknowledge the anguish felt in Israel in their aftermath. Equally, we have a journalistic duty to report the reality in Gaza, where independent coverage is scarce and civilian suffering is widespread. It was with this in mind that we chose to publish images of Muhammad, a young boy, and his mother. Their story was intended to highlight the human cost of the conflict and to serve as a reminder that the suffering must end on both sides. The decision was not political but humanitarian – a call to recognise the devastating toll of war, particularly on children. Too many have died; too many continue to suffer.

“Subsequent to publication, we were informed that Muhammad had pre-existing neurological and muscular conditions. While this adds context, it does not lessen the tragedy of his situation. We remain committed to covering attacks on Israeli citizens with the same seriousness and visibility as events in Gaza. Our role is to provide accurate, compassionate reporting wherever lives are affected. At its core, our message is simple: The lives of innocent Israeli and Palestinian citizens must be spared.”

This misreporting on Israel has a severe impact on British Jews. That does not mean that Israel should not be covered in the news; it simply means that it should be covered accurately. After over a year and a half of this war, we have yet to see that happen.

In the meantime, the Jewish community is suffering the worst levels of antisemitism in living memory – enabled, it has to be said, by the press.

A tale of two New York newspapers

The image of the child went around the world, including landing on the front page of The New York Times, which subsequently issued a correction for the use of the photo.

It is notable how, barely a week apart, one major New York newspaper essentially ran a fake photo on its front page while its tabloid rival, the New York Post, ran a real one.

Is the media spreading antisemitism?

According to 92% of British Jews, media bias against Israel fuels persecution of Jews in Britain.

How widely is that view shared?

Elie hit the streets to find out more. Watch here to hear more.

Is the International Definition of Antisemitism under threat at Edinburgh University?

Academics at the University of Edinburgh have attacked the International Definition of Antisemitism in a recently published review.

The report, titled ‘Confronting the University of Edinburgh’s History and Legacies of Enslavement and Colonialism’, reads: “The IHRA definition violates academic freedom and freedom of speech by framing any criticism of Israel’s policies of settler-colonial dispossession driven by state racism as a form of antisemitism.”

The International Definition of Antisemitism, which was adopted by the University in 2020, can be found in full at antisemitism.org/definition. There is nothing in the Definition that supports the contention of the academics’ claim.

How the Jews – who are most affected by definitions of antisemitism – managed to be shoehorned into such a report is itself indicative of the times.

We have previously published a note on the relationship between the Definition and Freedom of Expression under the law, which can be found at antisemitism.org/universities/#freedom-of-expression.

Most brazenly, the authors of the report recommend that the University drops its adoption of the Definition, and, sickeningly, they view this step as part of a “commitment to equality, diversity and anti-racism”. That is about as clear an indication as one can find that some people simply do not seem to believe that Jews merit equality or inclusion and do not need to benefit from anti-racism initiatives.

A student at the University told us: “I am deeply upset and worried by the Review’s suggestion to un-adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism. Since 7th October, Jewish students on campuses across the UK have faced unprecedented levels of antisemitism, and many university campuses already feel unwelcoming and unsafe for Jewish students to freely express their identity. Un-adopting IHRA would stop Jewish students from calling out antisemitic behaviour. It would invalidate the real lived experiences of Jewish students, and deny us the right to be believed when we call something out as unacceptable. I am worried that un-adopting IHRA is a slippery slope where in the future, Jewish voices at the University of Edinburgh will be silenced in the name of freedom of speech.”

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].

Get involved in the fight against campus antisemitism!

We have two incredible opportunities for students and recent graduates who want to join the fight against campus antisemitism.

The first is our paid School and Campus Educator, a position for up to eight months starting in September 2025.

For more information and to apply, please visit antisemitism.org/jobs.

The second opportunity is our Student Ambassador programme.

We are looking for superb Student Ambassadors for the coming academic year to help make a difference on campus life in the UK.

You can apply now at antisemitism.org/become-a-student-ambassador.

Places are limited and applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, so don’t wait to apply!

An audience member disrupted a recent Regina Spektor concert in Oregon by shouting “Free f***ing Palestine!” at the Jewish musician mid-performance.

The musician’s family fled antisemitism in the Soviet Union, one of countless Jewish families forced to uproot their lives to escape racist hatred.

She responded calmly and poignantly: “You’re just yelling at a Jew.”

Her response shines a light on the centrality in the ‘Free Palestine’ movement of simple, old-fashioned anti-Jewish harassment and hate. Yelling at Jews doesn’t change things in the Middle East, release hostages or bring peace any closer.

Let’s stop pretending that those who shout these slogans are peace activists. They are not.

All they’re doing, as Ms Spektor so succinctly put it, is “yelling at a Jew”.

If you are fed up of Jews being yelled at by self-described ‘peace activists’, make your voice heard: March with us on Sunday 7th September.

,

Academics at University of Edinburgh attack International Definition of Antisemitism in review

Academics at the University of Edinburgh have attacked the International Definition of Antisemitism in a recently published review.

The report, titled ‘Confronting the University of Edinburgh’s History and Legacies of Enslavement and Colonialism’, reads: “The IHRA definition violates academic freedom and freedom of speech by framing any criticism of Israel’s policies of settler-colonial dispossession driven by state racism as a form of antisemitism.”

The International (IHRA) Definition of Antisemitism, which was adopted by the University in 2020, can be found in full at antisemitism.org/definition. There is nothing in the Definition that supports the contention of this claim.

How the Jews – who are most affected by definitions of antisemitism – managed to be shoehorned into such a report is itself indicative of the times.

We have previously published a note on the relationship between the Definition and Freedom of Expression under the law, which can be found at antisemitism.org/universities/#freedom-of-expression.

Most brazenly, the authors of the report recommend that the University drops its adoption of the Definition, and, sickeningly, they view this step as part of a “commitment to equality, diversity and anti-racism”. That is about as clear an indication as one can find that some people simply do not seem to believe that Jews merit equality or inclusion and do not need to benefit from anti-racism initiatives.

A student at the University told us: “I am deeply upset and worried by the Review’s suggestion to un-adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism. Since 7th October, Jewish students on campuses across the UK have faced unprecedented levels of antisemitism, and many university campuses already feel unwelcoming and unsafe for Jewish students to freely express their identity. Un-adopting IHRA would stop Jewish students from calling out antisemitic behaviour. It would invalidate the real lived experiences of Jewish students, and deny us the right to be believed when we call something out as unacceptable. I am worried that un-adopting IHRA is a slippery slope where in the future, Jewish voices at the University of Edinburgh will be silenced in the name of freedom of speech.”

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].

, , , , , , ,

In cafés and onstage, on our streets and campuses, on television and online, hate is all around us, and we are responding

This weekend has showcased just how desperate the situation is for British Jews – and all Britons who believe in law and order, decency and tolerance – and has underscored to us at Campaign Against Antisemitism why what we do is so important.

It is hard to know where to begin.

Assault on Charedi man

We were alerted to reports of a man who chased a Jew down the street shouting “Free Palestine” in what was an act of brazen antisemitism.

Apparently some see a Jewish person and think that, because they are Jewish, they are fair game to harass in the name of ‘freeing Palestine’. Others, clearly not fearing any repercussions, will actually act upon their demented impulse.

Campaign Against Antisemitism exists to ensure that they do face repercussions.

We offered a reward for information leading to the identification and conviction of the perpetrator. Already on the same day, we were contacted confidentially by a member of the public with a tip as to the identity of perpetrator.

Our Online Monitoring and Investigations Unit has now verified the information provided to us. It is our intention to ensure that the person responsible for this brazen act of antisemitism faces the full force of the law.

If you have information regarding this incident, including information about the perpetrator, please contact us confidentially at [email protected].

This is the true face of Palestine protesters.

*See antisemitism.org/terms

Attack at kosher café

We received footage of an attack on Jewish customers at a kosher restaurant in central London.

We helped to publicise the incident and understand that police have made an arrest and are reportedly treating this as a hate crime. Those responsible for any attack must face the full force of the law.

Meanwhile, in Manchester, we learned that a man believed to be leaving an Oasis concert was reported to police after a Jewish man was verbally abused.

At approximately 21:45 last night, a topless man, believed to be drunk, came to the entrance of a kosher restaurant on Bury Old Road and began harassing customers, all of whom were identifiably Jewish.

The man then allegedly started commenting on customers being Jewish and is understood to have mentioned “bad Jews in Israel” before demanding to know what the views of the customers were on the conflict. We understand that this made those in the restaurant feel incredibly uncomfortable. Backing away from the door after being approached, he then shouted “Free Palestine!”

Nearby officers at the scene were made aware of the alleged assailant. We are in touch with the victim and offering support.

Our polling shows that fewer than half of British Jews (43%) feel welcome in the UK. With incidents like these, is it any wonder?

Even the opera is not immune

At the curtain call for a performance of Verdi’s Il Trovatore at the Royal Opera House in London, a member of the cast unfurled the flag of the Palestinian Authority onstage.

It is so typical of the narcissism of some of the Palestine crowd that they hijack the last night of an enormously successful production at one of the world’s most famous opera houses and try to make it about their performative politics. Other members of the cast who had worked so hard must have wondered why people in the audience started to boo during their curtain call, as an incensed stage manager tried to grab the flag.

The Royal Ballet and Opera has denounced what happened as “a wholly inappropriate act”. We completely agree.

We understand that the performer was a freelancer and that this was their last night on stage. If that’s the case, good riddance.

This isn’t about freeing Palestine. This is about an attention-seeker craving even more of the spotlight.

Brits trying to enjoy an evening out shouldn’t have to worry about whether fanatics obsessed with the world’s only Jewish state may try to dominate the night.

“Zionist Holocaust” on London’s streets

On Saturday, Palestine Action’s supporters were out in force, on a day with over 100 arrests.

Masked thugs took over the streets in London and towns around the UK once again, firing flares, shouting “f*** your Jewish state” at Jews, and smugly goading officers, daring them to do something. Thankfully, they did.

Police made over 100 arrests. 55 were arrested in London on suspicion of supporting a proscribed terrorist organisation, with a further sixteen arrested in Manchester, and seventeen in Bristol for the same offence. Another ten were arrested at the Palestine Solidarity Campaign’s march in London, including for a racially aggravated public order offence, and for breaching Public Order Act conditions.

Meanwhile, walking around Central London parading a sign about a “Zionist Holocaust” is abhorrent and disgraceful.

Some six million Jewish men, women and children were murdered in the Holocaust, representing around one third of the world’s Jewish population. 80 years later, the Jewish population has still not fully recovered. There is no comparison to be made.

According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” is an example of antisemitism.

Extremist rhetoric has no place on our streets.

If you see such rhetoric, contact us at [email protected].

Show your opposition to what our country is becoming: March with us on 7th September

Since the proscription of Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation, the thuggery and performative nature of this movement have become increasingly clear. It seems pretty obvious to us that Palestine Action smashes up Jewish businesses and wrecks RAF aircraft because they hate Jews and hate Britain, so their supporters cannot then claim to be persecuted peaceful protesters advocating for an organisation that is meek and harmless.

If this were about foreign conflicts, they would have spoken up against the massacre of Druze in Syria this week, but they were silent. Why? Because they are extremists, obsessed with Jews, the Jewish state, and intimidating and radicalising here on the streets of the UK.

In almost two years, they have yet to influence anything thousands of miles away in the Middle East, but they are having an enormous impact on the lives of ordinary law-abiding people here in Britain.

We welcome the robust action from the authorities. However, those arrested this weekend must face the full force of the law, not be released to take over our cities again.

The police action that we are seeing now should have happened nearly two years ago when the Palestine extremists first began their campaign of intimidation, gaslighting the British public by labelling their thuggery as “peaceful”. But it is still too little, too late.

The constant protests, masked mobs, vandalism, glorification of terrorism, and open hatred of Jews that we have seen week after week must end. They were given an inch, and they’ve now taken the country. Enough is enough.

On 7th September, we will be in Central London for Britain’s March Against Antisemitism, demanding action. Join us.

Sign up now at antisemitism.org/march.

The BBC is still trying to defend itself

Video leaked this week of Deborah Turness, the CEO of BBC News, appearing to downplay the scandal of licence fee money going to the family of a Hamas official whose son narrated a BBC documentary about Gaza.

In the footage, she sought to emphasise that the official in question – a deputy minister in the Hamas Government – was supposedly a member of Hamas’ so-called ‘political wing’.

Notwithstanding that the artificial distinction between Hamas’ military and political wings is nonsense (as if the Nazi Government was somehow more palatable because it wasn’t the SS), both ‘wings’ are proscribed by the British Government, and providing support or financial benefit to either is equally unlawful.

Isn’t it funny how now it’s so “important to remind people” of this official’s precise role, when it wasn’t important at all in the so-called documentary itself.

The BBC is still trying to play down this scandal. There is always an excuse.

This is why we said that the BBC’s internal report on the scandal almost read like the Corporation was trying to exonerate itself – and this is further evidence.

Ofcom, which is now investigating, should take into account the broadcaster’s institutional inability – as we have seen time and again from the BBC – to accept its failings.

Does the public trust the BBC?

According to our polling, 92% of British Jews rate the BBC’s coverage of matters of Jewish interest as unfavourable.

Elie hit the streets to see what the public thinks. You can listen to what they have to say here.

On the rare occasion the BBC does the right thing, Channel 4 will make up for it

It would appear that a producer of a Gaza documentary axed by the BBC (a different Gaza documentary to the one narrated by the Hamas official’s son), but then aired by Channel 4, is someone who celebrates antisemitic terror attacks that murder Jews.

Osama Al Ashi was one of two Gazan producers working on the documentary Gaza: Doctors Under Attack, which was made by Basement Films, an independent production company. The film had been commissioned by the BBC, but the Corporation, reeling from the other Gaza documentary fiasco, decided that broadcasting this other film “risked creating a perception of partiality that would not meet the high standards that the public rightly expect of the BBC”.

Channel 4 then acquired the film, declaring it had carried out “thorough fact checking and verification” to ensure that it met its editorial standards and the Ofcom broadcasting code. The documentary was broadcast on 2nd July.

It has now emerged, however, that Mr Ashi previously described Khairi Alqam, a 21-year-old terrorist from Jerusalem who murdered seven Israelis, including a fourteen-year-old child, outside a synagogue on Holocaust Memorial Day in 2023, as a “martyr”. Mr Ashi reportedly reacted to the attack by posting a commemorative video showing photos of the terrorist, captioned “the martyr Khairi Alqam – may God have mercy on him and forgive him”, a common Arabic condolence message.

On 7th October 2023, Mr Ashi reportedly shared footage of Hamas terrorists flying into Israel by paraglider, set to an Islamist song encouraging fighting. The post is captioned: “These are the videos that settlers are now circulating of the resistance storming and infiltrating the occupied territories in the Gaza Strip.”

On another social media platform, also on 7th October, Mr Ashi reportedly posted a video showing Hamas rockets being fired into Israel, accompanied by an excitable child’s voice saying: “Go, go!” The video is captioned “keep going, oh Mahdi, keep going!” followed by two fire emojis and a laughing-crying emoji.

There was reportedly other inflammatory material as well.

Deborah Turness, the CEO of BBC News, recently revealed that it was concerns over the “social media activity” of a journalist involved in this documentary that prompted the Corporation to pause production. Ramita Navai had reportedly said during a BBC radio interview that Israel was “a rogue state that’s committing war crimes and ethnic cleansing and mass-murdering Palestinians”.

Channel 4 saw fit to give Mr Ashi a platform to air his film on themes related to these outrageous social media posts, to say nothing of other individuals who were involved in the production of the documentary.

Channel 4 has no excuse. They knew that the film was high risk after the BBC axed it, but they thought that they had scored some PR win by broadcasting it themselves. What they have instead is a PR disaster – and a predictable one at that.

Whoever decided that this publicly-funded broadcaster should show this programme clearly needs to be fired. No ifs or buts.

We will be writing to Channel 4 and to Ofcom.

Catching bots in the act

On Friday, #Famine_in_Gaza was trending on the social media platform X. Campaign Against Antisemitism investigated the trend and found that it was started and manipulated by bots.

Here’s how it works:

First, hundreds of accounts start posting phrases concocted by AI, but all using the #Famine_in_Gaza hashtag.

All of the bot accounts post with the hashtag and a phrase that a typical X user might post. There is no engagement with the post because these particular bots have no friends.

The bots then use a random string of characters at the end of the post, for example, “tYuJL”. This is to make X’s anti-bot algorithm think that it’s definitely a unique post. 

The bots look at each other’s posts to fool the X algorithm into thinking that they’re interesting. As a result, bot accounts with a small number of followers have a disproportionately high number of views on their posts. 

In terms of ownership, some bots are operated by state actors to pursue an agenda, but today’s bots are just bots for sale, which post about anything. One of the bots identified by Campaign Against Antisemitism posts in all languages about everything from scams to politics and likes to “lick hallucinogenic frogs”, according to its profile. 

Someone, somewhere, decided to direct a bot farm to promote the hashtag #Famine_in_Gaza and an army of bots swung into action. The bots are mostly registered around 2011 and 2012 and have been posting in coordination for a very long time.

After a while, the hashtag reaches number one and real users weigh in. One user’s post with the hashtag read: “Israel, worse than Nazi Germany.” According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” is an example of antisemitism.

Unfortunately, this phenomenon is all too common. When Elon Musk took over X, he said that he would end the influence of bots on the platform, but that clearly hasn’t happened.

This isn’t just a case of a few hackers having fun on social media. It is the deliberate manipulation of public discourse, with real-world consequences for Jews across the globe, who have faced an unimaginable surge in antisemitism over the past two years — a crisis only worsened by foul play online. This is the new face of media manipulation, and it is deadly serious.

Why has Diane Abbott (only) been suspended?

Diane Abbott MP has doubled down on comments about Jews that she previously made in a letter to The Observer that previously got her suspended from the Labour Party.

The original 2023 letter was written in response to an article in The Observer by Tomiwa Owolade, which commented on a new report on ethnic inequality that revealed that “Irish, Jewish and Traveller people are among the most abused.”

Ms Abbott wrote: “Tomiwa Owolade claims that Irish, Jewish and Traveller people all suffer from ‘racism’. They undoubtedly experience prejudice. This is similar to racism and the two words are often used as if they are interchangeable. It is true that many types of white people with points of difference, such as redheads, can experience this prejudice. But they are not all their lives subject to racism…”

Asked by the BBC if she regretted the incident, she reportedly said “No, not at all,” and proceeded to try to defend the remarks.

That was not the full story, however.

In its article covering the interview with the long-serving MP, the BBC summarised the letter as follows: “She suggested people of colour experienced racism in a different way to Jewish people, Irish people and Travellers.”

But that isn’t what she wrote.

So, Ms Abbott stands by rhetoric that got her suspended from Labour, which is clearly conduct that merits expulsion from the Party.

The BBC misreports the original incident, misleadingly paraphrasing the language in a way that makes it seem less offensive to Jewish people.

We called, yet again, for Ms Abbott finally to be expelled from the Labour Party, and, yet again, for an independent investigation into the BBC and its coverage of matters of Jewish interest.

Interesting how Labour and the BBC have both struggled to get to grips with this same issue.

While the BBC amended its article, Labour announced that Ms Abbott would be suspended.

But let’s be clear: Ms Abbott has been suspended for doubling down on comments for which she was previously suspended. Does that make sense to anybody?

Two yellow cards is a red in our book.

Ms Abbott has obviously not learned a thing from her previous suspension. There is no reason to believe that she will from this one. She must be expelled.

On our campuses and in our schools

Jewish students on campus have had to endure seismic levels of abusive antisemitism since 7th October 2023.

Anti-Israel protests and encampments left many feeling unsafe at their own university.

Now these same activists have capped off their streak of disruptive and intimidatory activism by ruining graduation ceremonies.

Showcasing an obsession with Israel — the world’s only Jewish state — during a graduation ceremony is not noble. It is shameful.

Students have spent years working for their degree so that they may finally graduate. Hijacking what should be one of the proudest moments in the lives of fellow students and their families for the sake of performative activism does nothing to bring peace to the Middle East. This attention-seeking only spreads hate right here in the UK.

A new survey of Jewish teachers by the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) has found that more than half of Jewish teachers have reported abuse.

They have reported increasing instances of swastika graffiti and chants of “free Palestine” and “f*** the Jews”.

One Jewish teacher said: “On multiple occasions, students have shouted ‘free Palestine’ at me. On another occasion, someone shouted ‘f*** the Jews’ outside a meeting of Jewish students.”

Our Director of Investigations and Enforcement appeared on GB News to examine the issue.

With attacks and intimidation in cafes and on our streets, on campuses and in schools, in our media and online, it is difficult to know where to begin when explaining how desperate the situation is becoming for British Jews.

It is also not clear where things will end.

Our country is changing. We must not stand by.

March with us on Sunday 7th September.

, , , , ,

Glastonbury, and the undoing of Britain

Rap duo Bob Vylan led a chant of “Death to the IDF” during its performance at Glastonbury Festival on Saturday. Footage also shows a member of the duo addressing the audience: “We’ve done it all. From working in bars to working for f***ing Zionists.”

Footage also showed chanting of “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” during the performance.

The group was performing as the supporting act for Kneecap, whose member, Liam O’Hanna, has been charged with displaying a flag in support of Hizballah, a proscribed terrorist organisation, at a concert at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town on 21st November last year. Footage of the concert in question appeared to show a member of the band, draped in a Hizballah flag, shouting to the crowd, “Up Hamas, up Hizballah.”

Several venues, including Eden Sessions and Plymouth Pavilions, dropped Kneecap from scheduled performances earlier this year, following calls by Campaign Against Antisemitism. We also wrote to Glastonbury Festival, calling for it to drop Kneecap from its line-up, but organisers did not respond.

During Kneecap’s performance at Glastonbury, one of its members said that fans should start a “riot” at Mr O’Hanna’s upcoming court hearing.

Stephen Silverman, Director of Investigations and Enforcement at Campaign Against Antisemitism, wrote for LBC that what Glastonbury shows is that harassing Jews has become cool again. You can read the full op-ed here.

It is understood that Avon and Somerset Police, in whose jurisdiction the Glastonbury Festival takes place, is reviewing footage of both Kneecap and Bob Vylan from the festival.

Bob Vylan has reportedly been dropped by UTA, its management agency, and US visas for an upcoming concert have reportedly been revoked.

We have led media coverage of this story, with appearances on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, Channel 4 News and LBC and front page coverage in The Mail on Sunday, The Times and elsewhere.

The BBC also faced a strong backlash after it broadcast Bob Vylan’s chanting and published Kneecap’s performance on BBC iPlayer, its online streaming service.

In a statement issued on Monday, the BBC accepted that it should have done better, saying: “The BBC respects freedom of expression but stands firmly against incitement to violence. The antisemitic sentiments expressed by Bob Vylan were utterly unacceptable and have no place on our airwaves. In light of this weekend, we will look at our guidance around live events so we can be sure teams are clear on when it is acceptable to keep output on air.”

On Sunday, a statement was published on Glastonbury Festival’s Instagram account, which read: “Glastonbury Festival was created in 1970 as a place for people to come together and rejoice in music, the arts and the best of human endeavour. As a festival, we stand against all forms of war and terrorism. We will always believe in – and actively campaign for – hope, unity, peace and love. With almost 4,000 performances at Glastonbury 2025, there will inevitably be artists and speakers appearing on our stages whose views we do not share, and a performer’s presence here should never be seen as a tacit endorsement of their opinions and beliefs. However, we are appalled by the statements made from the West Holts stage by Bob Vylan yesterday. Their chants very much crossed a line and we are urgently reminding everyone involved in the production of the Festival that there is no place at Glastonbury for antisemitism, hate speech or incitement to violence.”

The reaction of some leading politicians has also failed to reassure. Health Secretary Wes Streeting’s comments on Sky News, responding to Israel’s entirely justifiable outrage — outrage shared by British Jews — at the chants for death and destruction at Glastonbury, were outrageous and telling. He chose to emphasise that the UK stands firmly behind Ukraine, before going on to draw a false comparison between Israel and Russia. Worse still, he added that he would say to the Israeli Embassy: “Get your own house in order in terms of the conduct of your own citizens and the settlers in the West Bank.”

What are Jewish people, who view Hamas as a genocidal antisemitic terrorist organisation bent on their annihilation, supposed to make of a cabinet minister who seems to suggest that this Government is on the other side of this issue?

Bob Vylan and Kneecap were not the only acts at the festival which courted controversy relating to the Jewish community.

  • Gary Lineker was also listed to speak at the festival; at the end of his session, he said: “Free Palestine.”
  • Owen Jones, the columnist-activist who has previously claimed that Germany was “forcing” Palestinians to “pay” for the Holocaust, was also listed to give a talk titled, ‘Fighting injustice at home and genocide abroad’.
  • Mr Jones was joined by Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) Director Ben Jamal. PSC is the main organiser of the regular Palestine marches in Britain. The protests have turned our urban centres into no-go zones for Jews.
  • Francesca Nadin was also on the schedule. Ms Nadin is a member of the soon-to-be-proscribed Palestine Action, an extremist group of thugs which gained even more notoriety after it recently claimed the sabotage of two RAF planes.

Now in the UK, the chants are indistinguishable from the chants in Tehran, broadcast by our state broadcaster. Under Emily Eavis, Glastonbury has continued its headlong descent into a pit of extremism and hatred, but it is the behaviour of the BBC that is even more dangerous.

We are formally complaining to the BBC over its outrageous decision to broadcast Bob Vylan’s calls for death and destruction, and to place Kneecap’s performance on iPlayer.

Any artist claiming to be a humanitarian should be steering clear of Glastonbury, but more importantly, our national broadcaster must face repercussions for its dissemination of this extremist vitriol. Those responsible must be removed from their positions. That must inevitably include Tim Davie, the BBC’s Director-General, who has had more than enough chances to stop this abuse of licence fee payers’ money to platform bigots and extremists from Gaza to Glastonbury.

If this is not met with the firmest condemnation and recourse, then it is the surest sign yet that Britain is becoming a haven for hatred and unsafe for Jews.

Campaign Against Antisemitism is also writing to Glastonbury and the licensing authority regarding the events of this weekend.

We are asking Jewish attendees at Glastonbury to contact us at [email protected].

The last week for Palestine Action

Today, the Home Secretary laid an order before Parliament to ban Palestine Action under the Terrorism Act 2000. The Commons is due to vote on the proscription on Wednesday and the Lords on Thursday.

In the meantime, we are not resting on our laurels. Having provided the Home Secretary with a detailed dossier on the group, making the case for proscription, we are also determined to ensure that the law is enforced.

Our Online Monitoring and Investigations Unit believes that it identified a Palestine Action member who encouraged the sabotage and criminal damage of vital UK military assets as Gamze Şanlı. We have reported her to Counter Terrorism Policing and brought her to the attention of the Ministry of Defence Police as well.

Our online investigators also uncovered a post by prominent Palestine Action activist Paul K Shortt that appears to glorify the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military unit of Hamas, a proscribed terrorist organisation.

We have reported Mr Shortt to Counter Terrorism Policing, and will look to bring a private prosecution if necessary to secure justice.

You can read more about Mr Shortt here.

As police arrest four people in Newbury, Berkshire, in connection with the sabotage of two RAF planes at a base in Brize Norton, suggestions by Oxfordshire and Home Office officials that Palestine Action could be funded by Iran is extremely serious. Palestine Action, however, is not letting up.

The group has reportedly launched a major recruitment drive just days before it is due to be proscribed as a terrorist organisation.

According to The Telegraph, Palestine Action is training its members – reportedly ranging from nursery teachers to surgeons and from clergy to academics, and aged 18 to 80 – on which British military targets to attack.

The “direct action workshop” comes after its activists claimed responsibility for the sabotage of two RAF planes at Brize Norton, an action that triggered the proscription announcement.

From one of its online meetings, The Telegraph has also disclosed details on advice to activists on utilising the legal aid system if they are arrested. They also reportedly discussed tactics at the meeting, including breaking into factories hitting “everything you can find with a sledgehammer”, as well as how to target military bases without detection.

For Palestine Action to seek to surge its membership and activity following a proscription should be regarded as an insult to law enforcement and a repudiation of British values of decency, law and order and respect for our armed forces.

The prospect of a network of autonomous cells using encrypted messaging platforms to conduct a wave of attacks on British military installations represents a dangerous escalation and, fundamentally, an attack on Britain.

There can no longer be any doubt that Palestine Action should be proscribed as a terrorist organisation. We even created a resource to explain why.

But does the British public agree? Elie went out onto the streets to ask.

Hamas’ law firm rebrands as ‘Riverway to the Sea’ and pledges ‘fight against Zionism’

Lawyers representing Hamas in its application for de-proscription as a terrorism organisation have rebranded their law firm from Riverway Law to Riverway to the Sea, presumably an allusion to the phrase ‘From the River to the Sea’.

According to our representative polling, 95% of British Jews consider the chant ‘From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free’ to be an antisemitic call to destroy the Jewish state. Only 2% do not.

The firm now describes itself as “a legal and educational front against Zionism, apartheid, and genocide,” adding that “A new legal firm is being created to take this fight global.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism has already submitted complaints against several of these lawyers with their respective regulators, including solicitor Fahad Ansari. The Solicitors Regulation Authority has so far confirmed an investigation into Mr Ansari.

In an piece for the Law Society Gazette about the ‘Hamas case’ and its lawyers, our Chief Executive Gideon Falter writes: “Between the pro bono representation, media appearances and social media activity, it is hard to avoid wondering whether client approached lawyer or vice versa.”

You can read the piece in full here.

We will not tolerate the de-proscription of Hamas, and will fight in court if necessary. We will also continue to monitor the nefarious activities of the terrorist organisation’s lawyers.

Horrendous antisemitism detailed in Goldsmiths’ long-awaited report

Goldsmiths, University of London has published a long-awaited report following an independent inquiry into antisemitism at the institution.

Campaign Against Antisemitism previously made a submission to the inquiry.

The report affirms what the Jewish community has long known: Jewish students and staff have been suffering antisemitism at Goldsmiths and the University has failed in its duty of care to them, so much so that the Jewish Society had to dissolve for safety reasons. This is an appalling dereliction of duty.

Goldsmiths should be commended for launching this inquiry, and utterly shamed by its findings. The University must now accept that fundamental change is urgently required.

Sadly, this report does not go nearly far enough. It does not name culprits, nor does it recommend structural changes to disciplinary enforcement or oversight of the Students’ Union. It attempts to redefine antisemitism instead of using the International Definition of Antisemitism. If you cannot properly identify antisemitism, you cannot tackle it.

The report is far too reliant on and sensitive to the views of non-Jewish stakeholders, too many of whom may be motivated by a wish to ensure that their rhetoric and activism is not regarded as racist when in fact it is. It is outrageous that voices who have no regard for Jewish welfare should have had any input into an inquiry on antisemitism.

The particular irony for Goldsmiths is that it has one of the world’s foremost experts on antisemitism in its faculty. Its refusal to be guided by his own research demonstrates that this is an institution that puts ideology first. That is a difficult hurdle to overcome. Nevertheless, we will work with Goldsmiths and judge for ourselves how earnestly it seeks to change course.

The University must now, after years of allowing hatred to run rampant, prove that it understands how deep the problem of antisemitism goes and finally start uprooting it.

Become a Student Ambassador!

We are looking for Student Ambassadors for the coming academic year!

The Goldsmiths report is just the latest illustration of how the fight against antisemitism on campus is as urgent as ever.

If you are eligible or know somebody who is, visit antisemitism.org/become-a-student-ambassador for more information.

Let’s make a difference to campus life in the UK.

Help us expose.
Help us report.
Help us support.

Places are limited and applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis so don’t wait to apply!

What is happening in our healthcare system?

Jewish doctors have said that they “fear for their safety” at the British Medical Association’s (BMA) annual conference, where 10% of the motions relate to Gaza – the only international conflict on the agenda at all.

A staggering 45 motions address the conflict in Gaza, with accusations of “apartheid” being levelled against the Jewish state and calls for boycotts of Israeli medical institutions and universities.

Our representative polling of the Jewish community has found that more than four-fifths (84%) of British Jews believe that boycotts of Israeli academics constitute intimidation, and 92% believe that claims that Israel is an apartheid state risk inflaming antisemitism.

The Jewish Medical Association, a key Jewish doctors group, said that Jewish doctors attending the BMA conference felt “intimidated, unsafe and excluded”, and that the union is no longer a safe place for them. The Jewish group requested additional security for its members attending their own union’s conference.

The conference came barely a week after the BMA was accused of ‘covering up’ a complaint relating to the Jewish community against its President, the GP Dr Mary McCarthy. An independent review decided that there was a case to answer, but the BMA then rejected the complaint because it had not been made by a member or employee of the union.

This state of affairs at the main medical union in Britain is intolerable. Both the medical sector and the trade union movement have forgotten their actual purpose – and Jews are suffering as a result.

The Co-op has stopped selling produce from the Jewish state

The Co-op supermarket chain has resolved to stop selling produce from Israel.

It is apt that this policy of boycotting the Jewish state was developed as part of a Co-op campaign titled ‘Hate Divides Communities’, because that is exactly what this policy is: hateful and divisive.

More than four-fifths (84%) of British Jews believe that boycotts of Israeli businesses selling Israeli products constitute intimidation, according to our representative polling.

Boycotts like this have real world effects on the Jewish community, as Jews know from centuries of such ostracism.

This is shameful from the Co-op, and its terrible reputation in the Jewish community is well earned.

Tens of thousands of young humanitarians at the country’s premier music festival chanting for “death”, in scenes reminiscent of mass rallies in Tehran or Sanaa, beamed into the homes of millions courtesy of our national broadcaster – which we are all forced to pay for.

There must be consequences for the expression and broadcast of such hate, and we will do whatever we can to hold those responsible to account.

,

Goldsmiths’ report published following antisemitism inquiry

Goldsmiths, University of London has today published a long-awaited report following an independent inquiry into antisemitism at the institution.

Below are just a selection of incidents that were quoted in the report:

  • Graffiti on campus containing swastikas and the text, “Gas the Jews.”
  • QR codes on campus with the text: “What you need to know about the Jews”. The QR code led to images of concentration camps.
  • Two events were held on campus in 2022 to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day. The Jewish Students’ Community were not involved or consulted. There were no Jewish historians or Jewish speakers at the event. The events focused on other genocides, rather than the Holocaust.
  • The Islamic Society allegedly posted a religious text which appeared to suggest that the Hamas attack on 7th October 2023 was “justified or a message from God”.
  • One student reported that their flatmate at Raymont Hall used their kosher utensils to cook pork and then verbally abused them when they objected. The same student also found their mezuzah removed and desecrated, and faced antisemitic hostility from others, ultimately forcing them to leave the accommodation at significant personal expense.
  • Welcome and induction meetings for students, in addition to the Freshers’ Fair, were held on Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) when most Jewish students would struggle to attend.
  • Students told a Jewish student that their surname was a “Tory surname” before they spoke about how “all Jews are rich and own all the banks in the world.”
  • A lecturer singled out the only Jewish student to “defend Israel” in a debate on the Hamas-Israel conflict. When the student asked for assistance, the lecturer replied, “You can’t, it is indefensible.”
  • A Jewish student who was wearing a Star of David necklace was told by a fellow student that it was the symbol of a terrorist state and equivalent to a swastika.
  • Jewish students had attended lectures at which Hamas was discussed without mention of antisemitism and it appeared that Hamas was being endorsed.
  • A Jewish student was told that they “did not look like a Jew” and that Jews were “problematic” and that “they did not fit into the Goldsmiths image”.
  • During a departmental meeting, a Jewish staff member who supported the International Definition of Antisemitism was told that it was “not for that participant (who is Jewish) to decide or speak” on the Definition. Colleagues launched into a vitriolic, disrespectful rant, which the participant described as “gruesome”, prompting the Head of Department to follow up on their well-being.
  • A member of staff recounted how they found chants such as “Intifada ‘til Victory” and “from the River to the Sea” as triggering and that they were unable to enter an occupied area of the College “that is at the heart of [their] career”. Historically, Intifadas have been deadly terrorist campaigns against Jews. The genocidal chant ‘From the River to the Sea’, which is regularly heard at anti-Israel protests, refers to the Jordan River and Mediterranean Sea, and, whether intended or not, is widely understood to represent a call for the destruction of the world’s only Jewish state — and its replacement with a Palestinian state. It is reasonably interpreted to be a call for the annihilation of half the world’s Jews, who live in Israel.
  • A member of staff described that they had been prevented from teaching their students in the Stuart Hall building for a term due to a Gaza-related occupation by students. On one occasion during the occupation, the staff member had to walk through a group of students chanting “2, 4, 6, 8, Israel is a terrorist state,” which caused them to cry.
  • One staff member cited their colleague’s social media post, which read: “If you feel unsafe as a Jew, then you must be a Zionist”.

In June 2022, Goldsmiths announced an “independent review into antisemitism at the College” after Prof. David Hirsh was reportedly called a “far-right white supremacist” by the then-Students’ Union President in a social media post.

Initially, the Students’ Union apparently refused to investigate Sara Bafo, its then President, following allegations of antisemitism, despite being requested to do so by the University.

Ms Bafo’s alleged post was said to have been written in response to a tweet from Prof. Hirsh, a prominent and highly-respected antisemitism expert, which said: “There is an antisemitic edge to official, institutional, university campaigns to ‘decolonise’ education.”

In response to the University’s request for the investigation, Ms Bafo tweeted that the University “has tried to get the SU trustee board to investigate me for a tweet I made in response to a Zionist Goldsmiths academic’s explicit racist history & his delegitimisation of ‘Decolonisation’ campaigns,” adding: “This was a dirty tactic from the institution to silence me further as I was leaving.”

However, notwithstanding the Students’ Union’s refusal to investigate on grounds of “free speech”, the University announced that an independent probe would take place into allegations of antisemitism on its campus more generally.

At the same time, the University announced that it would adopt the International Definition of Antisemitism, but “without the case studies”, referring to the eleven integral examples that form part of the Definition. The University also stated that it would also be adopting the Jerusalem Declaration, which is a wrecking document intended to undermine the globally-recognised Definition, owing to the fact that the University’s “academic community” favoured it. This deficient adoption of the Definition and the concurrent adoption of a competing document designed to sabotage the Definition did not achieve the University’s presumed aim of demonstrating a commitment to fighting antisemitism.

Separately, the independent inquiry got underway, led by Mohinderpal Sethi KC, but has taken three years to report.

Campaign Against Antisemitism submitted a dossier of evidence to the inquiry, incorporating the testimony of students and details of incidents, as well as recommendations.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “This report affirms what the Jewish community has long known: Jewish students and staff have been suffering antisemitism at Goldsmiths and the University has failed in its duty of care to them, so much so that the Jewish Society had to dissolve for safety reasons. This is an appalling dereliction of duty. Goldsmiths should be commended for launching this inquiry, and utterly shamed by its findings. The University must now accept that fundamental change is urgently required.

“Sadly, this report does not go nearly far enough. It does not name culprits, nor does it recommend structural changes to disciplinary enforcement or oversight of the SU. It attempts to redefine antisemitism instead of using the International (IHRA) Definition of Antisemitism. If you cannot properly identify antisemitism, you cannot tackle it. The report is far too reliant on and sensitive to the views of non-Jewish stakeholders, too many of whom may be motivated by a wish to ensure that their rhetoric and activism is not regarded as racist when in fact it is. It is outrageous that voices who have no regard for Jewish welfare should have had any input into an inquiry on antisemitism.

“The particular irony for Goldsmiths is that it has one of the world’s foremost experts on antisemitism in its faculty. Its refusal to be guided by his own research demonstrates that this is an institution that puts ideology first. That is a difficult hurdle to overcome. Nevertheless, we will work with Goldsmiths and judge for ourselves how earnestly it seeks to change course. The University must now, after years of allowing hatred to run rampant, prove that it understands how deep the problem of antisemitism goes and finally start uprooting it.”

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].

, , , , , ,

Home Secretary, it is time to clamp down

In view of current events in the Middle East, Campaign Against Antisemitism has reiterated its call on the Home Secretary to fulfil a pre-election pledge to ban the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and also to proscribe the Palestine Action group.

The Government must also finally proscribe Ansar Allah (the Houthis) and the various groups involved in the Hamas-led 7th October 2023 terrorist attack.

The Government must clamp down. Every day that the Home Secretary delays, people who endanger our country are running amok.

Iran’s IRGC is active in the UK. There have recently been arrests in London allegedly linked to the IRGC. Not so long ago an Iranian proxy was found to have three tonnes of high explosives in London. They say that they want to target Jews anywhere around the world and that means us. That means here in our country.

Sign the petition to ban the IRGC now.

Police forces and security services cannot move against IRGC operatives until they have evidence that they are actively planning an attack, which is why proscription is needed, so that they have the legal powers to move immediately to clean out the IRGC in the UK. The Government promised to do this when it came to power a year ago. The IRGC poses a mortal threat to British Jews and the Home Secretary should lay an order before Parliament today. What is the Home Secretary waiting for?

There is now a backlog of terrorist organisations that the Government is allowing to operate here without taking action. We have also asked the Home Secretary to proscribe the Houthis (Ansar Allah) — which fire on Royal Navy ships as well as seeking the death of all Jews — and the smaller Palestinian factions which participated in Hamas’ 7th October atrocities but, due to inaction by two successive Governments, still haven’t been proscribed two years later.

We need action now. The Home Secretary must give law enforcement the powers they need to keep us safe. We cannot wait another day.

Campaign Against Antisemitism calls for ban on Palestine Action

In recent days, Campaign Against Antisemitism has written to the Home Secretary calling for the proscription of Palestine Action under the Terrorism Act 2000.

We have provided her with a detailed dossier of evidence demonstrating that the group’s activities fall, in our view, squarely within the definition of a terrorism organisation.

Palestine Action is a UK-based activist group which was formed in 2020. It has gained attention for what the organisation describes as “direct action” against companies and institutions which it considers to be linked to the Israeli Government, ranging from defence contractors to the BBC. The organisation is known for confrontational and criminal tactics, including damage to property, vandalism and the occupation of corporate or public facilities, with a latest attack just this weekend.

Since the 7th October 2023 terrorist attacks by Hamas and the subsequent war between Hamas and Israel, Palestine Action has increasingly been targeting cultural and educational sites.

The group’s methods often involve the destruction of property, disruption of business operations, and threats to public safety. Palestine Action revels in these activities and writes extensively about them on its website. The organisation has also published a handbook named “The Underground Manual”, which includes instructions on everything from forming “cells”, to how to “pick a target”, and how to commit criminal damage in the most harmful way. The handbook includes instructions on what to wear, how to use a burner phone, and which tools to use to cause the greatest damage.

We urge the Home Office to act swiftly to ban Palestine Action in order to minimise any further intimidation and property damage to the Jewish community and its institutions and to other businesses and cultural establishments.

Palestine Action is at the vanguard of an activist movement that is severely disrupting the lives of British Jews and the wider public. It is time to enforce the laws of this country and bring to justice those who seek to use what we believe the law defines as terror to advance their goals.

A huge “thank you!”

Last week, we ran our annual crowdfunding campaign, and we are enormously grateful to all of you who donated. We had more donors than ever, each giving because you believe in our work.

Our volunteers and staff see this as a huge vote of confidence in the efforts that we make every single day to defend the Jewish community and fight for the tolerant and decent Britain that we all cherish.

Thank you to everyone who donated to the campaign! It is because of you that we can continue to do our vital work and fight for our future here in Britain. You have helped ensure that our voices remain strong and that we can respond with urgency, clarity, and courage wherever and whenever we are needed.

If you did not have a chance to donate but still wish to, you can do so here.

From all of us at Campaign Against Antisemitism, thank you!

The true colours of the ‘Free Palestine’ movement

Following the second violent attack by a ‘Free Palestine’ terrorist in the United States, our Chief Executive Gideon Falter explained in an op-ed for LBC how verbal calls to ‘globalise the Intifada’ and vandalism are not the final destination of this hateful movement.

When they call for Intifada, they mean it.

You can read the full op-ed here.

Campaign Against Antisemitism challenges new application from CAGE to de-proscribe Hamas

The controversial activist group CAGE International has launched an application to get Hamas de-proscribed as a terrorist organisation in the UK.

According to CAGE, “The submission is the first of its kind to focus not only on procedural injustice, but on the systemic suppression of political speech, particularly within Britain’s Muslim communities.”

Given that the previous application, made by Hamas itself, made a similar argument, it is unclear why this new application is a ‘first-of-its-kind’, although granted it is better PR to claim that.

We have examined the application, which purports to “challenge the legality of the proscription on the grounds that it violates freedom of expression”.

The application includes several case studies, which CAGE uses to highlight how the proscription of Hamas – an antisemitic genocidal terrorist group that has murdered well in excess of a thousand Jews – apparently inhibits one’s right to freedom of expression.

So, which cases does CAGE cite in its application?

Here are some examples:

“The President of a Palestine Society at a prominent University circulated the headline ‘resistance fighters launch surprise attack against Israel’ as part of a weekly digest to update their audience of Palestine related news.”
❌ Why are people who murdered over a thousand people, raped women and burned families alive referred to merely as ‘resistance fighters’?

“M is a non-British student of Palestinian descent studying law…She was asked by a news journalist from a well-known publication to give a comment. She said: ‘We are so full of pride. We are really, really full of joy at what happened’ following the 7th October attack.”
❌ Hamas and fellow terrorist organisations murdered some 1,200 people and took over 250 hostage. Why is that something to be joyful about?

“Dr F [an NHS consultant] showed considerable support…for the right of the Palestinian people to resist. She publicly called for the de-proscription of Hamas.”
❌ That does not sound like an NHS consultant that a Jewish person would be comfortable consulting.

“S retweeted a drawing of Yahya Sinwar with the caption ‘hero’ without knowing who Yahya Sinwar was.”
❌ So S’s defence is that they are an idiot?

“A young man…allegedly uploaded videos said to be of Hamas to his social media page.”
❌ There is enough material on the internet that the young man could upload without resorting to terrorist content.

The Home Office stated that an academic “shared a document on a WhatsApp group chat, titled ‘Our Narrative – Operation Al Aqsa Flood’, published by Hamas’ media office”.
❌ Most ordinary people would be concerned that a teacher of their children is sharing material literally produced by a terrorist organisation and purporting to explain their rationale for murdering over a thousand people.

A non-British NHS doctor “reposted footage of music festivalgoers running from Hamas and commented: ‘If it was your home, you would stay and fight 🙂.’” In another post, she said: “Israel was never a country…Also, there are no civilians in Israel.”
❌ Yet another NHS clinician. Hundreds were murdered at that festival. Mocking young people running for their lives from murderous terrorists and suggesting that doing so is demonstrative of some political view is monstrous. This doctor needs to work on their bedside manner – but not at the NHS. The former Home Secretary would appear to have been right to say that her continued presence in the UK was not conducive to the public good.

A school boy wore a badge to his school which read: “Victory to the Intifada.”
❌ The intifada was a campaign of murderous Palestinian terrorism, including suicide bombings, that killed more than 1,000 Jews. Hamas was one of the leading terror groups involved.

These are curious illustrations for CAGE to rely on in its application. They are hardly the sort of opinions anyone should want in our hospitals, schools and campuses.

We have already provided a submission to the Home Secretary in response to the original application.

We will not allow Hamas to be de-proscribed in this country, and we will go to court if necessary.

“Jews aren’t welcome here” duo sentenced to prison

In November 2024, two men shouted “Jews aren’t welcome here” at four people leaving Marble Arch Synagogue.

Now, Hussein Altamimi and Ali Alanzi have been sentenced to prison at Isleworth Crown Court after being found guilty of four offences of religiously aggravated fear or provocation of violence and religiously aggravated assault. Both attackers were also found guilty of assaulting an emergency worker.

During the incident, when one of the victims began recording what was happening on her phone, Mr Altamimi struck her arm, causing her phone to fall from her hand. Mr Alanzi then threw a cup of alcohol at the victims.

The men were detained by synagogue security until the police arrived. During the arrest, Mr Alanzi assaulted a police officer.

Mr Alanzi was sentenced to seven months’ imprisonment, plus an additional twelve weeks from the activation of a suspended sentence. Mr Altamimi was sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment.

If you have been a victim of an attack and need assistance getting justice, please get in touch with us at [email protected].

Meanwhile, Oghenochuko Ojiri, who has appeared on BBC’s Bargain Hunt, has been sentenced to two years and six months’ in prison.

Last month, Mr Ojiri pleaded guilty to eight offences of failing to disclose information during the course of business in the regulated sector when knowing, suspecting or having reasonable grounds for suspecting that another person has committed or attempted to commit an offence under Sections 15-18 of the Terrorism Act 2000, contrary to Section 21A of the Terrorism Act 2000.

The offences relate to the sale of several works of art to Nazem Ahmad, who is a suspected financier of Hizballah, a proscribed terrorist organisation. Mr Ahmad was sanctioned by the UK in 2023. The sales totalled nearly £140,000.

For some of the transactions, paperwork used names that were not Mr Ahmad’s, despite the sales being to him.

Messages recovered from Mr Ojiri’s phone showed him discussing money-laundering regulation with a colleague.

We welcome this verdict. Financing of antisemitic terrorist organisations has no place in the arts world.

James O’Brien and Jeremy Bowen

“Trump, in some ways, has already gone further than Kristallnacht.” So said LBC presenter James O’Brien on a recent morning show in reference to immigration enforcement riots in Los Angeles. You can listen to the full segment here.

Regardless of one’s feelings about current events in California, there is no comparison to be made to Kristallnacht.

The Nazi violence on Kristallnacht was one-way. There were no riots or mounted defences of the Jews. An estimated 7,500 Jewish-owned businesses were destroyed by the Nazi Government-backed vandals, and 91 Jews were murdered (although some scholars claim the number is much higher).

Within days, 30,000 Jewish men were rounded up and sent to concentration camps in what was effectively a dry run for what would become the Holocaust, in which six million Jews were slaughtered. Whatever may be happening in Los Angeles, it isn’t that.

This sort of hysterical commentary and implicit Holocaust distortion and trivialisation does nothing for the public’s understanding of the Holocaust and does real damage to the contemporary fight against antisemitism, which is more urgent than ever.

Constantly reaching for Holocaust analogies for every instance of violence or unrest not only confuses public understanding; it also cheapens history and disrespects victims.

Our suggestion to Mr O’Brien is that when he hears the words “shut up mate” in his head, it’s probably best to heed them.

Elsewhere, former UK Supreme Court Justice Jonathan Sumption is quoted by the BBC’s Jeremy Bowen as suggesting that the Jewish state is acting like the Jews’ historical persecutors and is committing a genocide.

The undisguised implication is that Israel is acting like Nazis.

According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” is an example of antisemitism.

This is absolutely repugnant from one of Britain’s veteran jurists. What hope can British Jews have in our justice system when senior figures like Lord Sumption espouse views like these?

Of course it is always possible, though in this instance unlikely, that he has been misquoted by Mr Bowen, whose reporting has always left a great deal to be desired and whose abysmal reputation in the Jewish community speaks for itself.

But here we have one of the BBC’s most senior ‘journalists’ and one of the nation’s former highest judges egging each other on to vilify the Jewish state in ever more insulting terms.

Those who shamefully reference the history of Jewish persecution should worry less about urging the Jews to remember the past than doing so themselves.

Meanwhile, the BBC has issued a belated apology for publishing a video that claimed observant Jews spit on Christians in a “holiday ritual”.

On 5th October 2023, BBC Arabic published an article titled “Sukkot: Spitting and Assault on Christians and Harassment of Muslims on the Jewish Holiday,” with a video, in which it was claimed that observant Jews celebrate Sukkot (the festival of Tabernacles) in Israel by spitting on Christians.

It took the BBC nineteen months to issue an apology to our friends at CAMERA.

We have pointed out before that it is no longer clear if BBC Arabic is actually a genuine news channel or something else entirely.

We continue to call on the BBC to hold an independent investigation into its Middle East coverage, which any other institution engulfed in this many scandals would have done long ago.

Until then, the licence fee should be suspended. You can sign our petition here.

Friends of Palestine Society at Birmingham University suspended

The Friends of Palestine Society at the University of Birmingham has reportedly been suspended by the Guild of Students, following a protest last month.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has obtained footage of the protest, which took place on 15th May. The footage appears to show students chanting: “Resistance is justified when people are occupied.”

According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, which was adopted by the University in 2020, “Calling for, aiding, or justifying the killing or harming of Jews in the name of a radical ideology” is an example of antisemitism.

Further footage shows protesters chanting: “Israel is a terror state.”

According to a statement on the Society’s Instagram account, it intends to appeal the decision.

A Jewish student at the University told Campaign Against Antisemitism: “I am pleased with the Guild of Students’ decision. Hearing these kinds of slogans on campus made me feel unsafe and uneasy. Jewish students should not have to face such intimidatory protests at an institution that is supposed to be a place of learning. I hope other universities will look at this case, impose similar measures, and take a clear stand against those who seek to intimidate Jews.”

This decision vindicates Jewish students at the University of Birmingham. This protest was yet another example of just how bad the situation is for Jews on campus right now.

Universities and student societies across Britain should follow this decision and take concrete steps to protect their students, who should be able to come to campus without fear for their safety.

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].

, ,

“Resistance is justified”: Friends of Palestine Society suspended at University of Birmingham

The Friends of Palestine Society at the University of Birmingham has reportedly been suspended by the Guild of Students, following a protest last month.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has obtained footage of the protest, which took place on 15th May. The footage appears to show students chanting: “Resistance is justified when people are occupied.”

According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, which was adopted by the University in 2020, “Calling for, aiding, or justifying the killing or harming of Jews in the name of a radical ideology” is an example of antisemitism.

Further footage shows protesters chanting: “Israel is a terror state.”

According to a statement on the Society’s Instagram account, it intends to appeal the decision.

A Jewish student at the University told Campaign Against Antisemitism: “I am pleased with the Guild of Students’ decision. Hearing these kinds of slogans on campus made me feel unsafe and uneasy. Jewish students should not have to face such intimidatory protests at an institution that is supposed to be a place of learning. I hope other universities will look at this case, impose similar measures, and take a clear stand against those who seek to intimidate Jews.”

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “This decision vindicates Jewish students at the University of Birmingham. For all their virtuous anti-racism rhetoric, our universities have become epicentres of Jew-hatred, where Jewish students are abused, Jewish societies are trolled and Jewish institutions are vandalised. Our polling shows that 90% of young British Jews blame their fellow students for the increase in reported antisemitic incidents on UK campuses.

“This protest was yet another example of just how bad the situation is for Jews on campus right now. Universities and student societies across Britain should follow this decision and take concrete steps to protect their students, who should be able to come to campus without fear for their safety.”

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].

, ,

“Right to armed resistance”: Scandalous student union motion withdrawn following CAA action

A scandalous and potentially criminal ‘Solidarity with Palestine Policy’ motion has been withdrawn by the University of Manchester’s Students’ Union, following action from Campaign Against Antisemitism and others in the community.

One part of the motion read: “International law enshrines a right to resist occupation. Additionally, lawyers and scholars have argued that the use of armed military force by a people exercising the right to self-determination when all other avenues of resistance have been exhausted is legitimate under international law, and that the right of an occupied people to armed resistance is an extension of the right to national self-defence. On the other hand, the right to national self-defence does not extend to occupying nations in the land they are occupying. International law forbids occupying or oppressor nations from taking military action to suppress self-determination. This position has recently been reaffirmed by UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese.”

It also stated: “In recognising that, as an occupied nation, the people of Palestine have the right to armed resistance under international law.”

The motion can be read in full here.

Our lawyers reviewed this policy and wrote to the University and the Students’ Union.

While there was no remorse in the announcement of the withdrawal, this success is an example of regulations working to protect a vulnerable community on campus.

We will continue to tackle extremism and antisemitism on university campuses wherever we find it.

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].

, , , , ,

We won’t let the pressure let up on Kneecap

You will recall that the provocatively-named Northern Irish hip hop band, Kneecap, appeared to have given its support to Hamas and Hizballah last November in London at their concert at the O2 Forum Kentish Town.

One member, draped in a Hizballah flag, shouted to the crowd, “Up Hamas, up Hizballah.”

We submitted a complaint to Counter Terrorism Police, which is investigating.

They were also revealed in recent days to have said in November 2023: “The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP.”

The band has issued a defiant statement purporting to be an apology.

We have been clear that concert-goers must be allowed to enjoy live performances without worrying about whether they may be subjected to open support for proscribed terrorist organisations that have openly declared it their mission to murder Jews.

Accordingly, we have written to a number of venues and festivals to cancel. Eden Sessions and Plymouth Pavilions have cancelled concerts, as have numerous venues in Germany. We hope that more will follow.

We are not alone in our concern.

Henry Schachter BEM – whose parents were murdered in the Holocaust and who only survived thanks to the courage of a Christian family who hid him – has, like us, written to Glastonbury.

He said: “It is highly inappropriate for Glastonbury festival to allow such an entity to perform at the UK’s largest music festival. If the performance goes ahead, that would be a disgrace.”

We are yet to hear from Glastonbury, which is coming under pressure from political figures as well. The silence from the organisers of the world-renowned festival is shameful.

We also asked the British public what they think about Kneecap, and whether its concerts should be cancelled. Watch the full video here.

For an anti-establishment band that hates the United Kingdom, Kneecap also seem to have received an awful lot of public funding from the British state.

What does it say about Government grants, National Lottery funding and the British Film Institute that such controversial groups are reportedly awarded in excess of £1.5 million pounds over the years?

We have also led the media coverage and analysis of the Kneecap controversy as it relates to antisemitism.

The Hamas lawyers

Today, we have reported Fahad Ansari to the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

Mr Ansari is the Director and Principal Solicitor at Riverway Law, the law firm representing the terrorist group Hamas in its desperate bid to get the group deproscribed in the UK.

According to posts on Mr Ansari’s social media accounts, he seems to find a bulldozer breaching the border fence between Gaza and Israel on 7th October to be “one of the most iconic, hopeful images of our time”, hails Hamas founder Ahmed Yassin as a “hero”, and, referring to “the heroic Palestinian resistance”, hopes that “every one of their bullets hit their targets”.

Another post read: “At this point, Israel could literally set up gas chambers for Palestinians during Ramadan and the genocide enablers in the Western media will be shouting ‘What about Hamas?’ and crying antisemitism if anyone draws a comparison with the Holocaust. Make no mistake, if these people were alive in the 40s, they would have sided with the Nazis.”

This rhetoric is stomach-churning and brings the legal profession into disrepute.

It is ludicrous that someone with views like these is permitted to practise law in Britain. The SRA must urgently open an investigation into Mr Ansari.

Meanwhile, one of the barristers representing Hamas says that Hamas’ call to “end Israel” — the world’s only Jewish state — is really just “a call for peace. It’s a call for a democratic state.”

Not only is Mr Magennis’ argument absurd, it is also deeply insulting to Jewish people in general and to the victims of Hamas’ barbaric attack on southern Israel on 7th October 2023 in particular. When terrorists murdered around 1,200 people, took over 250 hostages, and committed horrific acts of sexual violence, they were not “calling for peace” — they were carrying out the deadliest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.

It is shocking that someone like Mr Magennis is a practicing barrister in the UK.

What is a Zionist?

This week, we celebrated Yom Haatzmaut, which marks the founding of Israel, the world’s only Jewish state.

According to our polling, eight in ten British Jews identify as Zionists, so the occasion resonates with most Jews in this country.

But what is a Zionist? And for that matter, what is an anti-Zionist? Watch here to find out.

A wake-up call for Western academia

“No other group was constantly told that their history was a sham, that they or their co-religionists or co-ethnics were supremacists and oppressors, and that they had no right to the protections offered by anti-bias norms. Many Jewish students told us they feel like objects of suspicion.”

The report on antisemitism released this week by Harvard University is absolutely damning.

It details, case by case, how its campus became a hostile environment for Jews and just how low what was once one of the West’s premier institutions of learning has sunk.

Unvarnished antisemitism and victimisation of Jews by students and faculty, privileging of intimidatory protests over the rights of Jewish students, instances of downplaying the Holocaust and 7th October, litmus tests for Jews and more. The report is a catalogue of shameful incidents and testimony. It vindicates the brave Jewish students and faculty who have been blowing the whistle and fighting for their basic rights for the past year and a half.

This is a wake-up call for academia across Western society.

Universities have never been immune to antisemitism – indeed there have been eras when they have been incubators of it. Sadly, we are living through just such a time.

Institutions of higher learning around the world, including in the UK, must urgently take heed.

Educating against antisemitism

Harvard – like so many campuses in Britain – demonstrates why we cannot simply wait until students get to university to educate about antisemitism.

That is why we educate all ages – including pupils and, just as importantly, their teachers.

For example, we recently delivered our ‘Understanding Antisemitism’ course to Thomas’ Battersea, a preparatory school in south London that educates 600 boys and girls between the ages of four and thirteen.

Our training was the core component of the school’s all-staff INSET Day, delivered at the request of the headteacher and attended by approximately 100 staff members.

By equipping educators with the tools to recognise, understand and challenge antisemitism, we are supporting teachers in the broader fight against anti-Jewish hate in our society and enabling them to share these insights with their pupils.

If you would like to arrange a training session for your organisation or community, please e-mail us at [email protected].

Do you want to take a step forward in the fight against antisemitism?

This year, you can run in the Maccabi GB Community Fun Run on behalf of Campaign Against Antisemitism!

If you plan to be in London on Sunday 22nd June, sign up now, get sponsored and get fit!

As we celebrated the founding and endurance of the world’s only Jewish state this past week, we have been reminded of how Zionism means so much to so many British Jews.

Israel occupies such a central part of the identity of so many Jewish people and represents the last refuge from antisemitism.

Kneecap and others might wish to bear this in mind when they reflect on why their words are so insulting, not to mention dangerous, for British Jews.

,

University Rector wins appeal following dismissal over comments which made students “fear for their safety”

Stella Maris, the Rector of the University of St Andrews has reportedly won her appeal after she was removed from her position on the University’s court over comments which made some students “fear for their safety”.

The University said that it is “carefully considering” the ruling and is seeking advice from legal counsel.

In November 2023, Ms Maris sent an e-mail to the University’s student body, in which she accused Israel of “genocidal attacks”. The statement came just under two months after Hamas carried out barbaric attacks in Israel on 7th October 2023, murdering over 1,200 Israelis and taking some 250 people hostage.

It is understood that before sending the e-mail, the Rector met with students from the University’s Jewish Society to discuss a statement that she had prepared regarding Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.

However, once the e-mail was sent out, the Jewish Society published a statement online: “The Rector of St Andrews, Stella Maris, published a statement regarding the events in Israel and Gaza, which was e-mailed to all students at the University. The Rector is elected by students as a representative voice. However, her words were divisive, harmful and not based on fact. Whilst constructing this statement, [Ms] Maris met with the Jewish Society, but her published statement was significantly different to that which was shared with us, deliberately misleading members of our community […]”

It was also reported that a letter was sent to Ms Maris, signed by over 1,400 current students and alumni, which said: “We are concerned that your letter does not demonstrate equal care for Palestinian and Israeli lives. Moreover, your letter does not show any appreciation for how your inflammatory and unfounded accusations of ‘genocide,’ ‘apartheid,’ and ‘occupation’ concerning the Jewish state will further embolden attacks and hatred against the Jewish students whom you were elected to care for. It is unacceptable for the Rector to be selective in their responsibility to represent all students.”

Regarding the e-mail, the University’s Principal and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dame Sally Mapstone, said: “We are utterly dismayed that the Rector, on this occasion, put her right to freedom of expression ahead of her duty to represent all students, and to be concerned for their welfare.”

Ms Stella responded to allegations of antisemitism online, saying that she would “not have antisemitism weaponised” against her. 

She also reportedly shared a graphic, which said, “I don’t hate Jewish people, please stop being weird,” and another that claimed Zionism is “an ideology based on racial elimination”.

An independent investigation was then launched. 

Chaired by Judge Lady Ross, then Morag Ross KC, the investigation concluded that Ms Maris had exercised “poor judgment”. 

It added that while Ms Maris had been entitled to free speech, she ignored the possibility that her comments could “encourage antisemitic behaviour by others”.

The University concluded in its investigation that Ms Maris had made some students “fear for their safety”.

Ms Maris will remain in her position as Rector until the end of her term in October 2026.

Prior to her appeal Ms Maris said: “It is clear that I have been removed from court because I called for an end to Israel’s war crimes against Palestinians, and I will not apologise for doing so. As a young, neurodiverse black woman with limited financial resources, I have faced the full force of the university, including a KC investigation, all because I made a statement supported by the overwhelming majority of students, calling for an end to a genocide.”

At the time of the initial ruling, an apology was issued by Ray Perman, the Chairman of the University’s court, to all those affected by Ms Maris’ comments.

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].

,

Vindicated: Harvard University publishes damning report on campus antisemitism

Harvard University has published a damning report into antisemitism on campus.

The full report can be read here.

The report details, case by case, how campus became a hostile environment for Jews and just how low what was once one of the West’s premier institutions of learning has sunk.

Unvarnished antisemitism and victimisation of Jews by students and faculty, privileging of intimidatory protests over the rights of Jewish students, instances of downplaying the Holocaust and 7th October, litmus tests for Jews and more. The report is a catalogue of shameful incidents and testimony. It vindicates the brave Jewish students and faculty who have been blowing the whistle and fighting for their basic rights for the past year and a half.

One part of the report concluded: “No other group was constantly told that their history was a sham, that they or their co-religionists or co-ethnics were supremacists and oppressors, and that they had no right to the protections offered by anti-bias norms. Many Jewish students told us they feel like objects of suspicion.”

It also found that Jewish students were told that “They were deemed to be privileged…because of their Jewishness.”

According to the report, “Many Jewish and Israeli students reported experiencing social shunning, verbal abuse, intimidation and bullying.”

Authors of the report noted: “We also encountered an effort by some to redefine antisemitism in a way that drains the term of meaning.”

One student testified: “I feel lucky I don’t look Jewish. I know if I do the ‘wrong thing’ I might get the antisemitism. So, put your headphones in, make sure you’re not outwardly Jewish, and just walk to class.”

A staff member said: “I didn’t feel unsafe physically, but I felt unsafe emotionally.”

This is a wake-up call for academia across Western society.

Universities have never been immune to antisemitism – indeed there have been eras when they have been incubators of it. Sadly, we are living through just such a time.

Institutions of higher learning around the world, including in the UK, must urgently take heed.

The full report can be read here.

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism throughout the United States.

, , , ,

A confused policy proposal

The Government has announced that police are to be given greater powers to stop protests near places of worship, including mosques and synagogues.

Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, intends the policy to “prevent intimidating protests outside places of worship to ensure that people can pray in peace.”

It is not clear to what extent the motivation for this policy relates to antisemitism.

We have urged the Government to do what its predecessor failed to do and act to stop the intimidatory marches through our cities, which have been rife with criminality and support for proscribed terrorist organisations.

The announcement of restrictions on these marches near synagogues and other places of worship appears to be far from enough.

Ultimately, if one accepts that these marches pose a threat to synagogues and thus to the Jewish community, then why is changing their route a solution? To ask the question is to concede the point: as we have been arguing for months now, marches that threaten Jews should be prohibited. To limit the solution to protecting synagogues is to accept only that Jews are entitled to worship without intimidation, but not that they have a right to be free from intimidation anywhere else.

Not only that, but as we have been arguing for months, along with prominent KCs, police have the power to ban these marches and have declined to use those powers. The police have also already used existing powers to prohibit the marches from taking place near synagogues.

This proposal may, therefore, not be as ground-breaking or pertinent as the Government is suggesting, but we hope that this announcement is a sign of a new interest in addressing the worst crisis of antisemitism in living memory, which is being driven by these regular marches.

We look forward to engaging with the Home Secretary to bring about the urgent changes that the Jewish community and our urban centres are craving.

Give a thought to Jewish mothers

This Mother’s Day, we’ve been amplifying the voices of Jewish mothers speaking out about antisemitism and their fears for their children.

We then brought their words to non-Jewish mothers. Watch here to see how they reacted.

Extraordinary from the BBC

Several weeks ago, we submitted a request under the Freedom of Information Act to the BBC regarding the so-called documentary titled ‘Gaza: How to Survive a War Zone’.

We have received a staggering response.

Given that the BBC, like all media outlets, urges everyone to be transparent, we hoped that the BBC would have no problem responding quickly to our request asking whether the BBC made payments in relation to the so-called documentary, to whom and in what amounts – in particular whether it had made payments to Hamas or anyone affiliated to it. This was before the BBC admitted that monies had gone to a Hamas family.

Here is what the BBC wrote back to us:

“We have carefully considered your request and concluded that it is clear from your description of the information you are seeking that if the BBC held information of the kind you have asked for, it would all be held for the purposes of journalism, art or literature. The FOI Act does not apply to information held by the BBC for any of those purposes.”

The BBC then referred us to the statement that it has since published, admitting that money went to a Hamas family.

Let’s be clear: the BBC is saying that, in principle, information about money that goes to Hamas terrorists is for the purposes of journalism and can therefore remain secret.

Yes, information about money that goes to Hamas terrorists is considered journalism at the BBC.

Of course, if this happened in any other institution, the BBC would desperately be trying to expose it, on the basis that the public ‘has a right to know’. But when things happen at the BBC, the public has no right to know anything.

Now, the BBC is clutching at whatever it can in its desperate effort to do damage control over this Gaza film fiasco. But it all just goes to show why the BBC cannot be allowed to mark its own homework and why we need an independent investigation into the broadcaster – something that our polling, conducted by YouGov, shows that a majority of the British public supports.

Until there is such an investigation, the licence fee must be suspended. If you agree, please sign the petition.

It has been reported that the BBC has rejected offers of antisemitism training by the Government’s independent advisor on antisemitism. This tallies with our experience: every offer that we have made of antisemitism training to the BBC has been rejected or ignored, as have our repeated calls on the broadcaster to adopt the International Definition of Antisemitism, which would help staff and journalists understand what qualifies as antisemitic discourse.

The prospect of the BBC delivering its own antisemitism training, which has also been reported, is plainly absurd.

We are now well over a month since the BBC began to mark its own homework with an internal review into how the so-called Gaza documentary was made and broadcast and licence fee money was paid to a Hamas family. There is still no outcome to this review.

The BBC cannot be allowed to kick this into the long grass. A majority of the British public supports an independent investigation. There must be accountability for endemic BBC bias.

Until there is a proper investigation, the licence fee must be suspended.

In the meantime, there continue to be instances of the BBC putting its thumb on the scales, for example a producer was recently caught requesting an Israeli guest who would be critical of the Israeli Prime Minister. This is not news; it is narrative. The BBC has issued an “unreserved apology” to the Israeli embassy.

Not everybody at the BBC is apologetic, however.

BBC international editor Jeremy Bowen has reportedly claimed that Israel has refused to allow foreign journalists into Gaza to report on the war against Hamas “because there’s stuff there they don’t want us to see.”

It is odd that Mr Bowen would care one way or another, given his record of misreporting things that he does see and refusing to apologise for doing so.

We need an independent investigation into bias at the BBC. Until then, the licence fee must be suspended.

Rogue venues are screening the BBC’s so-called Gaza documentary

Now, the Cubit Gallery is planning to hold a screening this week of ‘Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone’, the same so-called documentary that the BBC removed from iPlayer after it was revealed that it spotlighted the family member of a Hamas official. The event is being hosted by the Islington branch of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign who, in their description of the event, make reference to “pressure from the Zionist lobby”.

Hamas is an antisemitic genocidal terror organisation responsible for the 7th October attacks in which they murdered some 1,200 people and kidnapped 251. One of the documentary’s cameramen reportedly celebrated the attacks. This documentary is little more than Hamas propaganda, and we will not stay silent about it. Hamas terrorists also still hold 59 hostages in Gaza, and we need all of them home.

We are writing to the Charity Commission regarding the screening, as the Cubit Gallery is a registered charity.

A “right to armed resistance” at Manchester University

Last week, the University of Manchester’s Students’ Union passed a scandalous motion.

One part of the motion reads: “International law enshrines a right to resist occupation…” It also states: “In recognising that, as an occupied nation, the people of Palestine have the right to armed resistance under international law.” The motion can be read in full here.

Yet again, Manchester University Students’ Union has disregarded the concerns of Jewish students to push through a reckless and divisive motion.

Whether or not it is meant as such here, the phrase ‘armed resistance’ is commonly used in this context as a euphemism for terrorism and the destruction of the Jewish state. At a minimum, this motion aspires to deprive the Jewish people of their right to self-determination.

These motions do nothing to change things in the Middle East but contribute to the ostracisation of Jewish students on campus.

Our lawyers are examining whether the motion runs afoul of charitable or criminal law, and we are supporting affected Jewish students.

We have written to the University and the Students’ Union and, if necessary, we will write to the Charity Commission as well.

Naomi, a Jewish student at the University of Manchester, told Campaign Against Antisemitism: “Despite our concerns about this deeply troubling motion, the Students’ Union proceeded with discussions on the Solidarity with Palestine policy. Prior to the assembly, they invited us to a meeting where we voiced our concerns. While they assured us that the policy’s demands cannot be enforced due to the Union’s charitable status, they also acknowledged that its only real impact would be fostering intimidation, an unwelcoming atmosphere, and hostility toward Jewish students and those who proudly support Israel.

“They are trying to create an environment where you have to disavow Israel and your identity to be accepted. This is not what I came to university for, and it is no longer a place where I feel comfortable. What is the university administration going to do about it?”

King’s College London (KCL)

We are also supporting a student at KCL, where the Students’ Union, in a staggering decision, has issued a “formal warning” against a student society that hosted a speaking event which was disrupted by anti-Israel activists with chants of “From the River to the Sea”, rather than to the protesters themselves.

The event, which took place on 27th February, was titled ‘From Conflict to Connection: Israelis & Iranians in Dialogue’, and featured guest speaker Faezeh Alavi, an Iranian researcher and artist, speaking sympathetically about the future of Israel and Iran. The chanting came as part of a barrage of intimidation tactics targeting Ms Alavi and the organiser of the event. Security was forced to escort Ms Alavi out of the lecture theatre, and the event was swiftly and abruptly terminated. Students then continued their abuse and disruption outside the lecture theatre and throughout the corridors of the building.

Following the incident, we wrote to the University calling on the administration to take action and we have been supporting the Jewish KCL student who moderated the event.

Speaking to Campaign Against Antisemitism, the student said that as the day of the event progressed, they became “acutely aware that the event may cause some unnecessary commotion and welcome some unreceptive audience members” owing to spurious information appearing on the event’s sign-up sheet. Approximately fifteen minutes into the event, a “pre-planned” and “premeditated” outburst occurred, alarming the speaker.

The student said: “From what was supposed to be an opportunity to bring together two uncommon allies and opinions that are often silenced in a world flooded with misinformation, became a wholly negative experience where antisemitism was given a lecture room to spread and be promoted to the masses under the guise of being anti-Israel.”

The student alleges that KCL offered virtually no support to him following the incident: “It seems as if the mental hell that I had been dragged through was not enough to get in contact with me. Quite telling, isn’t it? To this day, I am yet to hear from any member of security or any member of a ministerial or senior level at KCL consoling myself, Faezeh, or my guests, or apologising for the disruption.”

The student has now also revealed that the KCL Students for Justice in Palestine Society has since reached out to him, but “failed to apologise directly”.

The student has also disclosed to us that, ten days after the incident, they received an e-mail from KCL’s Students’ Union (KCLSU) informing them that rather than taking action against those who disrupted the event, it was KCL’s Geopolitics Forum – the society to which the student belongs – that received a “formal warning”.

In an e-mail seen by Campaign Against Antisemitism, it was stated that supposed misconduct on the part of the Geopolitics Forum included “behaviour that has a negative impact on other people,” “theft, misuse of funds or damage to KCLSU property,” “actions that are in contravention of KCLSU’s values and likely to damage the reputation of KCLSU or KCL,” and “actions that knowingly or willingly expose KCLSU to threat of legal action”. The e-mail appears to be a staggering example of victim-blaming.

The student forwarded this e-mail to a senior KCL staff member, who allegedly referred to the action as “a clumsy move” from the Students’ Union. When asked whether they felt that the University was supporting its Jewish students, the student replied: “This is drivel. Total nonsense.”

We reached out to KCLSU but they declined to provide a comment, citing confidentiality around student disciplinary issues.

A spokesperson for KCL said: “We are investigating the disruption at a recent student society event in line with our policies and procedures for protest. We fully support and are committed to upholding the right of freedom of speech and of protest within the law, however the safety and wellbeing of our community and visitors to our campuses is our absolute priority. Since October 7 we have engaged with our Israeli, Jewish and wider student societies, to listen to any concerns and provide extensive pastoral support. In response to concerns for safety, both on campus and across London more generally, we have enhanced security measures to keep our community safe on campus.”

KCL and its students’ union should be protecting its Jewish students, not persecuting them. Is it any wonder that only 3% of British Jews are confident that if a Jewish student reported an antisemitic incident on campus, the university’s administration would take appropriate action?

This incident is a stain on KCL. It should issue an apology to the Jewish student and finally go after not the victim but the people who perpetrated the disruption of the event.

University College London (UCL)

Elsewhere in London, masked anti-Israel thugs stopped students and staff from entering UCL while chanting: “Resistance is glorious. We will be victorious!”

Jewish students on campus deserve better, and UCL is failing them.

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].

It is good to see the Government finally showing interest in addressing the worst crisis of antisemitism in living memory.

As a starting point, we need to see real measures to tackle the regular marches, and action regarding the BBC.

We will engage with the Government to bring about those measures – but we will never be afraid to call out failings or hold institutions to account when we believe that they fall short in their duty to defend British Jews.

,

KCL Students’ Union victim-blames hosts for disrupted speaking event instead of anti-Israel protesters responsible for sabotage

In a staggering decision, the King’s College London (KCL) Students’ Union has apparently issued a “formal warning” against a student society that hosted a speaking event which was disrupted by anti-Israel activists with chants of “From the River to the Sea” rather than the protesters themselves.

The genocidal chant ‘From the River to the Sea’, which is regularly heard at anti-Israel protests, refers to the Jordan River and Mediterranean Sea, and, whether intended or not, is widely understood to represent a call for the destruction of the world’s only Jewish state — and its replacement with a Palestinian state. It is reasonably interpreted to be a call for the annihilation of half the world’s Jews, who live in Israel.

The event, which took place on 27th February, was titled ‘From Conflict to Connection: Israelis & Iranians in Dialogue’, and featured guest speaker Faezeh Alavi, an Iranian researcher and artist, speaking sympathetically about the future of Israel and Iran. The chanting came as part of a barrage of intimidation tactics targeting Ms Alavi and the organiser of the event. Security was forced to escort Ms Alavi out of the lecture theatre, and the event was swiftly and abruptly terminated. Students then continued their abuse and disruption outside the lecture theatre and throughout the corridors of the building.

Following the incident, we wrote to the University calling on the administration to take action and we have been supporting the Jewish KCL student who moderated the event.

Speaking to Campaign Against Antisemitism, the student said that prior to the event taking place, their day started normally. However, as the day progressed, they became “acutely aware that the event may cause some unnecessary commotion and welcome some unreceptive audience members” owing to spurious information appearing on the event’s sign-up sheet.

As the event started, the organiser noticed a senior member of the group KCL Students For Justice For Palestine (KCL SJP) – an official society at the University – sitting near the front. Approximately fifteen minutes into the event, a “pre-planned” and “premeditated” outburst occurred, the student told Campaign Against Antisemitism. The student said that Ms Alavi “was alarmed at the levels of anger and abuse hurled at her during the disruption.”

The student said: “From what was supposed to be an opportunity to bring together two uncommon allies and opinions that are often silenced in a world flooded with misinformation, became a wholly negative experience where antisemitism was given a lecture room to spread and be promoted to the masses under the guise of being anti-Israel.”

The student alleges that KCL offered virtually no support to him following the incident.

Addressing the aftermath directly after the incident, the student said: “From 20:00 onwards, my phone was blowing up. Messages from people checking in with me, people reposting the event disruption on Instagram, Faezeh’s post going viral, receiving messages from media wanting to speak to me as soon as possible, and so forth. The one message I did not receive on the night of – or for days after and even now weeks later – was a message from anyone at KCL to check in with me.

“It seems as if the mental hell that I had been dragged through was not enough to get in contact with me. Quite telling, isn’t it? To this day, I am yet to hear from any member of security or any member of a ministerial or senior level at KCL consoling myself, Faezeh, or my guests, or apologising for the disruption.”

The student has now also revealed that the KCL SJP Society has since reached out to him, but “failed to apologise directly”.

The student is also now disclosing that, at 12:55 on 8th March – ten days after the incident – the student received an e-mail from KCL’s Students’ Union (KCLSU) informing them that rather than taking action against those who disrupted the event, it was KCL’s Geopolitics Forum – the society to which the student belongs – that received a “formal warning”.

In an e-mail seen by Campaign Against Antisemitism, it was stated that supposed misconduct on the part of the Geopolitics Forum included “behaviour that has a negative impact on other people,” “theft, misuse of funds or damage to KCLSU property,” “actions that are in contravention of KCLSU’s values and likely to damage the reputation of KCLSU or KCL,” and “actions that knowingly or willingly expose KCLSU to threat of legal action”. The e-mail appears to be a staggering example of victim-blaming.

The student forwarded this e-mail to a senior KCL staff member, who allegedly referred to the action as “a clumsy move” from the Students’ Union.

When asked whether they felt that the University was supporting its Jewish students, the student replied: “This is drivel. Total nonsense.”

We reached out to KCLSU but they declined to provide a comment, citing confidentiality around student disciplinary issues.

A spokesperson for KCL said: “We are investigating the disruption at a recent student society event in line with our policies and procedures for protest. We fully support and are committed to upholding the right of freedom of speech and of protest within the law, however the safety and wellbeing of our community and visitors to our campuses is our absolute priority. Since October 7 we have engaged with our Israeli, Jewish and wider student societies, to listen to any concerns and provide extensive pastoral support. In response to concerns for safety, both on campus and across London more generally, we have enhanced security measures to keep our community safe on campus.”

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “This appears to be a bad case of victim-blaming. KCL and its students’ union should be protecting its Jewish students, not persecuting them. Is it any wonder that only 3% of British Jews are confident that if a Jewish student reported an antisemitic incident on campus, the university’s administration would take appropriate action? This incident is a stain on KCL. It should issue an apology to the Jewish student and finally go after not the victim but the people who perpetrated the disruption of the event.”

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].

,

“Right to armed resistance”: Manchester University Students’ Union proposes scandalous motion

Yesterday, the University of Manchester’s Students’ Union proposed a scandalous and potentially criminal motion.

One part of the motion reads: “International law enshrines a right to resist occupation. Additionally, lawyers and scholars have argued that the use of armed military force by a people exercising the right to self-determination when all other avenues of resistance have been exhausted is legitimate under international law, and that the right of an occupied people to armed resistance is an extension of the right to national self-defence. On the other hand, the right to national self-defence does not extend to occupying nations in the land they are occupying. International law forbids occupying or oppressor nations from taking military action to suppress self-determination. This position has recently been reaffirmed by UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese.”

It also states: “In recognising that, as an occupied nation, the people of Palestine have the right to armed resistance under international law.”

The motion can be read in full here.

Naomi, a Jewish student at the University of Manchester, told Campaign Against Antisemitism: “Despite our concerns about this deeply troubling motion, the students’ union proceeded with discussions on the Solidarity with Palestine policy. Prior to the assembly, they invited us to a meeting where we voiced our concerns. While they assured us that the policy’s demands cannot be enforced due to the union’s charitable status, they also acknowledged that its only real impact would be fostering intimidation, an unwelcoming atmosphere, and hostility toward Jewish students and those who proudly support Israel. They are trying to create an environment where you have to disavow Israel and your identity to be accepted. This is not what I came to university for, and it is no longer a place where I feel comfortable. What is the university administration going to do about it?”

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Once again, Manchester University students’ union has disregarded the concerns of Jewish students to push through a reckless and divisive motion. Whether or not it is meant as such here, the phrase ‘armed resistance’ is commonly used in this context as a euphemism for terrorism and the destruction of the Jewish state. At a minimum, this motion aspires to deprive the Jewish people of their right to self-determination. These motions do nothing to change things in the Middle East but contribute to the ostracisation of Jewish students on campus. Our lawyers are examining whether the motion runs afoul of charitable or criminal law, and we are supporting affected Jewish students. We will be writing to the university, the students’ union and the Charity Commission.”

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].

, ,

Problems on campus aren’t going away – but CAA is there to help

Problems on university campuses are persisting, but Campaign Against Antisemitism has been extremely active scrutinising universities, students unions’ and student societies and holding perpetrators to account, to defend Jewish students and staff.

Here are some examples of our recent work:

  • We wrote to the Vice-Chancellors of numerous universities where student societies had signed a “Joint Statement on the Ceasefire” earlier this year. The statement commented on the recent Hamas-Israel ceasefire and contained a considerable amount of alarming and dangerous rhetoric, including “Glory to the martyrs. Glory to the resistance,” and “Long Live The Intifada.” A reader is left in no doubt that the statement intends to glorify violence conducted in part or in whole by a proscribed terrorist group. It also repeatedly calls for “continued strategic efforts to dismantle the zionist entity [sic],” which could be understood as a call for the destruction of the state of Israel – the world’s only Jewish state – and the annihilation of its citizens. So far, we have received a number of encouraging responses from universities, including the University of Reading and the University of Liverpool, which are both launching an investigation; the University of Greenwich, where the relevant society has rescinded its support for the statement; and the University of Leeds, which agrees that the language is unacceptable and has asked the students’ union to investigate.
  • LSE recently held a book launch event titled ‘Understanding Hamas and Why That Matters’. The book’s synopsis described Hamas as “a widely misunderstood movement” and said that “the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has been subjected to intense vilification.” It appeared to be an outrageous attempt to whitewash Hamas’ barbaric acts of horror, and we called it out in the media and wrote to the University. LSE refused to listen to the concerns of the Jewish community and proceeded with the appalling event, but the event’s description was edited and the event, originally open to the public, was subsequently limited to students and then further restricted to LSE students only, and, as recordings obtained by Campaign Against Antisemitism showed us, the scrutiny succeeded in ensuring that those involved were extremely careful in what they said. We were ready to intervene over anything actionable – and, in view of the public outcry that preceded the event – they must have known that.
  • We wrote to King’s College London about disgraceful scenes at a speaker event which was disrupted by a group of students chanting “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be Free” as part of a barrage of intimidation tactics targeting guest speaker Faezeh Alavi, an Iranian actress and filmmaker and human rights activist speaking sympathetically about the future of Israel and Iran, and the organiser of the event. Security was forced to escort Ms Alavi out of the lecture theatre and the event itself swiftly and abruptly terminated. Students then continued their abuse and disruption outside the lecture theatre and throughout the corridors of the building. We have called on the University to take action and are supporting the students involved.
  • We wrote to UCL regarding an invitation to Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, to speak on campus, an appalling decision that sends a damning message to Jewish students. Campaign Against Antisemitism has previously protested her appearances at other campuses. Separately, we have called on the University and the Charity Commission to investigate the Director of Equity, Inclusion and Culture at UCL, who is also one of the trustees of Save One Life UK and the Director of Strategy and Communications at that charity, over allegations that some of the money that it distributes to children may have been diverted to Hamas.
  • The University of East London has decided to uphold the International Definition of Antisemitism after we wrote to the University as part of a consultation that the University was carrying out. The University adopted the Definition in 2021, but decided to review its adoption last year, citing concerns from staff members about “potential stifling of freedom of speech” during a review of its Position Statements and Charter Marks. Campaign Against Antisemitism has published resources on the interaction of the International Definition of Antisemitism and rights to freedom of speech, and we monitor the adoption of the Definition by universities. You can find up-to-date information at antisemitism.org/universities.
  • Sarah Cotte, 20, from London, has been charged with two counts of expressing support for Hamas, a proscribed terrorist organisation. She is listed as the President of the SOAS ‘Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism!’ Society. According to the Met Police, the first charge relates to a public speech she allegedly made in October 2023 that endorsed and celebrated Hamas’ 7th October attacks in Israel and invited support for those who committed them in a video that was subsequently broadcast online. The second charge pertains to comments made in a WhatsApp group.
  • The Goldsmiths Students’ Union and numerous non-student societies and groups from beyond the University have published a statement declaring their refusal to engage with a long-running independent inquiry into antisemitism at the University. Campaign Against Antisemitism provided a submission to the inquiry many months ago. It is extraordinary that a students’ union would refuse to engage with an inquiry against racism, and underscores just how toxic campuses have become and how the authorities there cannot be relied upon to safeguard Jews.

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].

Father of British-Israeli 7th October victim announced his refusal to pay BBC licence fee

Michael Marlowe, the father of Jake Marlowe, a 26-year-old British-Israeli citizen who was brutally murdered by Hamas terrorists on 7th October 2023 whilst working unarmed as security for the Nova musical festival in Southern Israel, has told us that he will no longer pay the licence fee to the BBC, calling it a “hate-filled organisation”.

“For decades, the BBC stood as the bastion of honest and trustworthy reporting. It was the world’s first point of call for global and national news, respected for its integrity and neutrality. But that BBC is long gone. Over the years, it has been overtaken by countless other media outlets. Once a pillar of credibility, it has now become a national embarrassment—bloated, blinkered, and anything but neutral. It is rotten from top to bottom. It is morally corrupt.

“In my view, it is a vile, hate-filled organisation that is no longer fit for purpose. The BBC won’t even call Hamas – a terrorist organisation that murdered our son, Jake Marlowe – what it is. This is why I have cancelled my TV licence. The BBC’s refusal to acknowledge this has stripped it of any remaining credibility.”

Do you feel the same way?

Sign our petition to suspend the BBC licence fee.

Since our national full-page newspaper advertisements last weekend, we have maintained the pressure on the BBC, including in the media – and we will continue to do so until there is fundamental change at the broadcaster.

How we celebrated Purim

The festival of Purim celebrates Jewish victory over genocidal adversaries, a theme that has recurred throughout the last several millennia.

Genocidal antisemitism did not end with the Nazis. It is sadly alive and well, including nowadays among Islamist Jew-haters like Hamas, enabled by supporters and useful idiots in the West.

Purim is also a time when, because we are confident of Jewish survival, Jews can laugh at their enemies. That may be difficult while the Jewish state is still at war, Jewish hostages are still in captivity and Jewish people around the world face the worst levels of antisemitism in a generation and most authorities seem unwilling to acknowledge and address the problem.

But despite all this hardship, there is still the possibility of merriment, because the Jewish people know that, ultimately, we will survive this too.

With that in mind, at Campaign Against Antisemitism, we joined in the spirit of the festival – that of levity and satire.

For example, for those who did not have a costume ready, we offered a last-minute option: The BBC Contributor.

Also for Purim, we published the BBC’s not-so-official glossary, to help viewers, listeners and readers understand how the BBC translates terms to fit its narrative.

Finally, we also managed to get a hold of comedian and broadcaster Josh Howie’s BBC correspondent audition tape. For his submission, Josh decided to report on the BBC’s recent documentary on Gaza.

If you’re outraged that as part of the production of the so-called documentary, licence fee money went to a Hamas family, sign our petition.

Anybody who thought that antisemitism problems on campus would disappear with the end of the last academic year or with the agreement of a ceasefire in Gaza, was certain to be disappointed.

The radicalisation of students, student societies and their unions and the reluctance of most university administrations to take action unless there are legal or financial consequences to not doing so, means that life on campus for Jews is much less secure than it is for others.

We believe that this state of affairs is totally unacceptable, and we will continue to work with Jewish students and staff to hold their peers and administrations to account.

,

Who is Dr Amal Saad?

Dr Amal Saad is a lecturer at the School of Law and Politics at Cardiff University.

According to her X profile, which has a following of over 35,000, she is a “Scholar of Hizballah and politics of Resistance Axis”.

So, what gets posted on this account?

In 2019, a post appeared on Dr Saad’s X account which read: “When you’re eager to call a legitimate and popular resistance like Hizbullah [sic] ‘terrorist’ but refer to the murder of Muslims by white supremacists a ‘terrible act’ rather than a ‘terrorist act’, that’s precisely the type of racism and Islamophobia that enables white terrorism.”

Hizballah is a proscribed antisemitic genocidal terror group.

On 8th October – one day after Hamas’ deadly attack on Israel in which some 1,200 people were murdered and 250 were taken hostage – Hizballah launched rockets from Lebanon into the world’s only Jewish state. According to Hizballah, this was purportedly done “in solidarity” with Gaza.

The same year, another post from her X account, also on the topic of Hizballah, read: “Absolutely shameful to equate with al-Qaeda affiliates, a legal and legitimate popular resistance movement that’s an integral part of the Lebanese state, which closely coordinates with the Lebanese army & security forces and represents a significant segment of the Lebanese people.”

In November last year, a post appeared on her X profile which described Israel – the world’s only Jewish state – as a “terrorist state”. It also compared Israel to ISIS.

According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g. by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavour,” is an example of antisemitism.

Her account also reposted a post from another account which read: “Everyone in Gaza is a Holocaust survivor.”

According to the Definition, “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” is an example of antisemitism.

Her account also reposted a post from another account which read: “Zionism is an absolute irredeemable evil that must be eradicated. To support this is to be a repugnant, depraved individual.”

According to our polling, 80% of British Jews consider themselves to be Zionists; only 6% do not.

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].

,

UEL upholds International Definition of Antisemitism, following CAA input

The University of East London has decided to uphold the International Definition of Antisemitism after Campaign Against Antisemitism wrote to the University as part of a consultation that the University was carrying out.

The University adopted the Definition in 2021, but decided to review its adoption last year, citing concerns from staff members about “potential stifling of freedom of speech” during a review of its Position Statements and Charter Marks.

Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors the adoption of the International Definition of Antisemitism by universities.

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].

, ,

CAA calls on UCL to ban Francesca Albanese

Campaign Against Antisemitism is writing to the UCL, following the announcement that Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, will be speaking at an event on campus.

Ms Albanese has a well-documented history of using rhetoric that alienates Jews. Last year, Campaign Against Antisemitism organised several protests at London universities after it was announced that she was due to address students.

Below is a sample of her past rhetoric:

  • She has previously posted about “the Jewish lobby” and is alleged to have told a Hamas-organised conference that they have “the right to resist”.
  • She has made innumerable comparisons between Israelis and the Nazis, in breach of the International Definition of Antisemitism, which has been adopted by the British Government and UCL.
  • In 2022, she reportedly addressed a conference in Gaza in which she stated “You have a right to resist this occupation.” The conference was reportedly organised by Hamas and numerous spokespeople from both Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) were present. Both Hamas and the PIJ are proscribed as terrorist organisations by the UK Government.
  • Last year, she was condemned by the French Foreign Ministry after she posted on X: “The victims of 7/10 were not killed because of their Judaism but in response to Israel’s oppression,” after President Macron described the 7th October attacks as “the largest antisemitic massacre of our century”.
  • A 2014 open letter that she posted on her Facebook account read: “America and Europe, one of them subjugated by the Jewish lobby, and the other by the sense of guilt about the Holocaust, remain on the sidelines and continue to condemn the oppressed — the Palestinians — who defend themselves with the only means they have.” This is also a breach of the Definition.
  • According to The Times of Israel, in 2014 in a now-hidden post on Facebook directed at the BBC, she wrote: “The Israeli lobby is clearly inside your veins and system and you will be remembered to have been on the big brother’s side of this orwellian [sic] nightmare caused once again by Israel’s greed.” Also a breach of the Definition.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “The decision to welcome Francesca Albanese on campus is appalling and sends a damning message to Jewish students. She has previously posted about ‘the Jewish lobby’ and is alleged to have told a Hamas-organised conference that they have ‘the right to resist’. Everyone knows by now how Jews feel about this inflammatory activist. Are these appearances just to bait Jews? At a time when Jewish students are experiencing an unprecedented surge in antisemitism, Ms Albanese’s presence on campus only exacerbates the issue. We will be writing UCL.”

, , , , , , , ,

Holocaust inverted

Who are the victims of the Holocaust, and who are the perpetuators?

The victims

For some years now, this question has been yet another front in the battle over antisemitism and Jewish identity – and who gets to define them.

Holocaust Memorial Day last week featured another series of skirmishes on this terrain.

Last week, we observed how Good Morning Britain ‘forgot’ to mention that the principal victims of the Holocaust were Jews.

Our post online went viral and the story was covered across national papers, including the Mail, Sun, Metro, Express and Telegraph, as well as GB News and numerous local and international news outlets, and the attention forced ITV to issue an apology, albeit a weak one.

GMB was not the only party to this obfuscation.

The Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner, also omitted a certain one-syllable word in her Holocaust commemoration, writing online: “Tonight, I’m lighting a candle to remember all those who were murdered just for being who they were, and to stand against prejudice and hatred today. Never again.”

The irony of this sort of ‘forgetfulness’ on a day of remembrance is not lost on us. Holocaust Memorial Day is first and foremost a day to memorialise the six million Jewish men, women and children murdered by gas, bullet and other means by the Nazis and their collaborators. Its principal lesson is the need to bravely combat antisemitism whenever it arises, including in our own time. That is the real meaning of Never Again.

Given that Britain is currently experiencing the worst antisemitism in living memory, that lesson is more important than ever. Why, then, does our society keep failing to learn it?

The perpetrators

This ‘de-Judification’ of Holocaust remembrance is the first step on the road to Holocaust inversion.

The destination is the accusation that Jews are committing a Holocaust of their own.

We have of course seen and heard such accusations on the streets of London and other cities in Britain and around the world for over a year now. As a society, we have sadly become accustomed to naked antisemitism in our urban centres and the utter indifference of the authorities – the same institutions, civil servants and politicians who rush to organise and attend Holocaust Memorial Day events.

But this year we have also seen the highjacking of Holocaust Memorial Day ceremonies.

In Leicester, for example, an event funded in part by the county and city councils was addressed by a speaker who compared the war against Hamas to the genocide of the Jews at the hands of the Nazis, reportedly provoking Jewish audience-members to walk out.

Meanwhile, in Lowestoft, representatives of the Jewish community were reportedly sidelined at the larger HMD event, where a local councillor mentioned the war in Gaza in his remarks, leaving local Jewish people in disgust.

Worse yet, over in Ireland a Jewish woman was manhandled as she was thrown out of an HMD event, joining other Jews protesting the references to Gaza made by President Michael Higgins, whose very presence at the event had been opposed by the Jewish community. In contrast to the Irish President’s abominable abuse of a commemorative event, King Charles visited Auschwitz for the 80th anniversary of the liberation, capping a long career of support for Holocaust survivors and education.

Meanwhile, in the European Parliament, a far-right Polish politician, Grzegorz Braun, disrupted a moment of silence in memory of Holocaust victims by shouting: “Let’s pray for the victims of the genocide in Gaza!” He had previously courted controversy in the Polish Parliament in 2023 when he extinguished candles on a menorah.

But sometimes this inversion is more subtle.

When, on News Hour with Mark Austin on Sky News, the rolling coverage of Holocaust Memorial Day and the ceremony at Auschwitz was immediately followed by reporting on Gaza, at least twice, was that just a coincidence, or was it the sort of disgraceful editorialising that we have come to expect from Sky?

After all, a mere 6% of British Jews feel that Sky’s coverage in relation to matters of Jewish interest is favourable, and 61% consider it unfavourable. Is it any wonder why?

What about when a Holocaust exhibition is deemed “too political” for Westminster Hall in Parliament, while a stall by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) – one of the organisers behind London’s anti-Israel marches – is apparently fine for the same venue. The Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, has opened an investigation into how permission was refused for the Holocaust exhibition.

It is this trend that the International Definition of Antisemitism has in mind when it observes that comparing Israel to Nazis is antisemitic.

When appropriate, we are calling these incidents out, and we are producing materials to challenge this insidious narrative. Otherwise Britain will forget the true lessons of the Holocaust.

Trainee pharmacist sentenced after action by CAA

A trainee pharmacist was recently sentenced in court for a message that he sent on social media to UCL’s Israel student society, after Campaign Against Antisemitism worked with the society to report the incident to the police and ensure that action was taken.

Mohammad Al Accad, 24, also known as Suhail, pleaded guilty to sending a grossly offensive communication at Manchester Magistrates’ Court. The charge related to a message that he sent to the UCL Israel Society which read: “F*** you and your people, hope we kill hundreds more in the coming days.”

The message was sent on 7th October 2023 in response to a statement published by the Society condemning Hamas’ barbaric attacks in Israel on the same day. During the attacks, terrorists murdered some 1,200 people and took over 250 hostages.

We reported the contents of the message to the police after speaking with the victim. The police offered to facilitate an apology from Mr Al Accad to the victim in lieu of a prosecution, which was rejected. We also reported Mr Al Accad to the General Pharmaceutical Council, which regulates pharmacists.

Mr Al Accad was identified by Campaign Against Antisemitism and arrested following a police investigation. During his police interview, he admitted to sending the message, saying that he had done so in reaction to recent events.

Despite his admission, the defendant initially claimed that his message was not grossly offensive.

Mr Al Accad was ordered to pay a fine of £675, which was uplifted from a Band B fine to a Band C fine due to the racially/religiously aggravated nature of the offence. He was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £270 and £85 towards prosecution costs.

Mohammad Al Accad’s sentencing marks a victory against those who feel that they can target Jewish students with antisemitic hatred. When antisemitism crosses the criminal threshold, we will do whatever it takes to secure justice. Let this verdict send a clear message to those who target Jews. Ruinous consequences await them.

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on confidence on 0330 822 0321 or e-mail [email protected].

Do British people care about Jewish fears?

Last week, we published ground-breaking polling of the Jewish community highlighting the concerns of British Jews about their future, the criminal justice system, figure like Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley and London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan, the media, universities and more.

Some of the findings include:

  • Less than half of British Jews (43%) feel welcome in the UK.
  • An alarming eight in ten British Jews think that the police do not do enough to protect them; and only 16% of British Jews are confident that if they reported an antisemitic crime, it would be prosecuted if there was strong enough evidence.
  • British Jews consider Islamists to be the most serious threat (95%), but more than nine in ten British Jews do not believe that the authorities do enough to protect the Jewish community from them.
  • Nearly seven in ten British Jews – 69% – consider coverage by The Guardian of matters of Jewish interest to be unfavourable.
  • Nine in ten British Jews said that if anybody in their family were choosing a university, antisemitism would be a factor in their choice.
  • A minuscule 2% of British Jews consider the fiercely anti-Zionist Neturei Karta sect to be representative of their views on Israel.

The full results can be read here.

Subsequently, we decided to ask ordinary British people what they thought about some of our findings.

Channel 4’s “European Jews are lying scumbags” participant

If you turn on Channel 4 this evening, you will see Go Back To Where You Came From, a new reality television programme that features four people with anti-immigration views and two people who are pro-immigration, travelling migrant routes from Somalia and Syria to the UK.

Among the participants is Bushra Shaikh, an ‘anti-racism’ activist (naturally) and former contestant on The Apprentice, who is on the pro-immigration side on the show.

A glimpse at her social media activity, however, reveals that Ms Shaikh does not mince words when it comes it Jews:

  • “European Jews changed their names to hide their origins in order to claim supremacy over Palestinian Arab lands. These people are the biggest charlatans on this planet. Bunch of lying scumbags.”
  • “One state solution. Palestine. And send this European problem back to f***ing Europe.”
  • “You can be super anti Muslim, you can talk about Muslims but as soon as you talk about Jews, you get cancelled. Why are they so protected?”
  • “Doesn’t the Talmud teach you ‘only the Jew is human and the rest of us are Goyims.’ So I believe Jews are taught to hate everyone. Nice try though.”
  • “I said Jews, now ‘they’re’ after me. But thank you to everyone, including the pro-Palestine, anti Netanyahu Jewish community that have reached out with support. Humanity will win [sic].”
  • “I’m sorry but why are people losing jobs and more for even mentioning Israel and Zionism. We can talk about Christians, Hindus and Muslims but the moment Jew is mentioned-prepare to have your career ruined.”
  • “I’m sorry but there are not enough Jewish people/Israelis speaking up against the massacre in Gaza. And that’s telling the world they are supporters of genocide. See how that works.”
  • “Axel Rudakubana allegedly downloaded Al Qaeda documents. Al Qaeda funds have known links to Israel. Israel helped kill British kids in Southport. Israel kills kids in Palestine. Israel kills kids in Lebanon. Israel kills kids in Syria. Now the UK.”

When we brought this social media activity to Channel 4’s attention, they told us: “Bushra is a contributor on Go Back to Where You Came From, and is one of the six opinionated individuals who, throughout the series, discuss immigration and have their differing viewpoints challenged. The series will be compliant with the Ofcom Broadcasting Code. Channel 4 are not responsible for contributors’ personal social media accounts.”

Channel 4’s agenda here is pretty clear: pit anti-immigration xenophobes against virtuous pro-immigration activists. But if Channel 4 wants to show the unvarnished views of one side, why not do the same for the other? Channel 4 is sanitising Bushra Shaikh to make her more sympathetic, instead of revealing her as the hypocrite that she is, speaking in favour of immigration while insulting “European Jews”.

Channel 4’s insistence that Ms Shaikh remains in the programme while hiding her real opinions from viewers is telling. Portraying those with antisemitic views as virtuous while hiding their antisemitism is the exact opposite of what we should be doing: exposing and ostracising.

We have called for a boycott of the show.

Wiki-poison

When we want to know something, we turn to Wikipedia.

It is the first port of call for information on any topic, especially in the English language but in many other languages besides.

Anyone can become an editor on Wikipedia, although some topics are restricted to those with a record of neutral and responsible editing across the online encyclopaedia.

But as a collaborative and largely non-hierarchical endeavour, one sometimes wonders who is policing what gets written on Wikipedia, and can you really be sure that it is accurate?

When it comes to the Jewish state and matters relating to the Jewish community, many of us will know that what we read is not always rooted in fact; and while one of the ‘five pillars’ of Wikipedia — its guiding principles — states that “Wikipedia is written from a neutral point of view,” that is too often not the case.

We have long been calling out Wikipedia for failing to implement their own rules against obsessive anti-Israel editors who hijack entries relating to matters of Jewish concern.

It was therefore very welcome news when it was recently announced that bad-faith contributors are finally facing disciplinary action by the Wikipedia arbitration board, including topic bans that would prevent them from editing articles relating to the Jewish state.

The problem is not just on English Wikipedia. There has also been reporting in France about Wikipedia editors trying to cooperative in an effort to manipulate content on the website for the worse.

At Campaign Against Antisemitism, Wikipedia is an issue that we take very seriously, given how many people across the world rely on it for what they believe is authoritative information. We will continue to do whatever we can to ensure that Wikipedia lives up to its promise of accuracy and neutrality.

People sometimes ask us, in their more despairing moments, whether what we do makes a difference. After all, we all know that antisemitism is not going to disappear, and battling this hatred can sometimes feel Sisyphean, especially over the past sixteen months.

But when one of our biggest television channels is forced to issue an on-air apology for forgetting that Jews were the victims of the Holocaust, because of a story read by multitudes in newspapers and online, it makes a difference.

And when a trainee pharmacist and his family, friends and community learn that there are severe consequences to trolling Jews, and Jewish students know that someone is there to help them, it makes a difference.

We may not win every battle, but we will not surrender the field; and those battles that we do win help us advance, however gradually, to a better future for British Jews.

, , , , , , ,

New polling shows Britain’s failure to protect its Jews

New polling of British Jews by Campaign Against Antisemitism has revealed a number of alarming insights.

The study covers how secure British Jews feel, their views on the criminal justice system and Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley, where they believe threats are, their assessment of political parties and the Mayors of London and Manchester on antisemitism, their views on the BBC and universities, and more.

Being Jewish in Britain

  • Only one-third (34%) of British Jews believe that Jews have a long-term future in the UK.
  • Half of the Jewish community has considered leaving Britain in the past two years due to antisemitism. Among 18-24-year-olds, it is two-thirds (67%). The main reason is the surge in antisemitism since 7th October 2023, cited by 76% of respondents.
  • Less than half of British Jews (43%) feel welcome in the UK. Almost half of 18-24-year-old Jews (47%), conversely, do not feel welcome.
  • A majority of British Jews (58%) hide their Judaism due to antisemitism.

Extremism

  • British Jews consider Islamists to be the most serious threat (95%) compared to the far-right (67%) and the far-left (91%).
  • More than nine in ten British Jews do not believe that the authorities do enough to protect the Jewish community from Islamists.

Policing and prosecutions

  • Less than one-tenth of British Jews believe that the authorities are doing enough to address and punish antisemitism; 84% believe that they are not.
  • In Scotland, nearly one-fifth of Jews would not bother reporting an antisemitic hate crime to the police, with almost two-thirds not confident that it would be prosecuted.
  • Only 16% of British Jews are confident that if they reported an antisemitic crime, it would be prosecuted if there was strong enough evidence. Conversely, 62% are not confident, rising to 64% in London – the highest level geographically.
  • An alarming eight in ten British Jews think that the police do not do enough to protect them.
  • A minuscule ten percent of British Jews think that the CPS does enough to protect them, and only 13% think that of the courts.
  • Three-quarters of British Jews are dissatisfied with how their local police force has been policing anti-Israel marches in their local cities. Only one-tenth are satisfied. 
  • Just 5% of British Jews have confidence in Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley, and six in ten believe that he should not be in post.

Politics

  • The vast majority – 85% – of British Jews are dissatisfied with London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s performance in relation to the Jewish community since 7th October 2023. Fewer than one in ten (9%) are satisfied.
  • Regarding Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, one-third of British Jews are dissatisfied with his performance in relation to the Jewish community, while only 12% are satisfied. In Northern England the satisfaction is higher at 30%, but still less than one-third; dissatisfaction is also higher, at almost half (49%).
  • Nearly three-quarters – 72% – of British Jews think that the Green Party is too tolerant of antisemitism among their MPs, MEPs, councillors, members and supporters. This is closely followed by the Labour Party with 71%. This is the highest figure ever recorded for the Greens, and it is the first time that another party has overtaken Labour in our polling. For their first time, a third party has also crossed the majority threshold: the SNP, at 52%.
  • The figures for the other parties are 42% for Sinn Féin; 40% for the Liberal Democrats; 26% for Plaid Cymru; 22% for the Conservatives; 22% for UKIP; 21% for the Democratic Unionist Party; and 19% for the Reform Party. 
  • 72% of Scottish Jews feel that the Scottish National Party is too tolerant of antisemitism.

Arts and Media

  • 92% of British Jews think that media bias against Israel fuels persecution of Jews in Britain.
  • Among broadcasters, the BBC scored the worst in terms of its coverage of matters of Jewish interest, with 92% of British Jews rating its coverage as unfavourable.
  • Among newspapers, The Guardian scored the worst on the same metric, with nearly seven in ten – 69% – of British Jews describing its coverage as unfavourable.
  • More than four-fifths (84%) of British Jews agree that boycotts of Israeli artists, academics or businesses selling Israeli products constitute intimidation. This finding is particularly pertinent given the incidence of boycotts over the past year.

Proscriptions

  • Nearly all British Jews – a resounding 98% – back our calls to proscribe all groups that were involved in the 7th October 2023 attack in Israel under terrorism legislation.
  • 94% of British Jews back our calls to proscribe the Houthis and 93% to proscribe the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The latter was promised by the Government prior to the General Election but has not been delivered.
  • More than four-fifths (85%) of British Jews think that the British Government should proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist group. 

Universities and education

  • Only 3% of British Jews are confident that if a Jewish student reported an antisemitic incident on campus, the university’s administration would take appropriate action. Among young Jews it is 6%.
  • 90% of young British Jews blame students for the increase in reported antisemitic incidents on UK campuses.
  • Nine in ten British Jews said that if anybody in their family were choosing a university, antisemitism would be a factor in their choice.
  • Nearly nine in ten – 88% – British Jews said that if anybody in their family were choosing a school, antisemitism would be a factor in their choice. 

Rhetoric

  • 95% of British Jews consider the chant ‘From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free’ to be an antisemitic call to destroy the Jewish state. Only 2% do not. 
  • A minuscule 2% of British Jews consider the fiercely anti-Zionist Neturei Karta sect to be representative of their views on Israel.

Representation

  • 86% of British Jews believe that Campaign Against Antisemitism is representative of their views on antisemitism. More than half strongly believe that.

Full results of the survey can be accessed here.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “As we reflect today on historic antisemitism, as a society we also have to ask ourselves: why are we doing so little about antisemitism right here, right now? The truth is that Britain and the authorities are failing the Jewish community. These figures paint a sobering picture of the lives of British Jews and their future.

“British Jews have lost trust in the criminal justice system in general, which they do not feel is protecting them, and in the Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley in particular, after he has presided over the worst surge in antisemitism in living memory, opting for excuses over action and gaslighting those who call him out. It is time for arrests and a ban on the anti-Israel marches.

“From politics to the BBC to universities, the Jewish community sees betrayal across our civil and cultural institutions. The cumulative result is that less than half of British Jews feel welcome in the UK. Antisemitism has become our nation’s great shame, and time is running out.”

Fieldwork

Fieldwork was conducted between 3rd and 11th June 2024. In total, 4,078 responses were obtained.

Methodology

Our surveys of British Jews were modelled on the National Jewish Community Survey (NJCS) conducted by the Institute for Jewish Policy research. In common with the NJCS, the samples were self-selecting, and respondents were required to self-identify as Jewish and confirm that they lived in the United Kingdom. Like the NJCS, they were contacted primarily through ‘seed’ organisations, including religious bodies, Jewish online networks (including targeted advertising on social networks), and community welfare organisations, among others. In common with the NJCS, the seed organisations were used to initiate a ‘snowballing’ process which, in effect, created a non-probability convenience sample. It was not possible to use a random probability sampling approach for this study because a suitable sampling frame for the Jewish population is not available in the UK. Fieldwork was conducted between 3rd and 11th June 2024. In total, 4,078 responses were obtained. As is the case with the NJCS, the number of unique respondents contacted cannot be determined due to the likely overlap between different ‘seed’ organisations’ supporter bases, thus we cannot estimate the survey response rate.

A key issue with an online survey is to ensure that respondents are not counted twice. To avoid this and other abuses that might affect the survey’s integrity, several measures were implemented. These included: carefully monitoring responses for unusual trends during the fieldwork phase, and assessing the completed dataset for the presence of extreme or unrealistic values (i.e. outlier diagnostics) and for the presence of unlikely combinations of values across variables (i.e. logical checks).Additionally, cookies were used to avoid respondents completing the survey more than once. Finally, respondents’ IP addresses were logged so that if a respondent deleted their cookies, multiple responses from the same IP address could still be identified. As a result, duplicate responses were kept to a minimum and ultimately, removed from the sample.

Our survey is modelled on best practice established by NJCS. All surveys have their shortcomings, and ours shares the shortcomings of NJCS. Even surveys that are based on probability sampling are typically affected by high levels of non- response. Surveys of populations lacking sampling frames, such as this one, are particularly challenging, as is establishing their representativeness. Nevertheless, because we have extremely high-quality baseline statistics available in the UK, it is possible to both accurately weight the data and make reasonable assumptions about where they may depart from the ‘true’ picture. In general, the survey samples reflect the diverse character of Jewish respondents in the UK across geographical, demographic and religious variables. Where the sample does depart from baseline characteristics, responses were weighted for location, gender, age and religious affiliation. Population estimates were based on responses to the 2021 Census in England and Wales and the 2022 Census in Scotland where that data is available, and otherwise on responses to the 2011 Census, and size estimates with regard to religious denominations were based on the NCJS 2013. The weights were calculated using random iterative method weighting by an external consultant.

, , , ,

Trainee pharmacist sentenced after writing “hope we kill hundreds more of you” to Israel student society following action by CAA

A trainee pharmacist was sentenced in court yesterday for a message he sent on social media to a university’s Israel student society.

Mohammad Al Accad, 24, also known as Suhail, pleaded guilty to sending a grossly offensive communication at Manchester Magistrates’ Court. The charge related to a message that he sent to the Israel Society at University College London which read: “F*** you and your people, hope we kill hundreds more in the coming days.”

The message was sent on 7th October 2023 in response to a statement published by the society condemning Hamas’ barbaric attacks in Israel on the same day. During the attacks, terrorists murdered some 1,200 people and took over 250 hostages.

Campaign Against Antisemitism reported the contents of the message to the police, Prevent and Mr Accad’s employer after speaking with the victim.

The police offered to facilitate an apology from Mr Al Accad to the victim in lieu of a prosecution, which was rejected.

We also reported the defendant to the General Pharmaceutical Council.

Mr Al Accad was identified by Campaign Against Antisemitism and arrested following a police investigation. During his police interview, he admitted to sending the message, saying he had done so in reaction to recent events.

Despite his admission, the defendant initially claimed that his message was not grossly offensive.

Mr Al Accad was ordered to pay a fine of £675, which was uplifted from a Band B fine to a Band C fine due to the racially/religiously aggravated nature of the offence. He was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £270 and £85 towards prosecution costs.

Stephen Silverman, Director of Investigations and Enforcement at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “Mohammad Al Accad’s sentencing marks a victory against those who feel that they can target Jewish students with antisemitic hatred. When antisemitism crosses the criminal threshold, we will do whatever it takes to secure justice. Let this verdict send a clear message to those who target Jews. Ruinous consequences await them.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of just under nine hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than twelve times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].

, , ,

Protester who wore sign labelling Leeds chaplain “war criminal” and “pervert” convicted and fined

A protester was convicted and fined yesterday after wearing a sign labelling the Jewish Chaplain at the University of Leeds a “war criminal” and a “pervert”.

Serena Fenton, 56, was found guilty in Leeds Magistrates’ Court of two counts of racially aggravated offences under Section 5 of the Public Order Act.

The charges related to a sign, which she displayed on her person, at two anti-Israel demonstrations in Leeds on 13th April and 1st May earlier this year.

The sign displayed an image of the University’s Jewish Chaplain, Rabbi Zecharia Deutsch, who was targeted with death threats during his tenure at the University after it was claimed that he had served as a reservist in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in Gaza. Text imposed on the image read: “Thousands of war criminals will soon be walking our streets: Rapists, child-killers, perverts, torturers, thieves, psychopaths! They are dangerous! Do not approach unless armed! They will face justice!”

During proceedings, a community witness described the words on Ms Fenton’s sign as “extremely distressing” and said that it was “clearly designed to cause distress”.

The court found that the word “they” in the sign referred to Jews, notwithstanding Ms Fenton’s claim that she was referring to the IDF. She also said that the wording “unless armed” referred to being armed with “knowledge”; the court, however, concluded that the wording constituted a call to vigilante violence that would cause alarm or distress.

During her oral testimony, Ms Fenton said that she “only disliked Zionist Jews”, which the court concluded was an antisemitic view. It was also determined that her actions demonstrated racist intent.

According to our representative polling, only 6% of British Jews do not consider themselves to be Zionist.

A police officer also testified that Ms Fenton was uncooperative during her arrest, which took place during the demonstration in May.

Ms Fenton was fined £100 per offence, plus a £160 victim surcharge cost and £600 in prosecution fees.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of just under nine hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than twelve times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

, , , , , , ,

If I am not for myself, why should others be for me?

The future for Jewish people in Britain is under threat, but if we don’t show that we care, why should anyone else?

We cannot expect the general public, the media, the authorities or the Government to take heed of the Jewish community’s cries if we do not make the effort to show the strength of our feeling regarding the unprecedented levels of antisemitism that have permeated every aspect of our lives.

If we do not tell them how we feel, how are they to know?

We have a responsibility to make ourselves heard.

If you have not yet joined the thousands who have already signed up to march at 13:00 this Sunday, 8th December in central London, please do so now and be part of this critical and historic event.

We will be gathering from 12:00 for a prompt 13:00 start.

You can sign up for the march here.

Why are we marching?

We are marching because these sorts of incidents – all from the past ten days – have become unacceptably commonplace.

  • A fourteen-year-old identifiably Jewish girl in Stamford Hill was reportedly hospitalised after being struck in the face with a glass bottle.
  • The Trades Union Congress called on all trade union members – including nurses, teachers and journalists – to “wear something red, green, black or a Palestinian keffiyeh to visibly show solidarity” at their places of work, resulting in BBC staff reportedly handing in their National Union of Journalists memberships.
  • A leading Jewish restaurant critic quit The Observer after 28 years, saying: “For years now being Jewish, however non-observant, and working for the company has been uncomfortable, at times excruciating.”
  • Ten teenagers reportedly attacked a TFL bus carrying pupils from JFS, a Jewish school in North London, in an incident in which four teenagers boarded the bus screaming “F* Israel, nobody likes you! F* off you b!” and throwing things at the JFS students, with seemingly no assistance provided to the victims by the driver or other passengers.
  • An experienced Jewish member of staff at the BBC has revealed that antisemitism has become “normalised” at the broadcaster.
  • It was reported that Counter Terrorism Police rightly felt the need to ban a video game in which users play as terrorists invading Israel to murder “Zionists”.
  • Anti-Israel activists outside the University of Oxford called for intifada, made comparisons between the only Jewish state and terrorists and engaged in genocidal chanting. Meanwhile what happened inside the Oxford Union, the University’s debating society, was indescribably appalling.
  • A Jewish leading figure in British arts resigned “from all voluntary positions within UK arts institutions” after accusing the art world of becoming host to “vile antisemitic sentiments…that are not isolated incidents but part of a broader culture that seeks to marginalise and dehumanise Jews.”
  • Anti-Israel protesters tried to force their way into Downing Street.
  • An academic at King’s College London allegedly attempted to “indoctrinate” her students with Hamas propaganda.

Anybody who does not think that antisemitism is a problem in Britain has their head in the sand.

The question for the Jewish community and our allies is whether we are willing to march this weekend to fight for our future.

It is not just about the Jewish community

It is essential that we march, not just for the Jewish future but for the future of our country.

We must take a stand against the growing extremism, radicalisation and support for terrorist groups that we are seeing on our streets, campuses and online, because it does not just affect the Jews.

As our Chief Executive, Gideon Falter, wrote in The Times last week: “Woe betide us if we believe this to be a passing nightmare, or an affliction that will affect the Jewish community alone and spare the rest. As the late Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks warned, ‘The hate that begins with Jews never ends with Jews.’”

The full article can be read here.

He also wrote in The Sunday Telegraph yesterday, pointing out that all of the activism that we are seeing is doing nothing to affect events in the Middle East but having a considerable, adverse impact on the fabric of our society right here. He asked: “Has this ‘activism’ done anything to change things in Israel, Gaza, Lebanon or Iran? Or are they just changing the face of our society over here?”

Th full article can be read here.

The future of British Jewry and our country’s tradition of tolerance and decency is not guaranteed. We owe it to our ourselves to fight for our future.

March with us.

, , , , , ,

This is what ‘Globalising the Intifada’ looks like

Last Thursday evening, a modern-day pogrom took place in Amsterdam. In shocking scenes, Israeli Jewish football fans were targeted in a series of violent attacks.

Footage from the evening showed people running for their lives, an unconscious body being kicked in the street and a man begging for mercy as attackers yelled “Free Palestine”.

Others were run over, and at least one man apparently had to jump into a canal to avoid further attack as assailants shouted “cancer Jew”, a classic Dutch insult applied here towards Jews, with antisemitic undertones to boot.

From the information now available, it is clear that these attacks were pre-planned, using private messaging platforms, with bands waiting at designated spots with knowledge of where the fans would be and where they were staying. The attackers were reportedly armed with knives, clubs and other weapons.

The police warned Jews not to use local taxis, as drivers were providing information to the attackers, many of whom are believed to be youth gangs from the Dutch Moroccan and Dutch Turkish communities.

Aghast at the failure of police in Amsterdam to assist the victims, Israel sent two rescue places and brought 2,000 people home.

These images mirror early 20th-century pogroms in Europe and the Middle East, where Jews were sought out by mobs and either ran or faced being beaten in the streets, or worse.

Amsterdam is a city known for Anne Frank. The house in which she hid before before taken and eventually murdered by the Nazis is now a museum and one of the city’s most popular tourist destinations.

But what good is all this memorialisation when right outside the same antisemitism thrives on Dutch streets?

The King of The Netherlands declared: “We failed the Jewish community of The Netherlands during World War II, and last night we failed again.” The Western European country with the highest proportion of Jews murdered in the Holocaust was The Netherlands.

The comparisons to historic antisemitism were particularly unavoidable given that the pogrom took place in the week of Kristallnacht, which we commemorated this weekend.

What happened in Amsterdam is what “globalising the intifada” looks like.

Indeed not only were there further Palestine protests in Amsterdam in the days after the pogrom in defiance of a court ruling, but there are also reports of violent incidents from Sweden to the United States, and all eyes will be on Paris this week, where the Israeli and French national football teams are playing amid a deployment of thousands of police officers.

We are witnessing levels of antisemitism not seen in our lifetime, and it is of the utmost importance that Britain acts against the antisemitic thugs here at home who have become increasingly emboldened.

Anti-Israel demonstrators have taken over our streets week after week, calling for “intifada”. How much longer will it be before scenes like these are replicated here?

For all those who chant for “intifada” week in and week out, what just happened in Amsterdam is what they are asking for. This is what happens when lax policing for over a year repeatedly succumbs to the mob. When are we going to wake up?

Why people have such little faith in the news media

The immediate media coverage of the pogrom in Britain and across the Western world was deplorable.

The level of victim-blamimg in this now-deleted report from Sky News, for example, cannot be put down merely to mistaken reporting in the heat of the moment.

Instead, they are seeing what they want to see. They are refusing to see what they do not wish to see.

This is the essence of media bias, where the story is known ahead of time, and information will be manipulated, distorted or fabricated to fit with it, facts be damned.

Last week there was a pogrom against Jews in the most liberal city in Europe. Sky News and so many other outlets did not cover it. They covered for it.

A clear message to LSE

Yesterday, we sent a clear message to Francesca Albanese and the London School of Economics.

Someone with Ms Albanese’s history of rhetoric, which includes reference to the “Jewish lobby”, support for a “right to resist” and repeated comparisons of Israel to Nazis, is not welcome at British universities.

Thank you to everyone who joined us in letting LSE know exactly what they think of Ms Albanese.

Jewish patient allegedly refused treatment in Palestine t-shirt controversy

A Jewish patient has allegedly been refused treatment following an incident with a student nurse at a hospital in East London.

The patient reported that the incident occurred when they took a photo of a student nurse who was wearing a t-shirt with the word ‘Palestine’ on the front and a map of the entirety of Israel on the back, which could very readily be understood as support for the erasure of the world’s only Jewish state and its replacement with a Palestinian state.

It has also been alleged that a security guard at the hospital was co-opted in trying to get the patient to delete the photo.

These allegations are unbelievable. The NHS has a responsibility to ensure that its patients, who are among the most vulnerable in society, feel safe. That means restricting the display of political images and symbols, and – it is incredible that this needs restating – not refusing treatment to patients.

This alleged incident underscores how toxic life has become in Britain since 7th October, that something like this could happen to a Jewish patient.

We have called for an investigation to be opened immediately. We are also writing to the hospital to ask how this nurse was reportedly allowed to wear this t-shirt in the first place and what will be done in response to this extremely serious allegation of threatening and grossly unethical conduct.

We are in contact with the patient and our lawyers are examining the case.

If you have experienced discomfort or discrimination in the medical industry because you are Jewish or perceived to be Jewish, please contact us.

This weekend, we honoured the fallen

Kristallnacht was not the only event that we commemorated this weekend.

Sunday was Remembrance Day, and yesterday was Armistice Day, when we honour those heroes who fought for our freedoms, and reflect on the values that so many of them died to defend. Sadly, not everyone in our country will be doing the same.

A pogrom targeting Jews in one of the most developed Western countries in the world.

We had hoped that we would only be using those words to commemorate Kristallnacht this past weekend. Never forget? It seems that we already have.

People must wake up and the authorities need to be held to account. We will continue to do whatever it takes to make that happen.

, , ,

At LSE, SOAS and QML, you can help us #BanFran

Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, is going to be lecturing on British campuses. She has previously posted about “the Jewish lobby” and is alleged to have told a conference featuring Hamas leaders that they have “the right to resist”.

We will be holding demonstrations at universities where she is scheduled to speak to make clear that she is not welcome. Even if the UN refuses to #BanFran, Britain’s leading educational institutions should.

Please join us at:

We are also writing to the universities which are planning to host her.

By now, Ms Albanese’s indefensible past comments about “the Jewish lobby” and repulsive comparisons between the Nazis and the Jewish state are well known. There can be no excuse for inviting her to address students on campus in light of her views, which she has unrepentantly promoted for decades.

You can read more about her record here.

At a time when, according to our polling, almost one in ten 18-24 year olds have a favourable view of Hamas, an antisemitic genocidal terrorist group, universities need to be doing more to stop the spread of antisemitic extremism on campuses, not inviting those who appear to endorse it into their lecture theatres.

We are at a tipping point and Jewish students, who have been facing over a year of hatred on campus, need us.

Speakers like these help to fuel the activism on campuses that puts Jewish students at risk and radicalises the student body and the leaders of tomorrow. We will not let this pass without an answer.

Join us. Together, we can #BanFran!

Since students returned to campus, we have been standing with them

Students have been back on campus for several weeks now, and Campaign Against Antisemitism has been standing with them. Our campus tour is well underway, and we have launched our new Student Ambassadors programme, bringing together fearless, motivated students – Jewish and non-Jewish – for training in monitoring and combating antisemitism at their universities.

In addition to supporting students, we have also been monitoring developments on campuses and submitting complaints to universities.

By way of example, in recent weeks in London:

  • We wrote to UCL regarding anti-Israel protesters calling for intifada and chanting “From the river to the sea” on the anniversary of 7th October. We heard reports that students had to use the side entrance to the campus because demonstrators blocked off the main way in, and some told us how they did not feel safe attending lectures.
  • We wrote to Queen Mary University in relation to students surrounding a vigil for victims of 7th October on the first anniversary of the attack and chanting against them. That was not the only incident at the university.
  • We called out shocking signs at SOAS that read “Stop genocide baby killer Israel” and “You will never be free of us until Palestine is free of you!!”
  • At Goldsmiths, students chanted “From Gaza to Beirut all our martyrs we salute”, “From London to Gaza Globalise The Intifada” and “When people are occupied, resistance is justified.”
  • At London Metropolitan University, a lecturer published an effusive eulogy for the leader of Hamas who orchestrated the massacre of 1,200 people. Our lawyers are examining the case.

Last year, Jewish students faced the worst period of campus antisemitism. We will continue to do everything that we can to ensure that that this year is not a repeat, and that university authorities and regulators finally do their jobs.

Palestine Action and this weekend’s protests

The authorities have been too lax on Palestine Action.

Given the events of this weekend – during which Palestine Action activists allegedly smashed glass at Manchester University to steal two busts of Chaim Weizmann, a Reader in chemistry at the University who went on to become the first President of Israel, and vandalised the premises of Jewish charities in London – it is clear that Palestine Action will only continue to escalate its campaign of criminality, and the authorities are failing to stand in its way.

Whether that is due to an unwillingness to take action or an inability to do so due to the constraints of existing legislation, the result is that a group of petty vandals continue to terrorise the British public and, in particular, the Jewish community and its institutions. This has got to change.

We are talking to the Government and our legal team is reviewing existing legislation to assess its effectiveness in tackling what has become essentially a criminal organisation that wrecks businesses and charities, and terrorises the Jewish community.

The police and the Government must take urgent steps to ensure that Palestine Action faces enforcement action.

This latest vandalism comes in the same weekend when anti-Israel protesters in London invoked the age-old blood libel in a banner that read, “Israel enjoys killing kids. Never forgive. Never forget,” and when a sign was displayed at the protest that read, “Our media, TV, radio and government are controlled by Zionists.” This sort of rhetoric is regularly seen on the streets of London these days, another sign of what happens after a year of failed policing.

Still, there are some bright spots. A Met Police officer was filmed calmly explaining to an anti-Israel protester how wearing a T-shirt bearing a swastika and comparisons between Israel to the Nazis could be seen as offensive. The protester grew belligerent and started yelling at the officer who was trying to do his job. The police rightly detained the man. We will be writing to the Met to find out what further action they took.

Also at the regular anti-Israel march this weekend, police spoke to a man carrying a flag with the words “Free Palestine” and an inverted red triangle. In recent months, the inverted red triangle and its emoji variant have been used by some anti-Israel activists to signal support for proscribed terrorist organisations such as Hamas, inspired by the appearance of the symbol in Hamas propaganda videos to indicate targets for attack. It was encouraging to see that the police actually pulled this man aside.

Could it be that our police forces are beginning to recognise what may possibly count as more nuanced forms of support for banned terror groups? We will be writing to the Met to find out what the outcome of this interaction was and whether any arrests were made.

We are grateful to the volunteers of our Demonstration and Event Monitoring Unit, who continue to monitor anti-Israel protests and activities, week after week.

Problems in our politics persist

Concerns over antisemitism in our politics do not seem to go away.

Regarding the Conservative Party:

  • We observed that if Kit Malthouse MP thinks that making vague references to “humanity’s darkest period” and feigning ignorance blinds us to the Holocaust comparisons that he is almost certainly insinuating in recent comments to the House about Israel, he is wrong. Comparing the Jewish state to Nazis breaches the International Definition of Antisemitism, which has been adopted by the Conservative Party. We have called on the Conservatives to urgently require him to clearly reject such comparisons, or face full disciplinary action.
  • In an interview with a YouTube channel, former minister Sir Alan Duncan said of one of the Conservative leadership candidates, Robert Jenrick: “Now this man is an extremist. He does not believe in any kind of two state solution, although he says he does. He knows nothing about it. He takes his script entirely from the Conservative Friends of Israel and the Israelis, so he would be a disaster if he were leader of the Conservative Party.” Sir Alan was asked why he thinks that Mr Jenrick, whose wife is Jewish, is a supporter of Israel. He replied that “it is disgusting extremism born of ignorance. But there’s also family connections which have a Jewish link. But just because someone’s Jewish doesn’t mean that they have to agree with Netanyahu.” The suggestion that a politician’s political views are adversely dictated by the ethnic heritage of their spouse is surely beyond the pale of our politics. You can read about the full exchange and Sir Alan’s subsequent statement here. After already being investigated earlier this year in relation to antisemitism, Sir Alan – emboldened by the Conservatives’ recent appalling decision not to sanction him in relation to other antisemitism allegations – is at it again. We will be writing to the Conservative Party once more.
  • Baroness Warsi, who surrendered the Conservative whip following a complaint against her but who remains a member of the Party, recently shared a repulsive propaganda video that makes direct comparisons between Israel and the Holocaust, in breach of the International Definition of Antisemitism. We are writing to the Conservative Party about her yet again.

Labour MPs, meanwhile, continue to upset members of the Jewish community and their allies, many of whom have written to us to share their frustrations with how their MPs have replied to their letters about the hostages, the suspension of arms licences to Israel and other issues.

These replies have included references to “hostages on both sides” and support for Gaza with no appreciation for the impact of the war on Israeli or British Jews. The levels of ignorance and ideological entrenchment are remarkable.

We encourage you to continue writing to your MP – no matter their party and no matter their stated position – to express your views and show them that you are an active and interested constituent whose opinions matter. You may not change minds, but there is no harm and only good can come from engaging with your MP.

If you receive particularly supportive or egregious responses, please forward them to us at [email protected].

Jewish students have been facing the worst period of campus antisemitism over the past year.

From submitting complaints and publishing open letters, to organising targeted protests and publicising incidents, providing victim-support and launching our Student Ambassador programme, we will continue to do everything that we can to ensure that that this year is not a repeat of last year, and that university authorities and regulators finally do their jobs, and do right by Jewish students.

, ,

As Francesca Albanese heads to LSE, SOAS and QML, it’s time to #BanFran

Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, is going to be lecturing on British campuses. She has previously posted about “the Jewish lobby” and is alleged to have told a Hamas-organised conference that they have “the right to resist”.

We will be holding demonstrations at universities where she is scheduled to speak to make clear that she is not welcome. Even if the UN refuses to #BanFran, Britain’s leading educational institutions should. Join us at:

  • London School of Economics (LSE), 11th November, 11:30
  • School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), 11th November, 16:00
  • Queen Mary University of London (QML), 12th November, 11:00

We are also writing to the universities which are planning to host her. Should they come to their senses and reconsider the invitation, our protests will be called off.

Sign up at antisemitism.org/BanFran

Here is just a selection of Ms Albanese’s past rhetoric:

  • She has made innumerable comparisons between Israelis and the Nazis, in breach of the International (IHRA) Definition of Antisemitism, which has been adopted by the British Government.
  • In 2022, she reportedly addressed a conference in Gaza in which she stated “You have a right to resist this occupation.” The conference was reportedly organised by Hamas and numerous spokespeople from both Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) were present. Both Hamas and the PIJ are proscribed as terrorist organisations by the UK Government.
  • Earlier this year, she was condemned by the French Foreign Ministry after she posted on X: “The victims of 7/10 were not killed because of their Judaism but in response to Israel’s oppression,” after President Macron described the 7th October attacks as “the largest antisemitic massacre of our century”.
  • A 2014 open letter that she posted on her Facebook account read: “America and Europe, one of them subjugated by the Jewish lobby, and the other by the sense of guilt about the Holocaust, remain on the sidelines and continue to condemn the oppressed — the Palestinians — who defend themselves with the only means they have.” This is also a breach of the Definition.
  • According to The Times of Israel, in 2014 in a now-hidden post on Facebook directed at the BBC, she wrote: “The Israeli lobby is clearly inside your veins and system and you will be remembered to have been on the big brother’s side of this orwellian [sic] nightmare caused once again by Israel’s greed.” Also a breach of the Definition.

Is this the kind of person that LSE, SOAS and QML want to be lecturing their students?

Do not let this go unanswered. Join us. #BanFran

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected]. 

, , , ,

Nearly one year on, the police are still missing the mark

Despite having over eleven months of experience in policing weekly anti-Israel protests, the Metropolitan Police Service is still missing the mark.

Many of our supporters will have seen images online of anti-hate activist Mark Birbeck, who was recently arrested after holding a sign at an anti-Israel protest stating that under UK law, Hamas is a terrorist organisation.

Mr Birbeck’s bail conditions prevented him from entering the City of Westminster on the day of Israel-related protests, attending Israel-related protests and contacting Niyak Ghorbani, who was also arrested after holding a sign bearing the same simple statement of fact.

In order to avoid breaching his bail conditions, on the night of an Israel-related protest last week outside the Foreign Office, Mr Birbeck stood on the Lambeth side of Westminster Bridge with his sign in order to give people a “gentle reminder” that Hamas is a proscribed terrorist organisation.

We decided to keep him company, and film what happened.

Following a bail application at Highbury Corner Magistrates Court, Mr Birbeck’s bail conditions were overturned. However, disgracefully, Mr Ghorbani is prohibited from attending any Israel-related protest on a Saturday without obtaining prior permission from the police.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has provided the legal defence for both Mr Birbeck and Mr Ghorbani throughout their ordeal. We will continue to provide free legal defence to those who are improperly arrested whilst standing up to antisemitism. It comes at a significant cost, but it is the least that we can do for those who stand with Jews amid this outpouring of antisemitism.

The question is, why is it necessary?

All the while, at the very same protest, anti-Israel demonstrators in London chanted for the complete eradication of the only Jewish state with calls for a return to “1948”. And their only solution? To “globalise the Intifada” through armed “resistance” — a phrase synonymous with terror, violence, and the murder of innocent Israelis.

This isn’t about coexistence; it’s about the destruction of the world’s only Jewish state.

Damning report on policing of protests released

The Policy Exchange think tank has released a damning report into the policing of anti-Israel protests. The report reinforces what we have been saying all along and echoes a number of our legislative and policy recommendations.

The Met has failed abysmally in its policing of these demonstrations and ordinary people trying to go about their lives have had their rights curtailed.

According to the report:

  • 80% of British adults believe that the police should intervene if protesters are holding banners containing racist or derogatory slogans.
  • 78% of British adults believe that the police should intervene if protesters are climbing on buildings or public monuments.
  • 78% of British adults believe that the police should intervene if protesters are holding banners or chanting slogans that are threatening or implying violence to specific groups of people at home or abroad.
  • 71% of British adults would not go through with their plans to travel with small children if a major protest were to take place in a nearby town or city centre. This rises to 88% when answered by over-65s.

Matt Twist, Assistant Commissioner for the Metropolitan Police, admitted: “When we look back at the policing of protests over the past eight months, we know we didn’t get everything right, particularly in the early stages in October.”

Next month will be one year since anti-Israel protesters took over our streets on a regular basis. Real change is long overdue. The British public deserves better.

The full report can be read here.

Making sure that the Foreign Secretary hears our voices

Campaign Against Antisemitism recently wrote to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, after it was announced that the UK would suspend some 30 licences for arms exports to Israel, to ask whether legal advice had been sought in relation to the restoration of funding to UNRWA, and for a summary of that advice similarly to be published.

We asked our supporters to write to the Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, the Solicitor General, Sarah Sackman, and the Attorney General, Lord Hermer.

Following our call to action, three Labour MPs, including the Solicitor General, wrote to the Foreign Secretary, noting that “constituents have been in touch and expressed deep concern and upset” at the decision. The full letter can be read here. He has yet to respond.

Thank you to those who wrote to your MPs, and to those who shared with us the responses that you received.

Our call to advocate for the hostages

We will soon mark one year since Hamas abducted 251 Israelis and other nationals from Israel and took them into captivity in Gaza. Over 90 hostages remain in Gaza, including four who have been held by Hamas since before October 2023.

Thank you to our many supporters who wrote to their MPs, educating them and urging them to advocate for the hostages and ensure that their plight is not forgotten within the walls of our Parliament.

If you have yet to share a particularly supportive or hostile response from your MP, please let us know by e-mailing [email protected].

Unfortunately, there are still many people out there who deny that Israelis are being held hostage by Hamas.

We recently obtained and published footage of someone defacing posters of the hostages. The incident occurred in Hampstead, North London and we encourage anyone with further information to contact us at [email protected].

What is the biggest threat to an antisemite?

In the wake of 7th October, Jewish student life on campus was turned on its head.

That is why we hosted our first ever student panel where Jewish university students spoke about their experiences of antisemitism on campus in Britain following Hamas’ 7th October terrorist atrocities in Israel.

Our audience heard stories from our five panellists that were at the same time moving, troubling, and at times, inspiring.

Gili, one of the students on our panel, spoke of the importance of being a proud Jew on campus. He also emphasised how vital support from fellow students is against those who aim to intimidate Jews on university campuses.

One of the attendees wrote to us after the event to thank Campaign Against Antisemitism and tell us that whilst it was “sad hearing what [the students] are facing at university…the love that they have for their Judaism and the strength they have in standing up to antisemitism is wonderful”.

Education is a crucial part of the fight against antisemitism. Our work has never been more important.

Thank you to our audience for dedicating your time to learning more about what Jewish students are facing, and thank you to our panellists for bravely sharing your stories.

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].

Become a Student Ambassador!

Are you a student at university in 2024-2025, or do you know somebody who is? Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Student Ambassador programme is an exciting opportunity to work with us in a prestigious year-long initiative.

Student Ambassadors will work closely with our Education Officer and wider team to help us to expose and challenge the rising tide of antisemitism overwhelming UK university campuses.

The contributions of our students are more important now than ever before to the fight against antisemitism.

For further information and details about the programme please visit antisemitism.org/become-a-student-ambassador.

Applications close on 30th September so make sure that you apply soon!

We need you

We are hiring two paid positions in diverse areas of our work.

Are you a lawyer? Are you disgusted with surging antisemitism? Do you want to hold antisemites to account?

We are seeking an experienced solicitor or barrister to become our new General Counsel.

Our in-house General Counsel will be at the forefront of the fight against antisemitism, using this unique position to hold antisemites to account and force the authorities to fulfil their duty to protect British Jews.

For more information, please visit antisemitism.org/jobs/general-counsel.

Are you skilled in creating impactful videos? Do you want to help combat Jew-hatred?

Campaign Against Antisemitism is looking for a Video and Content Creator to join us in the fight against antisemitism.

The Video and Content Creator will play a critical role in shaping visual narratives that educate, inform and inspire action against antisemitism.

To find out more, go to antisemitism.org/jobs/video-and-content-creator/.

Are you a medical professional, or a recent patient?

We are collecting testimonies on antisemitism in the medical field.

We are interested to hear from doctors and other medical practitioners, staff, patients and anyone else who has encountered antisemitism in medicine over the past year.

If you have been affected, please e-mail us confidentially at [email protected] with the subject: “Medical”.

After eleven months, we are still calling on the police, our ministers and members of Parliament to stop making the same mistakes. But it is clear that public dissatisfaction with these failures is growing and decision-makers are beginning to listen.

We will continue to make our voices heard and remain unrelenting in our fight against anti-Jewish racism.

, , ,

An obscene decision

The Foreign Secretary has announced that the Government is suspending some 30 licences for arms exports to Israel following legal advice from the Attorney General, whose views on Israel were well-known before he was appointed.

In the interest of “transparency”, Foreign Secretary David Lammy has published a summary of this legal advice.

This decision comes just weeks after Mr Lammy announced that the Government was resuming funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), after the previous Government suspended funding earlier this year following allegations — which have since effectively been admitted — that some UNRWA staff had been involved in the 7th October Hamas attack and even that at least one hostage was held captive at the home of an UNRWA teacher.

Today, Campaign Against Antisemitism has written to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) to ask whether legal advice was sought in relation to the restoration of funding to UNRWA, and for a summary of that advice similarly to be published. Weapons sales to the Jewish state have been suspended because of a supposed “clear risk” that they may be used in ways that breach international law; we are interested to see whether no such risks were identified in relation to the funding to UNRWA.

The Government has ensured that a UN agency that is, at best, reckless to Hamas’s use of its premises and personnel for purposes of terror and, at worst, complicit, has the resources that it wants, while depriving Israel of what it needs to defend its citizens. It is a Government whose decisions thus far have all been hostile toward the Jewish state — decisions announced by a Foreign Secretary who insists that his Government supports Israel while sanctioning it and who wears a yellow ribbon in support of the hostages when he meets Israeli officials but removes it for meetings with the Palestinian Authority.

This latest announcement of arms sale suspensions comes on the day that Israel was burying the six hostages brutally slaughtered in cold blood by antisemitic Hamas terrorists. The British Government is broadcasting that Western allies should not be supplying Israel with the arms that it needs to fight to save the hostages and defeat Hamas. This is obscene.

The announcement also comes on the day that Jeremy Corbyn declared the establishment of a new alliance of five independent MPs who have made Gaza their principal priority. Each of these MPs has a concerning record of rhetoric in relation to the Jewish community or the Jewish state, yet it is they and their supporters whom Labour is choosing to appease with this announcement, while paying lip service to the Jewish community.

British Jews cannot be bought with fine words and hand-wringing every Holocaust Memorial Day. We continue to make every effort to engage with Sir Keir Starmer’s new Government, but, as he himself said as he took over the leadership of the Labour Party, the Jewish community should judge him by his actions and not his words. The events of 7th October and the ongoing captivity of hostages are the worst single antisemitic atrocity since the Holocaust, and we join the Chief Rabbi, Sir Ephraim Mirvis, in condemning the actions of the Foreign Secretary.

We invite you to write to:

  • David Lammy MP, particularly if you live in his Tottenham constituency;
  • Lord Hermer, the Attorney General; or
  • Sarah Sackman MP, the Solicitor General, particularly if you live in her constituency of Finchley and Golders Green.

Continuing to do our part to help the hostages

Our joy at the rescue of hostage Qaid Farhan Al-Kadi from Gaza last week has been displaced by heartbreak at the news that six hostages were murdered by Hamas hours before their own abortive rescue.

This news makes our campaign to encourage MPs to take action all the more urgent.

Later this week, 7th September 2024 will mark eleven months since Hamas abducted 251 Israelis and other nationals from Israel and took them into captivity in Gaza. Of those 251 hostages, 117 have been returned alive, and now 36 bodies have been repatriated. Over 100 still remain, including four who have been held by Hamas since before October 2023.

In a month’s time, on 7th October 2024, we will be marking the one-year anniversary of the massacre perpetrated by Hamas. We must do whatever we can to ensure that no hostage is still in captivity by that date.

That is why we are running a campaign encouraging everyone to write to their MP to educate our Parliamentarians — including the hundreds of new MPs — about this issue and put the hostages back on the agenda. Thanks to so many of you for heeding our call and writing to your MP.

You can write in two easy steps.

  • First, download this Word document, which contains a draft letter that you are welcome to use or amend as you please before sending either as a hard-copy letter, or as an e-mail attachment, or simply as text in the body of an e-mail. Remember to add your MP’s name and your name and postcode so that they know that you are a constituent and that they should respond.
  • Second, find out who your MP is and how to contact them, by clicking here.

If you get particularly supportive or hostile responses, you are welcome to share them with us by forwarding them to [email protected].

Last chance to RSVP for Stories from Students

Since 7th October, Jewish student life on campus has been turned on its head.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has therefore brought together current students and recent graduates from universities across the country to share their stories and answer questions from prospective students and their parents, as well as current students and other interested members of the Jewish community.

This event, taking place this Thursday 5th September at 18:30 in North London, is an important opportunity to hear directly from Jewish students.

It is also a chance for us to come together to show our support and solidarity with those who faced this new generation of hate head-on.

Booking is essential.

Sir Keir Starmer said that the Jewish community should judge him by his actions and not his words. So far, this Government’s words regarding the Jewish state have tried to be reassuring but its actions have been little short of hostile.

This bodes very ill for the coming years, and Sir Keir risks rapidly losing the goodwill with British Jews that he spent years building up.

, , ,

Is this summer of riots just the beginning?

The recent riots and counterdemonstrations have come to define this summer. But as they appear to cool off and the country finally gets a break, it remains to be seen whether the Jewish community will get any respite.

As we head into the new academic year and new Jewish year, we are ready for the fight ahead.

Riots, racism and “anti-racism”

Over the last few weeks, the criminal justice system has been woken from its slumber to confront the riots and hooliganism that have been plaguing the cities of Britain.

The rioters

We wrote about how far-right forums, which were being used to organise the riots, were targeting Jews, with messages in one far-right Telegram channel, for example, saying that they “support neither brown nor Jew”, and that Hitler was “the only politician since Roman times to truly care for his people”.

“The Jewish people fabricated the Holocaust – ensuring they would never again be questioned by Europeans while they destroyed their homelands… Today Jewish media, NGOs, finance, business, entertainment and a huge overrepresentation in government, are doing the same all over Europe,” said another.

The counter-demonstrators

While we applauded the strong response by the authorities to the riots, there were two things that we could not help but notice.

The first was that many of the so called “anti-racist” counter-demonstrators exhibited their own flavour of extremism, for which they have not suffered any consequences. The disgraced former academic David Miller, asserted that “the riots have been instigated by the Zionist asset, Stephen Yaxley-Lennon,” in reference to far-right activist Tommy Robinson, while a former Parliamentary candidate for George Galloway’s Workers Party also reportedly shared content claiming that “Tommy Robinson is on Israel’s payroll”.

A video circulated online in which a man claimed that the rioters and Muslims should not be at odds with one another as the rioters are only targeting Muslims because of their “Zionist-backers”. The LBC presenter James O’Brien signposted this video, only to quickly apologise, claiming that he had not watched it in full. A user on X wrote in a post that received over three million views: “What’s happening in England is the perfect example of how Zionists manipulate the media to pin [sic] Christians and Muslims Against each other.” The Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC) charity also blamed “Zionist financiers” for the riots in a letter to the Home Secretary, and we have submitted a complaint to the Charity Commission.

Perhaps the best example was the “Finchley Against Fascism” WhatsApp messages that we exposed, in which so-called “anti-racist” activists not only referred to Zionism as “fascism” and “racism”, but, astoundingly, the activists were so blinded by their hatred of ‘Zionists’ that they would refuse their help in opposing the rioters.

Opposition to the far-right does not whitewash the racism of the far-left.

We supported the urgent action against the violent riots on our streets, but we have remained vigilant against some of the extremists amongst those counterprotestors who have also themselves been marching on our streets for months and are now trying to portray themselves as anti-fascist moderates.

The criminal justice system

The second thing that we could not but notice over the past few weeks was how, whereas nine months of one type of extremism on our streets was apparently not enough to wake up the criminal justice system, a few days of another type of extremism was. Accordingly, we have called for the resources mobilised to combat the riots now to be trained on the other extremists too.

Those espousing any extremist ideology must be made to face the full force of the law. If we are selective, our society will suffer.

To the authorities, we say that if you believe there to be no double standard in the policing, prosecution and sentencing of the current rioters over the past three weeks versus the violent or antisemitic anti-Israel demonstrators over the past year, at the very least you still need to reckon with why that perception has arisen.

That perception is not limited to the hooligans and thugs who have rightly been bearing the full consequences of their actions: it is widely shared by many law-abiding Britons across the country and by many in the Jewish community, who have suffered the most from failures in policing over the past year.

For ten months, they have been frustrated and let down by a lethargic criminal justice system that was apathetic and at times even hostile to the challenges that they faced; now they see how quickly the system can be mobilised when there is the institutional and political will to do so. Why has that been lacking for so long?

We cannot tackle extremism through double standards. Every type of extremism must be confronted by the full force of the law, no matter the perpetrators.

Reginald D. Hunter at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival

A Jewish Israeli couple was reportedly hounded out of comedian Reginald D. Hunter’s show two Sundays ago at the Edinburgh Fringe, whilst audience members shouted insults at them.

The show was described by a reporter for The Telegraph reviewing the performance as “the ugliest Fringe moment [he] had ever witnessed”.

The alleged incident was triggered when Mr Hunter apparently made a joke in which he compared the State of Israel to an abusive wife, who, in a Channel 5 documentary, had accused her husband of being abusive. He is reported to have remarked: “My God, it’s like being married to Israel.”

The Jewish couple, who were in the front row of the audience and said that they were Israeli, responded by shouting “not funny” at the comedian. Audience members reportedly responded by shouting “genocidal maniac”, “you’re not welcome,” “baby-killers”, “f* off” and “free Palestine” at the couple. It is understood that Mr Hunter responded to the couple, saying: “I’ve been waiting for you all summer, where the f* you been? You can say it’s not funny to you, but if you say it to a room full of people who laughed, you look foolish…Look at you making everyone love Israel even more.” After the couple left the show, Mr Hunter reportedly quipped: “That tells me that I still got voltage.”

This is not the first time that the comedian has courted controversy in relation to the Jewish community. In 2006, also during the Edinburgh Fringe, he received backlash after making a joke about Holocaust-denial. At the recent performance, it is understood that he compared the moment to his 2006 controversy and made reference to being unable to access an article in a Jewish newspaper about the incident. He is alleged to have said: “Typical f***ing Jews, they won’t tell you anything unless you subscribe.” He reportedly then added: “It’s just a joke.”

We have spoken with the Jewish couple, as well as additional witnesses. The couple, noting that nobody in the audience came to their aid, told us that they were left in fear of violence. We are writing to venues currently scheduled to host Mr Hunter to ensure that they are fully aware of his conduct at the Edinburgh Fringe. We are encouraged to see that the first venue has decided to cancel his planned appearance. Our lawyers are exploring legal options and we urge anyone present at the show to contact us in confidence at [email protected].

We are also contacting Police Scotland, which opened and then closed an investigation, with additional evidence for them to review.

While Mr Hunter has released a statement in which he stated that he “regrets any stress caused”, the word “sorry” and a fulsome apology were noticeably missing. His social media activity since the incident does not indicate remorse. The victims reject this non-apology from Mr Hunter. The venue’s statement portraying the incident simply as audience members “choosing to leave” is appalling and wilfully overlooks the facts. Their claims that staff supported the couple during their exit do not chime with the victims’ accounts whatsoever. Our lawyers are also considering legal action in relation to the venue.

We will continue to support the victims and ensure that Mr Hunter faces the consequences of his actions.

This incident may remind some of another incident earlier this year, involving comedian Paul Currie. Incidentally, Mr Currie was also performing at the Fringe, having been booted by numerous other venues following our letters. We are aware of reports that he “banned Zionists” from his Fringe show. Our lawyers are also looking into that.

Are you a medical professional, or a recent patient?

We are collecting testimonies on antisemitism in the medical field.

We are interested to hear from doctors and other medical practitioners, staff, patients and anyone else who has encountered antisemitism in medicine over the past year.

If you have been affected, please e-mail us confidentially at [email protected] with the subject: “Medical”.

Meanwhile, Dr Wahid Shaida, who referred to the 7th October Hamas terrorist attacks as “resistance” and then denied that they even occurred, has had his suspension lifted by NHS England.

While working as a GP, Dr Shaida also chaired meetings for the Islamist organisation Hizb ut-Tahrir, which has since been proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the British Government. We have written to NHS England and to the GMC about this shocking decision.

We also wrote to the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) regarding the scheduling of its annual conference over Rosh Hashanah. Although unable to change the date at this late stage, the RCGP did at least apologise and regret the clash.

University encampments

For months, we have seen hideous anti-Israel encampments erected on campuses across Britain, physical embodiments of the exponential rise of Jew-hatred in our universities, which were already hotbeds of antisemitism.

We have been closely monitoring what different universities have done to address (or not address) the encampments. The full report can be read here, or the specific responses of universities can be read below:

These encampments have had a grossly detrimental effect on the Jewish campus experience, and it is shameful that, exceptions notwithstanding, universities did not quickly act to remove them and sanction participants in line with their codes of conduct and legal duties.

In addition to the impact on Jewish students, several wider student activities are also known to have been disrupted by the encampments, hampering learning and student life on campus.

Some universities moved faster than others to address the encampments, some capitulated to the anti-Israel protesters while others held firm. In all cases, precedents have been set.

Some universities have had regard to the effect on Jewish students and staff; some seem not to care. Several seem more concerned with the commercial impact of the encampments – removing them as summer open days approached – than they did with the welfare of current students, which is particularly galling.

We will continue to expose antisemitic activity on university campuses, hold universities to account and support Jewish students.

While we are on the subject of encampments, Minouche Shafik has had to resign as President of Columbia University after becoming one of the symbols of the Ivy League’s abysmal treatment of Jewish students and its failure, if not refusal, to tackle antisemitism.

The prospect of her now coming to work for David Lammy in the Foreign Office is, at best, tone deaf. At worst, it is a slap in the face to Jews on both sides of the Atlantic, who are hearing the message that failing to tackle antisemitism and abuse of Jews has no impact on your career advancement, and apparently qualifies you to craft foreign policy, including in relation to the Jewish state.

Become a Campaign Against Antisemitism Student Ambassador!

Are you a student at university in 2024-2025, or do you know somebody who is? Our Student Ambassador programme is an exciting opportunity to work with us in a prestigious year-long initiative.

Student Ambassadors will work closely with our Education Officer and wider team to help us expose and challenge the rising tide of antisemitism overwhelming UK university campuses. The contributions of our students is more important now than ever before to the fight against antisemitism.

For further information and details about the programme please visit antisemitism.org/become-a-student-ambassador.

Book now to hear Stories from Students

Since 7th October, Jewish student life on campus has been turned on its head.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has therefore brought together current students and recent graduates from universities across the country to share their stories and answer questions from prospective students and their parents, as well as current students and other interested members of the Jewish community.

This event, taking place at 18:30 on Thursday 5th September in North London, is an important opportunity to hear directly from Jewish students.

It is also a chance for us to come together to show our support and solidarity with those who faced this new generation of hate head-on. Booking is essential.

Media bias and the BBC

Two recent incidents — one in Gaza that reportedly killed Gazans and one in the Golan Heights that killed Israeli children — illustrated media bias at the BBC more clearly than ever. The screenshots below speak for themselves, and you can read our full analysis here.

Notwithstanding the struggle to get the BBC to report fairly – with more than 200 people from across the television and film industry writing to the Corporation demanding that it open an urgent investigation into alleged “systemic problems of antisemitism and bias” – there are occasionally admissions and reversals.

For example, you will recall that, a few weeks ago, BBC Newsnight allowed a panelist – the climate activist Mikaela Loach – to say: “The Lancet yesterday, in one of their reports, said that the death toll [in Gaza] is probably more likely to be more than 186,000 people.” The host did not challenge this assertion – which was false on multiple levels – but we did. Following our complaint, the BBC has acknowledged that the widely-propagated “186,000” is “not a statement of fact”.

We also complained about a recent BBC Four Front Row radio segment in which the actress and provocateur Miriam Margolyes referenced “vile Jews”. The BBC did not apologise but agreed to “remove it from the programme”.

This summer will be remembered as one of riots being confronted by a determined criminal justice system, in stark contrast to the policing that we have seen over the past year. But it remains to be seen whether the extremists will now call it a day or be back in force on our streets and campuses, online and in our workplaces, as the country returns from the summer break.

, , ,

Ivy League student sentenced to 21 months in prison over threatening antisemitic messages

A student at the Ivy League university, Cornell, who pleaded guilty to posting a series of threatening, antisemitic messages on a campus message board last year, has been sentenced to 21 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.

Engineering student Patrick Dai, 22, used several different usernames including “Kill jews,” “Hamas Soldier,” and “Sieg Heil” to post a series of messages.

In one message he wrote: “Watch out pig Jews. jihad is coming. nowhere is safe. your synagogue will become graveyards. your women will be raped and your children will be beheaded. glory to Allah [sic].”

He also threatened to “shoot up” the University’s kosher dining hall, and described Jews as “rats” who “need to be eliminated”. Mr Dai said that he was going to “bring an assault rifle to campus and shoot all you pig Jews.” He also threatened to “slit the throat” of any Jewish men whom he saw on campus, to “rape and kill Jewish women” and to “behead Jewish babies in front of their parents,” the court heard.

With around 2,500 students who identify as Jewish, Cornell reportedly has the highest number of Jewish students of any Ivy League university.

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department declared in court that every student had “the right to pursue their education without fear of violence based on who they are…or how they worship.”

She said that “antisemitic threats of violence” like Mr Dai’s “vicious and graphic threats” violated that right. The sentencing, stated Clarke, “reaffirms that we will hold accountable those who violently threaten and intimidate others based on their religious practice or background”.

Before imposing the sentence, the court had determined that Mr Dai’s actions constituted a hate crime. US Attorney Carla B. Freedman said that Mr Dai’s threats had “terrorised the Cornell campus community for days” and had “shattered the community’s sense of safety.”

Craig L. Tremaroli, the agent from the FBI’s Albany Field Office in charge of investigating the threats, said that Mr Dai’s actions served as “a disturbing reminder of the terrifying hatred our Jewish communities encounter.”

He added that it was “thanks to the strong partnerships” between the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, the New York State Police and the Cornell University Police Department, that Mr Dai was quickly identified and charged, and that he had remained in custody.

Last year, in response to Mr Dai’s hateful messages, police were stationed at Cornell’s Jewish Centre and Rabbi Ari Weiss, the Executive Director of Hillel at Cornell, said that the Jewish community interpreted the online posts as “a call for our genocide.”

Following his arrest, Mr Dai was diagnosed with autism, which his lawyer, Lisa Peebles, claimed, explained his crime.

“He believed, wrongly, that the posts would prompt a ‘blowback’ against what he perceived as anti-Israel media coverage and pro-Hamas sentiment on campus,” Ms Peebles wrote in pre-trial court papers adding that his “flawed logic” was a result of his autism.”

She wrote that he was “depressed” and “struggled with autism that had not been diagnosed yet”. She claimed that he “had a breakdown and came up with this idea to do these posts.”

Prosecutors argued that “he had “terrorised a campus community for days” and had “horrified the nation at a very volatile time.” His autism, they argued, “was not a defence”.

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism throughout the United States.

Photo credit: Broome County Sheriff

, ,

What have universities done about anti-Israel encampments?

For months, we have seen hideous anti-Israel encampments erected on campuses across Britain, physical embodiments of the exponential rise of Jew-hatred in our universities, which were already hotbeds of antisemitism.

So, what action have universities taken?

University of Birmingham

  • Already one day after an encampment was set up on campus on 9th May, University of Birmingham’s Director of Legal Services issued the protesters with a warning: “Your occupation at the premises is a trespass. The University requires you to leave the premises immediately. Failure to do so will result in the University taking legal action and/or reporting your trespass to law-enforcement officers without further notice.”
  • On 11th June, the Vice-Chancellor issued a statement: “The rights to protest and to freedom of speech do not include setting up a camp and occupying University land, to the detriment of the rest of the University community.”
  • On 10th July, the University secured a High Court order “for the possession of campus land,” which was the site of the encampment.
  • The next day, bailiffs reportedly arrived at the encampment and removed it from the University’s campus.

University of Nottingham

  • On 5th July, after the encampment had been at the University of Nottingham for nearly one month, the University asked for a possession order against protesters in the encampment on campus. In written submissions, the University’s legal representative, Katharine Holland KC, argued that the encampment was “unlawful” and that the University had “a duty to safeguard university assets”.
  • On 10th July, the University secured a High Court order “for the possession of campus land,” which was the site of the encampment.
  • On the same day, the University served protesters with eviction notices. The protesters packed up the encampment, with only a few remaining until bailiffs arrived.

London School of Economics

  • On 14th June, one month after students set up the encampment, London School of Economics obtained an interim possession order, which required protesters to leave the occupied site of the encampment.
  • District Judge Kevin Moses acknowledged the students’ right to protest, but also said: “What it does not do is give parties an unfettered right to occupy other parties’ premises with a view to protesting, particularly when they are required to leave.”
  • On 27th June, the University was granted an indefinite possession order, forbidding students from setting up encampments.


Organisers of the encampment responded, calling the move “an extremely concerning act of repression”.

University of Bristol

  • On 1st July, two months after the encampment was set up at the University of Bristol, the Vice-Chancellor of the University confirmed that the University had “taken legal action to disperse the encampment.”
  • In a statement, the Vice-Chancellor said: “Some individuals linked to the encampment have gone beyond what is an acceptable expression of their views. The behaviour of some has become aggressive, abusive, and has involved allegations of physical assault and damage to property.”
  • At a hearing in Bristol County Court, the University was refused an immediate possession order and, instead, another hearing was scheduled for 19th July.

On 11th July, organisers of the encampment announced the decision to close down the encampment, stating: “The thousands of pounds in legal fees […] is better spent given to Palestinian mutual aid funds.”

University of Oxford

  • Following a sit-in at the University of Oxford’s offices on 23rd May, which resulted in a lockdown and sixteen arrests, a spokesperson for the University said: “It is clear that the actions of some of the protesters involved in the encampment have created a deeply intimidating environment for many members of our community, including our Jewish students and staff and members of the local Jewish community.”
  • On 27th June, nearly two months after students erected an encampment, the University published an open letter, asking students to “vacate university land” and stating that if the encampment is not “disbanded” by 7th July, the University would apply for a possession order.
  • The letter also states that the University has “listened to [the protesters] and other student and staff concerns during our meetings this year. [The University] has acted as a result of these meetings.”
  • The letter also committed the University to several academic initiatives, including, a “review of the University’s investment policy” and a commitment “to work on a collegiate University crisis scholarship scheme for students normally resident in Gaza and the West Bank”.

On 7th July, students shut down the encampment and said in a statement online: “Admin shut down our camp to distract from their complicity in this genocide. They will not shut down our movement.”


Newcastle University

  • On 21st June, nearly two months after an encampment was set up at Newcastle University, the University threatened to take legal action against the anti-Israel protesters.
  • A spokesperson for the University said: “What began as a peaceful student-led demonstration has become a focus for disruptive activism attracting people who are not connected with the university. This has resulted in the targeting of university activities, people and property.”
  • Protesters responded two days later, posting a photo on Instagram of a letter of “notice to quit”, with the caption: “Today we issued a ‘Notice To Quit’ to the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. They can sit in their ivory tower and issue pseudo legal forms to us, but this will only anger us more. WE ARE NOT MOVING. YOUR NOTICE TO QUIT DOES NOT SCARE US.”
  • On 19th July, organisers of the encampment announced their decision to “decamp”, whilst still accusing the University of being “complicit in genocide”.

SOAS

  • On 9th July, just over two months since it was established, police arrested seven people at the SOAS encampment on suspicion of possession of drugs, assault of an emergency worker and the obstruction of police. Three of the people arrested were students at the University.
  • In a statement issued on 12th July, the University said it “had no involvement” in the police arriving at the encampment three days prior, but announced that because of “these actions”, it was supporting the University of London’s decision to seek legal assistance to dismantle the encampment.
  • In the same statement, the University said that it was aware of some behaviour resulting in “many members of the staff and student body feeling unsafe”. It also said that “this kind of behaviour is a reflection of anti-democratic, populist behaviour that is incompatible with SOAS’ values, and potentially with the law.”

According to a social media post by protesters, the University served them with “accelerated proceedings for eviction” on 30th July.

Queen Mary University

  • On 6th June, only weeks after the encampment was set up, Queen Mary University began legal proceedings in the High Court. After the first hearing date the next day, however, proceedings were adjourned until July.
  • In its application notice to the Court, the University cited concerns about the proximity of the encampment’s rallies on 1st and 3rd July to the Novo Cemetery, Jewish Sephardi cemetery on the University’s campus.
  • On 10th July, the Court granted the University a possession order.
  • On 11th July, members of the encampment put out a statement on Instagram which claimed that they had met with the University’s management, which told them that “they are not willing to negotiate with [them] and are unlikely to meet with [them] again unless [they] do not leave on [their] own accord.”


Protesters on the encampment refused to comply with the court order, resulting in bailiffs arriving at the site to evict them on 12th July.

University College London

  • On 4th June, just over a month after students set up an encampment at University College London (UCL), the University’s Provost issued a statement, with reference to an “end of year awards event”: “A group of students that have been protesting on the Main Quad with tents and banners deliberately targeted these student events. Their activities were intimidating and escalatory, including the physical assault of members of UCL security staff, damage to property, and reports of unacceptable antisemitic tropes in chants. I want to assure you that we are taking immediate action against this behaviour and have instigated disciplinary proceedings against those students involved.”
  • In the same statement, the Provost announced that the University had had to postpone and cancel other events.
  • On 15th July, the Provost said: “We have formally advised the protestors that we intend to follow the course of action taken by many other UK universities with similar protests in place and apply for a court order to remove them if they do not choose to go of their own volition.”

The encampment remains on the University’s campus.

University of Cambridge 

  • On 31st May, weeks after an encampment was set up, the Pro-Vice Chancellor for the University of Cambridge issued a statement, which said: “We were glad to meet our students as we have been willing to do from the first day of the protest. While we understand some will see it as a negotiation, we see it as a constructive dialogue with our students.”
  • The University also announced that it had rearranged degree ceremonies in May, due to the expansion of the encampment into Senate House Yard. 
  • On 23rd July, the University agreed to a number of commitments, which are “contingent on the encampment closing down”. This includes “working with the Task Force and the Working Group to review [its] approach to responsible investment” and “reviewing the guidelines that inform academic and industry research ties and collaborations with companies including those falling within the arms/defence category […] in dialogue with the Working Group and Task Force”. 
  • Towards the end of its statement, the University said: “We are also aware that the students would like their views to be represented in the consideration of these important issues and have proposed to set up their own task force, which will form part of the working group that we intend to establish. We welcome this engagement. We expect that this task force will elect its own members, and will be self governing. Members of the task force will become part of the wider working group, which will be expected to make recommendations to subsequent meetings of the relevant governance committees that oversee policies in relation to research, investments and partnerships.”

The encampment at the University remains, but organisers have said that they “are planning to undertake a process of decamping” following the University’s statement. 

University of Leeds

  • Six weeks after the encampment was set up, the University of Leeds announced that it was commencing legal proceedings.
  • On 4th June, the Leeds University Union cancelled the student Summer Ball due to “safety concerns”.
  • In a statement, the Interim Vice-Chancellor and President said: “The behaviour of the protestors and occupiers of the Ziff Building, including the wearing of face coverings, harassment of staff, and vandalism and graffiti on buildings has created an atmosphere that is significantly intimidating to many in our community and which the University deems unacceptable.”
  • Later in June, the encampment shut down, after 47 days in total.

Organisers of the encampment said in a statement that they had “achieved much” and vowed to “be back in September”.

Goldsmiths University

  • On 1st May, protesters entered the library at Goldsmiths University, expanding the already five-week-long encampment on campus, despite the University’s security staff trying to prevent entry, occupying two floors of the building.
  • After just two days, the University announced that its senior management team was “working to meet a set of commitments” and encampment organisers declared “victory” on the group’s social media.
  • The University agreed to several of the protesters’ demands: to rethink the University’s supposed adoption of the International (IHRA) Definition of Antisemitism (it had been adopted alongside a controversial, competing and contradictory definition, rendering the adoption useless from the point of view of fighting antisemitism); to rename a lecture theatre after a Palestinian journalist; and even to create an installation to “memorialise” the anti-Israel protesters’ “occupation”.

Goldsmiths is in the middle of an independent inquiry into antisemitism, which will doubtless need to address the encampment and the University’s capitulation to protesters’ demands.

These encampments have had a grossly detrimental effect on the Jewish campus experience, and it is shameful that, exceptions notwithstanding, universities did not quickly act to remove them and sanction participants in line with their codes of conduct and legal duties.

In addition to the impact on Jewish students, several wider student activities are also known to have been disrupted by the encampments, hampering learning and student life on campus.

Some universities moved faster than others to address the encampments, some capitulated to the anti-Israel protesters while others held firm. In all cases, precedents have been set.

Some universities have had regard to the effect on Jewish students and staff; some seem not to care. Several seem more concerned with the commercial impact of the encampments – removing them as summer open days approached – than they did with the welfare of current students, which is particularly galling.

We will continue to expose antisemitic activity on university campuses, hold universities to account and support Jewish students.

If you wish to report an incident to us, please send us an e-mail [email protected] in confidence.

,

University Rector removed from university court over comments which made students “fear for their safety”

Stella Maris, the Rector of the University of St Andrews has reportedly been removed from her position on the University’s court over comments which made some students “fear for their safety”.

In November last year, Ms Maris sent an e-mail to the University’s student body, in which she accused Israel of “genocidal attacks”. The statement came just under two months after Hamas carried out barbaric attacks in Israel on 7th October 2023, murdering over 1,200 Israelis and taking some 250 people hostage.

Since the attacks, antisemitism in Britain has skyrocketed, including a reported 1,350% increase in hate crimes against Jewish people in the wake of the massacre. 

It is understood that before sending the e-mail, the Rector met with students from the University’s Jewish Society to discuss a statement that she had prepared regarding Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.

However, once the e-mail was sent out, the Jewish Society published a statement online: “The Rector of St Andrews, Stella Maris, published a statement regarding the events in Israel and Gaza, which was e-mailed to all students at the University. The Rector is elected by students as a representative voice. However, her words were divisive, harmful and not based on fact. Whilst constructing this statement, [Ms] Maris met with the Jewish Society, but her published statement was significantly different to that which was shared with us, deliberately misleading members of our community […]”

It was also reported that a letter was sent to Ms Maris, signed by over 1,400 current students and alumni, which said: “We are concerned that your letter does not demonstrate equal care for Palestinian and Israeli lives. Moreover, your letter does not show any appreciation for how your inflammatory and unfounded accusations of ‘genocide,’ ‘apartheid,’ and ‘occupation’ concerning the Jewish state will further embolden attacks and hatred against the Jewish students whom you were elected to care for. It is unacceptable for the Rector to be selective in their responsibility to represent all students.”

Regarding the e-mail, the University’s Principal and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dame Sally Mapstone, said: “We are utterly dismayed that the rector, on this occasion, put her right to freedom of expression ahead of her duty to represent all students, and to be concerned for their welfare.”

Ms Stella responded to allegations of antisemitism online, saying that she would “not have antisemitism weaponised” against her. 

She also reportedly shared a graphic, which said, “I don’t hate Jewish people, please stop being weird,” and another that claimed Zionism is “an ideology based on racial elimination”.

An independent investigation was then launched. 

Chaired by Judge Lady Ross, then Morag Ross KC, the investigation concluded that Ms Maris had exercised “poor judgment”. 

It added that while Ms Maris had been entitled to free speech, she ignored the possibility that her comments could “encourage antisemitic behaviour by others”.

The University concluded in its investigation that Ms Maris had made some students “fear for their safety”.

Although Ms Maris will remain in her position as Rector until the end of her term in October 2026, she will be barred from sitting on the University’s governing court.

Ms Maris, who intends to appeal the decision, said: “It is clear that I have been removed from court because I called for an end to Israel’s war crimes against Palestinians, and I will not apologise for doing so. As a young, neurodiverse black woman with limited financial resources, I have faced the full force of the university, including a KC investigation, all because I made a statement supported by the overwhelming majority of students, calling for an end to a genocide.”

An apology has been issued by Ray Perman, the Chairman of the University’s court, to all those affected by Ms Maris’ comments.

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].

, ,

How well do you know your local candidates for Parliament?

Over the past few weeks, we have been monitoring developments across all political parties, first among local council candidates and councillors in the run-up to and aftermath of the local elections, and now with a greater focus on the candidates for Parliament, following the announcement of the snap general election.

We have worked with national newspapers to publicise our research, which has been reported in multiple articles, including on the front page of The Times. The Jewish community and the wider public have a right to know about the records of the candidates who are asking for our votes, and we are doing everything we can to provide that information.

What we have found is that no party is immune from antisemitism, but some are doing better than others to address concerns and investigate allegations.

Green Party

Of the main national parties, the Green Party is proving to be a magnet for controversy relating to antisemitism, and is largely failing to deal with cases as they arise.

Our fears that the far-left would gravitate towards the Greens following the end of Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of the Labour Party have proved prescient. This trend is encapsulated by Green candidates like Cllr Jo Bird, formerly of Jewish Voice for Labour.

We are uncovering Green candidates who have made statements like “there’s no such thing as a good Zionist” and called Zionism a “cancer”; compared Israel to the Nazis; denied Labour antisemitism; provided apparent justifications for the “resistance”; and denied the Hamas attack or victim-blamed the Jewish state.

We have written about a sample of these candidates, and they have been covered extensively in the press using our research.

The Greens have dropped a small number of problematic candidates, but many are still running with the Party’s endorsement. It is therefore difficult to escape The Times’ assessment that there may be more than merely a dysfunctional internal vetting process at play here.

Workers Party of Britain

Candidates in George Galloway’s Workers Party of Britain have even more frightening records, which we have worked hard to expose and publicise in the media. Among them is a candidate who said: “It can’t possibly be six million.” Every day we seem to uncover new horrors from candidates for the Workers Party. The rhetoric from these candidates is utterly shocking.

The Party must urgently consult the EHRC’s antisemitism report, but given Mr Galloway’s record of baiting the Jewish community – and that of his deputy leader, disgraced former Labour MP Chris Williamson – we will not be holding our breath.

Conservatives

The Conservative Party has selected a lot of its candidates at very short notice, reducing the timeframe that we have to investigate. We are aware of at least one candidate of interest so far and are continuing to examine the records of others.

On the local level, however, some problems persist. For example, Cllr Mohammad Aslam is alleged to have a history of engaging with conspiratorial rhetoric regarding the Jewish community. The Party said some time ago that it was investigating Cllr Aslam and yet now he is the Mayor of Pendle. This is not what a transparent disciplinary process looks like, and it is not the only instance of the Tories appearing to brush antisemitism allegations relating to local councillors and associations under the carpet.

Labour

Labour may be unrecognisable from what it was in recent years, but it still has challenges relating to antisemitism. The Party has finally expelled Jeremy Corbyn, not for his role in staining UK politics with antisemitism, but for standing as a candidate against the Party.

Candidate Faiza Shaheen has been dropped by the Party after she liked a social media post which appeared to support conspiratorial claims and make reference to the “Israel lobby”, as well as publicising her closeness with Mr Corbyn.

But Diane Abbott has had her suspension lifted after a seemingly interminable investigation by the Party that lacked transparency.

Other parties

We are continuing to monitor Liberal Democrats, the SNP, Reform UK, other parties and independent candidates, and our research will be published soon.

#ItWasAScam is a scam

Since the 2019 electoral defeat of Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party and the EHRC’s finding that Labour had become institutionally antisemitic, some of his most ardent supporters on the far-left of British politics have sought any way to undermine that finding.

An idea has developed that it was the Jewish community and its supposedly false and malicious allegations of antisemitism that fatally undermined Labour’s electoral ambitions at the time. This idea has been heavily promoted via a social media campaign that uses the hashtag “#ItWasAScam”.

This phrase has trended on social media repeatedly over the past several years. Today, the Labour Party is unrecognisable from what it was at the time of the EHRC’s investigation. Not perfect, but unrecognisable. But whenever Labour has tried to address far-left antisemitism in its ranks, it has been confronted by antisemitism-denial – by #ItWasAScam.

We scrutinised the claims of the #ItWasAScam campaign, and found each claim to be nonsense. In other words, #ItWasAScam is a scam.

Read the full rebuttal at antisemitism.org/itwasascam-is-a-scam/.

Victims of antisemitism speak out

As part of our work making the voices of British Jews heard, our unique series of powerful testimonials by members of the Jewish community and allies continues, detailing how they have been affected by the events of the past several months.

Last week, we shared testimonials from Lysa, who revealed the precautions that she feels that she must take to maintain her safety as a Jew in Britain; and Anatole, a Jewish student at University of Leeds, who, like so many other students, does not feel safe right now. This week, we have published further testimonials.

We spoke to Sarah*, who told us that when she and her friends went out one evening to put up posters of hostages taken by Hamas, they were assaulted. She now fears for her safety.

*For security reasons, we have changed the name of the interviewee.

In another testimonial, Josh recounts how his film about two gay Jews was due to be screened at an LGBTQ+ support group. However, fearing the reaction that Josh might have faced, the organiser cancelled it. Josh now questions where he fits in as a gay Jewish man.

Speaking with Farhad, it is clear that he is horrified by what is happening on our streets.

Though not Jewish himself, he considers himself an ally and recognises what a frightening time it is for many British Jews right now. Farhad believes people should speak up when they see antisemitism occurring. He’s right. We need more people like Farhad right now.

Campaign Against Antisemitism launches Student Ambassador programme!

Are you a student at university in 2024-2025, or do you know somebody who is? Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Student Ambassador programme is an exciting opportunity to work with us in a prestigious year-long initiative.

Student Ambassadors will work closely with our Education Officer and wider team to help us expose and challenge the rising tide of antisemitism overwhelming UK university campuses.

Student Ambassadors will:

  • Meet the Campaign Against Antisemitism team, receive our training and gain the knowledge and skills to effectively advocate against antisemitism at university and in the student sphere.
  • Host Campaign Against Antisemitism on campus throughout the year and build a network of students helping your work.
  • Take part in our summer workshop hearing from expert speakers.
  • Develop life-long skills and experiences in leadership, public advocacy, campaigning and community building.
  • Outstanding participants will also receive the opportunity to apply for a two-month work placement within any one of our flagship in-house teams.

The contributions of our students is more important now than ever before to the fight against antisemitism.

For further information and details about the programme please visit antisemitism.org/become-a-student-ambassador.

Would you like to become a Team Leader for Campaign Against Antisemitism?

Later this month, we will be running a crowdfunding campaign to help us raise the funds that we need to continue bringing cases, exposing political parties, assisting victims, exposing hate on the marches, supporting students on campus, holding the media to account, putting antisemitism on the front pages and giving a voice to the Jewish community and our allies.

If you would like to help by becoming a Team Leader and spending just a few minutes in late June encouraging your family and friends to support Campaign Against Antisemitism, or you would like more information, please e-mail us at [email protected].

No previous experience is necessary, and we will provide all the resources and instructions that you need.

If you can’t wait to support us and want to make a donation now, you can do so by clicking here! But you may wish to wait, because during the crowdfunder your donation will be matched.

With the General Election campaign underway, we are working hard to expose candidates whose records concern us and calling attention to parties that are failing to act. We are bringing this information to the Jewish community and the wider public, with front-page exposés in national newspapers, without fear or favour.

We will always advocate for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we will continue to monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.

, , , , ,

Victims of antisemitism speak out

As part of our work making the voices of British Jews heard, we have begun publishing a unique series of powerful testimonials by members of the Jewish community and allies, detailing how they have been affected by the events of the past several months.

In the first of our testimonials, Lysa reveals the precautions that she feels that she must take to maintain her safety as a Jew in Britain.

When nearly 70% of British Jews say that they are less likely to show visible signs of their Judaism right now, this is what that looks like.

The second testimonial features Anatole, a Jewish student at University of Leeds. There are so many students who, like him, do not feel safe right now.

With so little being done by the universities about the intimidation on campus and antisemitic chanting by students and lecturers alike, can you blame them? As Anatole rightly says, this inaction by universities is a betrayal of their Jewish students.

Campaign Against Antisemitism stands up for Jewish students

We are continuing to monitor incidents on campuses across the country, including recently at Newcastle University and Central Saint Martins.

As a community, we can no longer tolerate how vulnerable Jewish students are feeling on campus. That is why we have produced an open letter for students to hold their universities accountable for the rise in hostility and intimidation exacerbated by the campus encampments.

As it is fashionable to make demands of university administrations these days, Jewish students make the following demands of their own in the letter:

  1. Vice-Chancellors must not accept any of the demands of the organisers of the encampments, and, making it clear that universities will not be pressured into action by this sort of conduct, they must pledge not to begin to consider any policy changes relating to such demands for at least three months after the encampments are removed.
  2. University policies must be applied on trespassing, property damage, bullying, racist conduct and other relevant provisions in order to bring the encampments to an end and punish participants to the full extent of student codes of conduct.
  3. The creation of a new paid staff position dedicated exclusively to tackling antisemitism and promoting Jewish inclusion at each university must be announced, where such a position does not yet exist.
  4. Every university must publicly reassure its community of its commitment to the International Definition of Antisemitism as its sole and unamended definition of antisemitism.
  5. All staff and faculty members, including campus security and welfare officers, must be required to undertake updated antisemitism training.

We are thrilled by how many students have signed the letter so far and had their voices finally heard. Students can sign at antisemitism.org/studentletter.

We have also visited campuses over the past several weeks, speaking directly to students and offering support. On our trip to UCL, we spoke directly with students and showed Jewish students that they are not alone. You can watch the video here.

If you like the t-shirts that the Jewish students in the video are wearing, you too can make a statement with our ‘Quite Openly Jewish’ and ‘Quite Openly Standing With Jews’ t-shirts. Some people also wore them at the march for the release of the hostages yesterday, which Campaign Against Antisemitism was proud to support.

Join the movement, wear the message, and stand proudly with us. Together, we can combat antisemitism.

Available now at antisemitism.org/shop.

Check out the latest episodes of Podcast Against Antisemitism

In our latest episodes, we spoke to two of the Jewish community’s best non-Jewish friends, the former MP Mike Freer and Rev. Hayley Ace.

Mike Freer announced his decision not to stand for re-election citing the “intolerable stress” that he and his family have been enduring from the several serious threats that he has received to his personal safety, including a recent arson attack on his constituency office. You can listen to our discussion about the impact of these threats and his decision.

Reverend Hayley Ace is the co-founder of the grassroots movement, Christian Action Against Antisemitism, along with her husband Timothy Gutmann. Both Hayley and Timothy have been standing firmly alongside the British Jewish community against antisemitism, using their perspective as Christians to educate people on racism against Jews. You can learn more about their work by listening to our conversation.

You can subscribe to the podcasts wherever you get your podcasts, or receive the podcast straight to your inbox by subscribing here.

With the General Election campaign now in full swing, we are working hard to expose candidates whose records concern us and calling attention to parties who are failing to act. We will have more on this in due course.

Whoever forms the next Government, they must be left in no doubt about what British Jews think and need right now. That is why it is so important that as many of you as possible complete the surveys above, so that we can convey your wishes and concerns to our lawmakers.

Once you have made your voice heard to us, we will stop at nothing to make sure that everybody else hears it too.

, , , , , , ,

Will policing of antisemitism finally change?

Under the leadership of Sir Mark Rowley, the Metropolitan Police Service’s policing of the anti-Israel protests and campaigns has been an expensive shambles.

Practically nothing has been done to curtail them, with marchers being given two-mile routes though the centre of our capital. For over seven months, Sir Mark has claimed that he requires additional legal powers to curtail the marches even though the law already plainly gives him the powers he needs.

To break the deadlock, we have provided Home Secretary James Cleverly and Minister of State for Crime and Policing Chris Philp concrete measures that will give the Met nowhere to hide:

  1. Issue regulations to make the meaning of “serious disruption to the life of the community” even clearer under sections 12 and 14 of the Public Order Act 1986, to force the Met and other forces to take into account the cumulative effect of protests and whether they cause intimidation to a particular community. The police must finally be made to treat the weekly marches as one single campaign, rather than as numerous discrete protests, and judge their impact on the rights of others accordingly.
  2. Issue directions to the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, under section 40 of the Police Act 1996, to require the Mayor to work with the Met to ensure that sufficient police are at the marches to effect arrests for unlawful behaviour immediately, and keep Jews and others in the vicinity safe. There must be enough officers present to police the protests in real time, not after the fact.
  3. Make orders under section 3 of the Terrorism Act 2000 to proscribe the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), Ansar Allah (the Houthi rebels) and various terrorist organisations involved in the 7th October atrocity which have not already been proscribed. This would render illegal the display of various terrorist flags and chants such as “Yemen, Yemen, make us proud, turn another ship around.”

These measures do not require any new laws to be passed, and if they are adopted, they will have an immediate and profound impact on the policing of processions and public assemblies.

No more excuses instead of arrests. No more ‘contextualising’ offences away instead of enforcing the law.

The proposals have been positively received by the Home Office, which said in a statement: “The right to protest is a cornerstone of our democracy, but there are clear concerns about the cumulative impact protests are having on some of our communities which we are looking at.

“All communities should be able to go about their daily lives without fear. We have been clear with the police that they must use all the powers available to them to police protests appropriately and will always have our backing in doing so.

“We thank the Campaign Against Antisemitism for their proposals and we will be looking closely at them alongside Lord Walney’s recommendations which will be published this week.”

Our proposals were then echoed in a major report published today by Lord Walney, the Government’s independent adviser on political violence and disruption, titled “Protecting our Democracy from Coercion”.

Lord Walney’s review of antisemitism within the current anti-Israel protests represents a damning assessment of the police and Crown Prosecution Service for failing to apply their existing powers and politicising their response. The report lays bare how far our branches of law enforcement have fallen behind these extremist groups and the expectations of the British public, which abhors extremism and the use of illegal or intimidatory tactics to accomplish goals that cannot be secured at the ballot box.

One only has to look at the footage recorded by our Demonstration and Events Monitoring Unit from this past weekend’s march or the previous march, when a masked protester shouted “Go back to Poland!” at a Christian reverend whom he mistook for a Jew.

Where will this all end? In Manchester, three men have appeared in court, charged with planning an ISIS-style attack against Jews on British soil, while in Stamford Hill in North London, a woman allegedly brandishing a knife at Jews in the street was stopped by police and Shomrim.

She allegedly told a Jewish man that he is a “provocation” before specifying “you people, you Jewish…all the trouble you’re creating in the world.” When asked what she meant, she allegedly replied: “Who do you think started the Second World War? You, the Jewish, started the Second World War.”

These events do not occur in a vacuum. Policing in the UK must change course now, before it is too late.

Those who ignore the lessons of history

For a recent anti-Israel weekly march passing nearby, the Royal Parks covered up the Holocaust memorial in Hyde Park, a new low. At every turn, the authorities seem to be trying to keep Jews and anything Jewish out of sight to appease these mobs.

Concerns over the safety of the memorial are not, however, unfounded. Since 7th October, Holocaust memorials and museums around the world have been vandalised, blockaded, covered up or otherwise targeted in some way. Amsterdam, Berlin, Copenhagen, Drancy…the list goes on and on.

Then, on Yom HaShoah, anti-Israel demonstrators wore yellow stars – akin to the sort that Jews were forced to wear during the Holocaust – and picketed outside Auschwitz concentration camp.

Whether by tearing down posters of the hostages or targeting Holocaust memorials, the supporters of Hamas not only support the antisemitic slaughter of Jews but they also oppose any remembrance for the victims. They want them forgotten. But we will not forget.

Campaign Against Antisemitism funds another successful appeal for Iranian dissident

For the second time this year, we have funded a successful appeal by Iranian dissident Niyak Ghorbani against excessive bail conditions imposed by the Metropolitan Police.

This time, the police wished to restrict Mr Ghorbani from attending or participating in “any protest demonstration related to the Palestinian cause or events occurring in Gaza”, and force him to refrain from any “behaviour aimed at inciting or disturbing participants of any protest demonstration in support of the Palestinian cause or against events in Gaza”, and from entering Camden or the City of Westminster for anything but medical or legal appointments.

However, following a successful appeal that was funded by Campaign Against Antisemitism, the court has rejected the Met’s conditions, with a judge saying that “they are not necessary let alone proportionate.” Mr Ghorbani is now free again to continue pointing out the legal fact that Hamas is a terrorist organisation and expressing his right to protest and counter-protest.

You may recall that we created t-shirts and hoodies emblazoned with the same message that Hamas are terrorists, which we have made available for sale. Many of you have already bought them, wearing them to protests and posting pictures on social media.

Supporting Jewish students in hostile campus environments

Over the last couple of weeks, we have seen anti-Israel thugs swarm university campuses with calls for intifada, the eradication of the State of Israel, and references to Hamas as “freedom fighters”. The growing number of encampments comes against a backdrop of escalating antisemitism, with Jewish students facing verbal abuse, receiving death threats and enduring physical violence.

We have met with the Department for Education and been on the forefront of exposing these incidents on campuses across the country, including in University College London, SOAS, University of Leeds, The University of Manchester, Newcastle University and elsewhere.

The hostile environment for Jews that has been created on British campuses challenges the very foundations of academia. Bastions of inclusivity and diversity operating in pursuit of truth are becoming cesspits of racist hate and intimidation.

We are assisting students around the country who are facing antisemitism where they live and study. Any student or faculty member can e-mail us in confidence at [email protected].

The Prime Minister has recently made it clear that antisemitism has no place in our universities. We thank the Prime Minister for doing so. It is now up to vice-chancellors to show that they agree. If they do not, we will do everything that we can to hold them and their institutions to account.

Podcast Against Antisemitism is back!

Season Five of our podcast is now streaming.

In the first episode, marking Yom HaShoah, we spoke to Mervyn Kersh, a distinguished WWII veteran. Now 99 years old, he joined the army in 1943 at the age of eighteen, and you can listen or watch as we discuss his conversations with survivors of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp just days after its liberation.

Our guest in episode two was Elad Poterman, who, along with his baby daughter and wife Maria, are survivors of the Kibbutz Nahal Oz massacre on 7th October. Nahal Oz sits just 800 metres from the Gaza border and was one of the first targets in the early hours of the Hamas terrorist attacks. Listen or watch as Elad takes us through how he and his family spent seventeen hours in the safe room of his home hiding from Hamas terrorists.

For our third episode we interviewed the acclaimed actor, writer, and comedian Brett Gelman, known for his roles in BBC’s “Fleabag,” FX’s “Married” and Netflix’s “Stranger Things”. Brett is not only known for his impressive performances but also for his outspoken stance against antisemitism. You can listen or watch Brett dive into his Jewish identity and speaking on the silencing of Jewish voices.

You can subscribe to the podcasts wherever you get your podcasts, or receive the podcast straight to your inbox by subscribing here.

Some of our additional recent work includes:

  • We have led the coverage of newly-elected local councillors with concerning records, especially in the Green Party, and we are assisting in a police investigation into an independent councillor.
  • We have reported the comedian Dane Baptiste to the police over serious threats to a Jewish individual, with whom we are in touch.
  • We are writing to Ofcom about Hamas atrocity-denial by Natasha Devon on LBC (for which she has apologised).
  • We reported Dana Abuqamar, the President of Manchester Friends of Palestine and final year law student, to the Home Office after she said that “We are full of pride. We are really, really full of joy of what has happened” in apparent reference to 7th October. Her visa has now been revoked.
  • We are writing to the BBC after presenter Eddie Nester MBE asked “Why is [the Jewish lobby] so much more powerful than people with disabilities?” and we are also writing to the broadcaster after Gary Lineker appeared to dismiss the 7th October massacre as “the Hamas thing”.
  • A few weeks ago, to mark Pesach, our digital van drove around London with a message to “let our people go” in reference to the hostages who remain in Hamas captivity.

The Met’s policing of the anti-Israel protests and campaigns has been an expensive shambles, supposedly because the force needs additional legal powers. We have now provided a blueprint for moving forward. Our criminal justice system must be brought into line, and the laws on which it operates must be brought up to date. For the Jewish community, action cannot come soon enough.

, , , , , ,

Six months.

This weekend marked the six-month anniversary of the 7th October atrocity, the bloodiest day in Israel’s history and the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust.

In the wake of the attack, as Israelis and Jewish communities worldwide grappled with the trauma, a distressing contrast emerged: while grief and shock engulfed many, expressions of support for Hamas erupted in various forms of jubilation and celebration across the globe, some within hours of the massacre.

Some chose to turn a blind eye to the atrocities.

Others attempted to rationalise the unjustifiable.

And, shockingly, some even found inspiration in this heinous act.

For the Jewish people, with hostages still in captivity and justification, glorification and celebration of antisemitic terrorism still ongoing around the world, October 7 is 24/7.

Al Quds Day: a tale of two cities

Every year, on the last Friday of Ramadan, the Al Quds Day march takes place in cities around the world, including in London. Since it was established in Iran in 1979, following the Islamic Revolution, Al Quds Day marches are displays of support for the antisemitic Islamist theocracy that rules Iran, kills its opponents and supports Jew-hating terrorist groups across the world, and for its terror proxies.

In the UK, for example, participants in the marches used to fly Hizballah flags and hold placards stating “We are all Hizballah”, until we and others secured the proscription of Hizballah.

In the days prior to this year’s march, which took place on Friday, the organisers had the audacity to complain about occasional arrests at recent anti-Israel marches in London notwithstanding that their own march was in support of a foreign regime that murders protesters.

Our Demonstration and Event Monitoring Unit was present at the march on Friday. What they saw was predictably despicable, including a woman screaming “Zio-Nazis” at people, flyers emblazoned with Hitler’s face, and more.

As the march proceeded, what became clear was that London on Al Quds Day was a tale of two cities: the hateful marchers in one tale, and, in the other, our digital van displaying the images of hostages and peaceful counter-protesters, some of whom were wearing our “Hamas are terrorists” hoodies.

The Met Police posted on social media that they had identified particular placards that appeared to incite violence in a vehicle that they had proactively stopped near the starting point of the march. “As a result,” they triumphantly declared, “we don’t believe they have been distributed.” Still, they were firm: “Should they be displayed in the crowd, action will be taken.”

But after so many months of policing-by-tweet, it should come as no surprise that our volunteers observed plenty of these placards on display during the march, very often within the sight of police officers. To our knowledge, no action appeared to be taken. This was just the latest example of questionable policing.

The week before, during the anti-Israel demonstration on Easter weekend, a woman reported a placard featuring a swastika to a police officer, who appeared to try to explain that the meaning of a swastika would depend on the context, in echoes of Met Police policy on other antisemitic rhetoric.

Apparently the context of an anti-Israel demonstration rife with analogies of Israel to Nazis and other antisemitic signs, calls for violent intifada, support for Houthi attacks on British vessels and glorification of Hamas terrorism, was not clear enough context of what a swastika might portend.

The Met claimed that it arrested someone in relation to this incident. If so, it raises even more questions about why the police reflexively make excuses instead of taking action in real time.

Extremism in the UK: we want to hear from you

If you could poll the British public on antisemitism or extremism, what questions would you ask?

Click here to let us know.

It is time for Sir Alan Duncan to be expelled

Sir Alan Duncan, the former Conservative MP and Minister, and a particularly unpopular figure in the Jewish community, suggested in an interview on LBC that certain peers in the House of Lords are working for Israel, invoking classic tropes of Jewish power and disloyalty. He later went on to victim-blame Israel for the 7th October Hamas attack.

This is not the first time that he has made accusations of parliamentarians being controlled by Israel. But we believe that it should be the last time that he does so as a member of the Conservative Party.

We called on the Party to investigate, which they have announced that they are now doing. He is not the only Conservative figure that we have been following recently.

We also called for the whip finally to be withdrawn from Baroness Warsi, after she spoke at a Muslim Council of Britain event with Ghada Karmi. The MCB is a controversial group, and Dr Karmi has previously said: “What you saw on October 7th was breaking out from the cage of Gaza by a resistance movement.” Dr Karmi also previously told George Galloway on Al Mayadeen television: “It’s wonderful really and admirable that the Hamas fighters exploded this whole rotten structure.”

We called in addition for the suspension by the Labour Party of another attendee, Afzal Khan MP, of “mass murdering Rothschilds Israeli mafia criminal liars” infamy.

Meanwhile, it was reported that Azmat Husain, the Chairman of the Salford Conservative Federation and the Conservative candidate for Eccles in Salford in the May elections, has withdrawn his candidacy after a Facebook post emerged in which he appears to have written “Jew pigs”. He had claimed that the post was fake.

This is not the first time that there have been serious concerns relating to antisemitism within local Conservative associations in Manchester. The Party has yet to investigate transparently.

We also exposed the social media history of the independent MP, Angus MacNeil, who used to sit with the SNP.

Furthermore, we called out the crossbench peer Lord Bird for saying in a debate in the House of Lords that “The amount of antisemitism you see around the world is because of the fact that Israel is not thinking about the next five or ten years but is only thinking immediately.”

No, Lord Bird, the amount of antisemitism that we are seeing is not because of the Jews or their state. It is because there are antisemites.

The effect of antisemitism on British Jews

Our two-week nationwide billboard campaign spotlighting what it is like to be Jewish in Britain today has concluded. On the billboards, online and on our digital van, we highlighted a number of scenarios to give viewers pause, including:

  • “How would you explain guards outside your child’s nursery?”
  • “Imagine your family feeling unsafe every time they leave their place of worship.”
  • “Do you know how it feels to hide your school blazer so you won’t be attacked?”

Thank you to all of you who have got in touch about the campaign. To quote just one response from Glasgow: “I saw an ad about your campaign in Glasgow today at Finnieston Quay and I wanted to get in touch to say that it really spoke to me. I have been appalled by what I have been reading about antisemitism in the UK. The words on the billboard about guards at nurseries and abuse at a football stadium were really powerful. I hope it helps to make a difference.”

So do we.

Great Ormond Street Hospital

Last December we began discussions with Great Ormond Street Hospital, at the initiative of members of their staff, about providing antisemitism training. This is the same training that we have delivered for years to other NHS trusts, police forces, industry regulators, academic institutions, local authorities and others.

Discussions were proceeding smoothly until approximately six weeks ago, when we were informed that the Hospital’s Muslim Network had expressed concerns about Campaign Against Antisemitism as a provider. We addressed in writing the issues that were raised and offered to meet with the relevant members of staff, with a view to hearing and allaying any concerns.

Unfortunately, the offer was ignored and, apparently without regard for the views of its Jewish staff, the Hospital decided that the Muslim Network should have a veto in relation to antisemitism training, and withdrew from the discussions.

The Hospital assured us that it will still be arranging the provision of antisemitism training, but with a different provider. We replied to the Hospital to say that that is acceptable to us, provided that it uses a reputable trainer that will not compromise on the material to appease anyone at the Hospital who may be ideologically opposed to learning about certain contemporary manifestations of antisemitism.

The Hospital not only failed to provide us with this assurance, but has not responded to us at all for several weeks.

We continued to await contact from the Hospital, but in view of the length of time since our last correspondence, we had no choice but to make this public last week.

If non-Jewish staff at institutions are given a veto over the delivery or content of antisemitism training, such an institution simply cannot be said to be upholding its commitment to equality and diversity. Jewish people and the racism that they suffer cannot be ignored. That is itself antisemitic.

After we revealed the incident, the Hospital released a statement that was wholly unsatisfactory, and we have submitted a Freedom of Information request in order to release more information.

In addition to the victims whom we are assisting and other incidents that we are responding to, here are some of our other high-profile recent cases:

  • We submitted complaints to Ofcom about Matthew Wright for comments on two LBC programmes.
  • We wrote a letter to the Scottish Funding Council regarding the election of Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah as Rector of the University of Glasgow.
  • We called on UK Border Force to suspend officers involved in potential mistreatment of Israeli survivors of 7th October visiting the UK.
  • We publicised appalling footage from the Refectory at Goldsmiths, which is also midway through an inquiry, to which we have contributed, regarding antisemitism on its campus.
  • We reported a man appearing to make serious threats in a TikTok video to Counter-Terrorism Police, and were in touch with the victim.

It has been six months.

Six months of war. Six months of hostages in captivity. Six months of weekly anti-Israel protests and antisemitic rhetoric on our streets. Six months of surging antisemitism — on campuses and online, in workplaces and in our public life. Six months of police failures.

But we are resolute, and we will continue to fight for justice for the Jewish community, no matter how many more months or years it takes.

, , , , ,

UK government rebuked anti-Israel protesters with new laws

This week, James Cleverly, the Home Secretary, announced several proposed amendments to the Criminal Justice Bill, in a clear and targeted rebuke to anti-Israel marchers deliberately causing disruption in London and around the country and outraging the public over behaviour at war memorials and launching fireworks at police.

Mr Cleverly has proposed the following changes to the Criminal Justice Bill:

  • Creating a new offence of desecrating a war memorial punishable by up to three months’ imprisonment and a fine of up to £1,000;
  • Creating a new offence which would make it illegal for someone to have a pyrotechnic article in their possession during a procession or assembly. Offenders could receive a fine of up to £1,000;
  • Providing the police with new powers to arrest protesters wearing face coverings to conceal their identity. Offenders could receive a fine of up to £1,000 and a month in prison;
  • Modifying the reasonable excuse defence that is currently available concerning certain public order offences to prevent a minority of protesters from deliberately causing serious disruption while exploiting defences relating to the right to protest. 

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Demonstration and Event Monitoring Unit has for months observed protesters causing severe disruption to the public during their weekly anti-Israel demonstrations, including launching fireworks at police officers; desecrating war memorials; and preventing members of the public from travelling.

A further effect of these weekly protests is that a staggering 90% of British Jews say that they would avoid travelling to a city centre if a major anti-Israel demonstration was taking place there.

With protesters using rhetoric like, “Zionists are like Nazis, and if that’s antisemitic then f*** it. I don’t care” in last week’s protests, that sentiment is not surprising.

You can watch interviews, captured by our Demonstration and Event Monitoring Unit and Communications team, here.

For months now, we have been asking for tougher restrictions to be placed on these protests, which have made our urban centres no-go zones for Jews. While the police have failed the Jewish community and law-abiding Londoners, the Government, to its credit, is listening.

These new laws will help address the mob mentality that we have observed in these protests. There is no justification for such scenes, and now, there will be no legal defence.

The people of this country expect the lawlessness on our streets to be brought firmly under control, and with these changes there are now even fewer excuses for police inaction.

The Prime Minister recently explained how the weekly protests prompted the Government to act.

What is happening on British campuses?

In the past week, Jewish students at Birmingham had to face signs reading “Zionists off our campus”.

Our most recent polling shows that only 6% of Jews do not consider themselves to be Zionists. The University of Birmingham claims that it offers a “welcoming and supportive environment”. It doesn’t look that way.

At the University of Leeds, the synagogue and Hillel Jewish student centre was vandalised with graffiti reading “IDF off campus” and “Free Palestine”, and there are reports that the Jewish chaplain has received death threats.

Less than a day later, students on the same campus voiced support for the Houthi rebels in Yemen at an anti-Israel protest. The motto of the Houthis is: “Allah is the greatest, death to America, death to Israel, a curse upon the Jews, victory to Islam.”

When support for an organisation that openly parades its antisemitism goes unchallenged on a university campus, what message is this sending to its Jewish students? What message does it send when they chant “There are many, many more of us than you”?

This is not some sort of social justice movement. It is an attempt by thugs to intimidate Jews and drive them out of our universities. The reaction of the universities must be swift and severe.

What does the David Miller judgment mean?

The Bristol Employment Tribunal has published its judgment in the case of the University of Bristol’s termination of Prof. David Miller.

David Miller, a disgraced academic obsessed with anti-Jewish conspiracy theories, was fired by the University of Bristol in 2021 following a Jewish communal outcry and one month after Campaign Against Antisemitism commenced a lawsuit on behalf of students against the institution.

Prof. Miller has a long record of inflammatory statements about the Jewish community. He now regularly appears on the Iranian state propaganda channel, Press TV.

Prof. Miller later sued the University, and the Bristol Employment Tribunal has now handed down its judgment.

Until this case, the exact reasons for Prof. Miller’s sacking by the University of Bristol were kept from the public. It is now clear that, despite its adoption of the International Definition of Antisemitism, Bristol’s failure to recognise that Prof. Miller’s comments constituted antisemitism, as well as its failure to consider some of his most egregious comments, opened the way for this judgment.

But even so, the tribunal found that Prof. Miller’s misconduct was “extraordinary and ill-judged” and deserving of disciplinary action, albeit that it did not warrant dismissal. He was found to be “culpable and blameworthy”, and, if he had been fired for the right reasons, the result at the tribunal may have been different.

Importantly, the tribunal drastically slashed Prof. Miller’s compensation, including due to his behaviour since being dismissed, which the tribunal found led to a ‘realistic chance that the claimant would have been dismissed’ anyway.

Campaign Against Antisemitism is deeply concerned by the way in which the University of Bristol has handled this matter over the course of years. We hope and expect that Bristol will appeal this decision. We are considering the matter with our lawyers.

To understand better what this judgment does and does not mean, watch this explainer here.

In the wake of the judgment, Kemi Badenoch, the Trade Secretary and Minister for Women and Equalities, told the House of Commons: “It is important to underline that this ruling does not change the fact that, while academics have the right to express views, they cannot behave in a way that amounts to harassment of Jewish students. Disguising this as discourse about Israel would be no more lawful than any other form of antisemitism.”

British universities cannot become places where students or academics attempt to intimidate Jews and drive them off campus. We will continue to do whatever it takes to stop that from happening and hold the thugs accountable.

If you are a student, academic, member of staff or chaplain at a university — or you know somebody who is and needs assistance — please contact us at [email protected].

,

CAA reacts to judgment of Employment Tribunal in David Miller case

Today, the Bristol Employment Tribunal has published its judgment in the case of the University of Bristol’s termination of Prof. David Miller.

David Miller, an academic obsessed with anti-Jewish conspiracy theories, was fired by the University of Bristol in 2021 one month after Campaign Against Antisemitism commenced a lawsuit on behalf of students against the institution.

Prof. Miller later sued the University, and the Bristol Employment Tribunal has today handed down its judgment.

Our lawsuit related to Prof. Miller’s speech on a Zoom webinar in which he said that the “Zionist Movement” is “the enemy” that must be engaged, that it is “the enemy of world peace,” and that those associated with Zionism, including Jewish students on Bristol campus, “must be directly targeted”.

Taken together, the implication of Prof. Miller’s remarks is that all decent people who support “world peace” should view Bristol Jewish Society and the Union of Jewish Students, and Jewish people, including those who identify with those bodies, and the vast majority of Jewish students as an “enemy” that must be “directly targeted”.

He also said that interfaith work between Jewish and Muslim groups is “a trojan horse for normalising Zionism in the Muslim community”. He also claimed that Jewish students, by virtue of being Zionist, “encourage Islamophobia and anti-Arab racism”.

Prof. Miller has a long record of inflammatory statements about the Jewish community.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Until this case, the exact reasons for Prof. David Miller’s sacking by the University of Bristol were kept from the public. It is now clear that, despite its adoption of the International Definition of Antisemitism, Bristol’s failure to recognise that Prof. Miller’s comments constituted antisemitism, as well as its failure to consider some of his most egregious comments, opened the way for today’s judgment. But even so, the tribunal found that Prof. Miller’s misconduct was ‘extraordinary and ill-judged’ and deserving of disciplinary action, albeit that it did not warrant dismissal. He was found to be ‘culpable and blameworthy’, and, if he had been fired for the right reasons, the result today may have been different.

“Importantly, the tribunal drastically slashed Prof. Miller’s compensation , including due to his behaviour since being dismissed, which the tribunal found led to a ‘realistic chance that the claimant would have been dismissed’ anyway.

“We are deeply concerned by the way in which the University of Bristol has handled this matter over the course of years. We hope and expect that Bristol will appeal this decision. We are considering the matter with our lawyers.”


If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected]. 

, ,

Nearly one-third of American Jewish students experience or witness antisemitism according to new survey

A new survey has found that nearly one-third of Jewish students in the United States have experienced or witnessed antisemitism on campus. 

The survey showed that 14% of Jewish students had experienced antisemitism directly on campus and 16% of Jewish students had witnessed antisemitism on campus. 

The survey was conducted by Jewish on Campus, a group led by Jewish students that “seek[s] to end antisemitism on college campuses and beyond”. 

Responses in the survey also showed that 84% of Jewish students felt that antisemitism is a threat to the United States. 

In the study, 1,000 Jewish students and a further sample of 2,000 students more generally were surveyed. 

Julia Jassey, the Chief Executive Officer of Jewish on Campus, said in a statement: “As the new school year begins, these findings provide key evidence of the breadth and depth of antisemitism students face.” 

She added that universities and students should “meet this moment and take antisemitism seriously.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism throughout the United States.

, , , ,

CAA reveals that 43 universities have still not properly adopted, or refused to adopt, International Definition of Antisemitism

As the new academic year approaches, Campaign Against Antisemitism can reveal that 43 universities in Britain have still not properly adopted, or have expressly refused to adopt, the International Definition of Antisemitism.

The number of universities that have adopted the Definition in full, including the eleven integral examples, and have not adopted any other qualifying or competing language, is 134. However, the rate of adoption is slowing, with our research indicating that the most recent adoption may have been as far back as March 2022. The latest information, which is updated in real time, can be found at antisemitism.org/universities.

Among those universities that have not adopted, some have not provided any cogent reasons, such as the University of Brighton and the University of Wales Trinity St David.

Brighton University, for example, told us: “A Race and Faith commission was set up following discussions at the Academic Board and Board of Governors on the subject of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism. The Commission recommended that the University should not adopt the definition.”

This Commission relied on work by the UCL Academic Board, which even the UCL leadership has not followed (UCL has adopted the Definition), input from the University and College Union (UCU), which is a staunch opponent of the Definition and whose reputation in the Jewish community is in the gutter, and Prof. David Feldman, a former Deputy Chair of the whitewash Chakrabarti Inquiry into antisemitism in the Labour Party and whose advocacy against the Definition has been grossly counter-productive to the fight against antisemitism.

Some universities claimed that, while they have not adopted the Definition, they nonetheless ‘use’ it, including Cardiff University, Edinburgh Napier University and the University of South Wales.

Others insisted that their existing policies already cover antisemitism and therefore adoption is not necessary, such as Kingston University, Robert Gordon University and SOAS University of London.

SOAS, for example, told us: “While SOAS University of London has not adopted the IHRA definition, we stand firmly against antisemitism, as we do against all forms of discrimination. Our SOAS Charter on Racism, Antisemitism and All Forms of Cultural, Ethnic and Religious Chauvinism makes a clear, demonstrable commitment to every member of staff and every student that we will not tolerate any form of racism or religious chauvinism, and that we will maintain an inclusive space for every member of our community.”

Readers will draw their own conclusions as to the strength of SOAS’s commitment to standing against antisemitism, in light of its appalling record.

Some universities have not adopted the Definition, because it does not cover all faith groups. These include Ravensbourne University London, Swansea University and the University for the Creative Arts.

The University of St Andrews has decided not to adopt the Definition because it believes that it is polarising to adopt only this definition of antisemitism. The University of Greenwich has gone further, adopting both the Definition and the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism. The Jerusalem Declaration is a wrecking document intended to undermine the globally-recognised Definition. Any university that has adopted it alongside the Definition or an amended version of the Definition (for example by omitting the eleven integral examples), such as Greenwich University or Goldsmiths, University of London, cannot be said to have adopted the Definition. Campaign Against Antisemitism recently submitted evidence to an inquiry into antisemitism at Goldsmiths.

The arguments that these universities have deployed to justify their failure to adopt the Definition do not hold water. Those that claim that their existing policies render the Definition unnecessary misunderstand its purpose: the Definition is not a policy on antisemitism but a definition of antisemitism. Existing policies can detail how antisemitism is treated; they cannot identify it. For that, the Definition is needed.

The claim, meanwhile, that the Definition can have a “chilling effect” on freedom of expression or inhibits criticism of Israel are also baseless canards. The Definition, which is context-specific, states clearly that “criticism of Israel similar to that levelled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic.” Moreover, as Campaign Against Antisemitism has shown, the Definition does not at all conflict with freedom of expression under law, and indeed a 2023 report into antisemitism in higher education found that, of 56 universities asked, none knew of a single example in which their adoption of the Definition had in any way restricted or chilled freedom of expression or academic research.

These excuses are wearing thin, particularly as antisemitism on campuses is rising. CST reported at the beginning of this year that there has been a 22% increase in university-related reported antisemitic hate incidents over the past two academic years, while polling conducted in 2021 by Campaign Against Antisemitism showed that 92% of British Jews believe that antisemitism in British universities is a problem.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “We commend the vast majority of British universities that have chosen to show solidarity with Jewish students and do their part in the fight against anti-Jewish racism by adopting the International Definition of Antisemitism. It is appalling that a minority of universities continue to take the opposite course, and it is astonishing that they persist in providing excuses that have already been debunked years ago. These universities are bowing to pressure by those who either fail to appreciate the gravity of contemporary antisemitism or do not have the interests of British Jews at heart. It is cowardly. They must urgently revisit their positions.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism will continue to monitor the adoption of the International Definition of Antisemitism by universities.

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected]. 

, , ,

CAA submits evidence to Goldsmiths’ inquiry into antisemitism

Campaign Against Antisemitism has submitted evidence to an inquiry examining antisemitism at Goldsmiths, University of London.

Last year, the University announced that it would launch an investigation into racism against Jews at the institution, and earlier this year it was announced that senior barrister Mohinderpal Sethi KC would lead the investigation.

The Inquiry, billed as an “independent review into antisemitism at the College”, invites current and former University students and staff to come forward with their own experiences.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has submitted a dossier of evidence, incorporating the testimony of students and details of incidents, as well as recommendations.

The Inquiry’s report is expected to be presented by next year.

The investigation was announced last year after Dr David Hirsh, a sociologist at the University, was called a “far-right white supremacist” by Goldsmiths’ then-Students’ Union President.

Initially, the Students’ Union refused to investigate Sara Bafo over the social media post, despite being requested to do so by the University.

Ms Bafo’s alleged tweet was said to have been written in response to a tweet from Dr Hirsh, a prominent and highly-respected antisemitism expert, which said: “There is an antisemitic edge to official, institutional, university campaigns to ‘decolonise’ education.”

In response to the University’s request for the investigation, Ms Bafo tweeted that the University “has tried to get the SU trustee board to investigate me for a tweet I made in response to a Zionist Goldsmiths academic’s explicit racist history & his delegitimisation of ‘Decolonisation’ campaigns,” adding: “This was a dirty tactic from the institution to silence me further as I was leaving.”

However, despite the Students’ Union denying the investigation on grounds of “free speech”, the University announced that an independent probe will take place.

Dr Hirsh said of the probe: “I am really pleased that the leadership of Goldsmiths is taking this difficult and courageous step. I have been clear that there is a hostile environment at the College for scholars and students who refuse to embrace anti-Zionism.”

Dr Hirch featured in a recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism, in which he shared more information about the incident and the investigation.

Last year, the University also announced that it would adopt the International Definition of Antisemitism but “without the case studies”, and that it would be adopting in addition the Jerusalem Declaration, which is a wrecking document intended to undermine the globally-recognised Definition, owing to the fact that the University’s “academic community” favoured it.

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].

, ,

Members of banned Islamist group that described Jews as “monstrous” reportedly spoke at British universities

Individuals linked to an Islamist group that describes Jews as “monstrous” have reportedly been speaking at British universities. 

According to a report by The JC, the speakers have ties to Hizb ut-Tahrir, an Islamist group that reportedly issued a statement on 11th May 2021 that said: “The monstrous Jews are spreading their brutal aggression on all parts of Palestine.”

In 2004, the group was banned by the National Union of Students (NUS) from British university unions and their societies on the grounds it was “responsible for supporting terrorism and publishing material that incites racial hatred”.

Last month, one of its previous leaders, Anjem Choudary, was charged with three terrorism offences.

Hizb ut-Tahrir was also mentioned in a report from the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change titled “Narratives of Division: The Spectrum of Islamist Worldviews in the UK,” which found that a number of UK Islamic activist groups promote views that align with proscribed extremist groups.

The speakers were hosted by a number of Islamic society events at universities including the University of Birmingham, the London School of Economics (LSE), and the University of Bradford; all of which have adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism in full. 

The links to Hizb ut-Tahrir with the speakers were reportedly not publicised during the events and it is unclear whether the societies knew about the connection. 

One of the speakers, Luqman Muqeem, is understood to have shared extremist content online, including a video of himself that incites Muslims to murder Jews and videos of other activists associated with Hizb ut-Tahrir.

He also reportedly shared a video of Belal Mohammed, a Hizb ut-Tahrir activist, calling for a jihad to “wipe out the Zionist entity”.

In February, Mr Muqueem spoke at the University of Birmingham, where he was joined by alleged Hizb ut-Tahrir activist, Taha Hanif. Mr Hanif is said to have tweeted “Khaybar Khaybar, ya yahud, Jaish Muhammad, sa yahud”, a common chant that can be translated in English as “Jews, remember the battle of Khaybar, the army of Muhammad is returning.”

The “Khaybar” chant is a classic Arabic battle cry referencing the massacre and expulsion of the Jews of the town of Khaybar in northwestern Arabia, now Saudi Arabia, in the year 628 CE. The chant has been heard in numerous anti-Israel rallies in Britain and abroad.

Omar Kaykhusrau, who is said to be a Hizb ut-Tahrir speaker studying for a PhD in economics at Kings College London that spoke at Birmingham City University and LSE, is alleged to have asked Allah to “purge the Zionist scum from Palestine” in a now-deleted Facebook post.

Another of its speakers, Rupon Shahidul Haque, reportedly called for the “liberation of filistin [Palestine] via jihad” in 2021 on Facebook. 

He also posted photographs to Facebook of a meeting he had with imam Sheikh Abu Oma Sara, who in 2016 was jailed by Israel after he issued a video saying: “I say to the Jews clearly: it’s time to slaughter you. It’s time to fight you. It’s time to kill you.”

A 1999 leaflet, distributed by Hizb ut-Tahrir, described Jews as “cowards” and called on Muslims to “purify yourselves against the deceptions of the Jews”. It added: “Know that the Jews and their usurping state in Palestine will, by the Help and Mercy of Allah, be destroyed, until the stones and trees will say: ‘O Muslim, o slave of Allah, Here is Jew behind a tree so come and kill him.’” 

A spokesperson for Hizb ut-Tahrir said that he did not know why “university student union societies would choose not to advertise that invited guests are members of Hizb ut-Tahrir,” and “could not speak on behalf of them”, but suggested NUS’ ban on Hizb ut-Tahrir was part of a wider “cancel culture”. He added that “in such an environment of cancelling debate, it takes no great leap of the imagination to determine why organisers may decide to do so.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2021 showed that almost eight in ten British Jews consider the threat from Islamists to be very serious.

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected]. 

,

La Trobe University shamefully adopts Jerusalem Declaration alongside deficient version of International Definition of Antisemitism 

La Trobe University, in Melbourne, Victoria, has adopted a deficient version of the International Definition of Antisemitism, and has also adopted the Jerusalem Declaration alongside it. 

The Jerusalem Declaration is a wrecking document intended to undermine the globally-recognised Definition.

The University’s adoption of the Definition omits the eleven integral examples, and is therefore deficient. 

A statement on the University’s website reads: “The University was concerned that adoption of the [International Definition] with the eleven examples could pose potential limitations to academic freedom and reasonable political debate which could be misclassified as antisemitic behaviour.”

Britain was the first country in the world to adopt the International Definition, something for which Campaign Against Antisemitism and Lord Pickles worked hard over many meetings with officials at Downing Street. 

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism worldwide.

, , ,

CAA writes to UCU over its stance on David Miller as his latest Jew-baiting outbursts lose him even more supporters

Following the latest Jew-baiting outbursts from the disgraced academic David Miller, Campaign Against Antisemitism will be writing to University and College Union (UCU) demanding clarification on its previous statements of support for him.

Mr Miller was fired by the University of Bristol in 2021 over comments he had made about Jewish students, a month after Campaign Against Antisemitism commenced a lawsuit on behalf of current students against the institution and amidst a Jewish communal outcry.

He is a conspiracy theorist with a history of controversy relating to Jewish students. In one outburst, he asserted that “Zionism is racism”, declared his objective “to end Zionism as a functioning ideology of the world” and accused the Bristol University Jewish Society of being part of a worldwide Zionist conspiracy, adding that it is “fundamental to Zionism to encourage Islamophobia and anti-Arab racism”. At the same online event, Mr Miller also observed that the Jewish Society and the Union of Jewish Students are Zionist, thereby implying that Jewish students (and the wider Jewish community) inherently “encourage Islamophobia and anti-Arab racism”.

He also portrayed the International Definition of Antisemitism as an attack on free speech and accused the Israeli Government of engaging in an “all-out attack” on the global Left as part of an “attempt by the Israelis to impose their will all over the world”. In comments reminiscent of the darkest years of the United Nations, Mr Miller insisted that “Zionism is racism” and asked how “we defeat the ideology of Zionism in practice”, “how is Zionism ended” and about the way “to end Zionism as a functioning ideology of the world”.

Earlier this week, Mr Miller tweeted that “Jews are not discriminated against” before going on to write: “They are over-represented in Europe, North America and Latin America in positions of cultural, economic and political power.”

He also responded to a Twitter user who asked if could provide “a detailed list with names/positions [Jews] hold re. their being members of an over-represented group” by saying: “Coming shortly!”

His comments drew criticism from Jewish Voice for Labour (JVL), the antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation, who stated that his comments were “unacceptable” and had “crossed a line”.

JVL has previously published numerous articles in defence of Mr Miller.

In June, Jeanette Findlay, President of UCU Scotland, nonsensically claimed that the Union is committed to fighting antisemitism just seconds before rejecting the International Definition of Antisemitism and defending the disgraced academic Mr Miller.

Ms Findlay said: “We are very clear in UCU Scotland in our opposition to the treatment of David Miller by the University of Bristol. I was personally horrified and shocked when I heard that he had been sacked.”

She described Mr Miller as the victim of a “vicious and sustained assault” before stating that “it is [the Union’s] greatest wish that he will be reinstated.”

UCU has a horrendous reputation in the Jewish community, and this is not the first time its Scotland branch has defended Mr Miller. 

In a 2021 statement, UCU Scotland showed little regard for the anxieties of the concerned Bristol University students, dismissing them at the time as “Zionist lobby groups”. 

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “David Miller’s latest outbursts are yet further proof that we were right to launch a lawsuit against Bristol University on behalf of brave Jewish students, following which he was fired. We were heavily criticised by Mr Miller’s supporters, but now many of his erstwhile defenders are recognising him for what he is. UCU must explain whether it maintains its stance of staunch support for Mr Miller. If it is changing that stance, it should answer whether the price of alienating its Jewish members was worth it to defend such a vile individual.”

, ,

Senior commanders from antisemitic Islamist terrorist group IRGC found to have spoken on university campuses

Senior commanders from the antisemitic Islamist terrorist group, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), have been addressing students across university campuses, it has been revealed.

The JC has reportedly discovered eight IRGC leaders who, since 2020, have spoken to students nationally, using the Islamic Students Association of Britain to arrange the lectures. 

The Islamic Students Association of Britain has branches on university campuses in Bradford, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, and Cambridge.

Saeed Ghasemi, reported to be a former general in the organisation, allegedly told British students that the Holocaust was “fake”.

“The one that the Jews say happened is fake. The real Holocaust happened in my country in the First World War, 1917-19, when the UK occupied Iran,” he reportedly said during an online talk.

He also is reported to have encouraged his audience of students to join “the beautiful list of soldiers” who would fight and kill Jews in a coming apocalyptic war. 

Hossein Yekta, another person believed to be a high-ranking IRGC member, is said to have accused Jews of having “created homosexuality”. He allegedly told students they should view themselves as “holy warriors”, promising them that the “era of the Jews” would soon be at an end. 

In the wake of the shocking revelations, numerous politicians have voiced concerns. 

Alicia Kearns, the Conservative Party MP for Rutland and Melton and Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, said: “In organising such despicable talks, the Islamic Students Association of Britain acts at best as a willing propaganda arm of the Iranian regime, and at worst as an agitator for state sponsored terrorism. To broadcast the jihadist and deeply antisemitic ideas of senior members of the IRGC to students across Britain is a brazen act of radicalisation. We must pursue and prosecute those responsible trying to incite violence here in the UK.” 

David Lammy, the Labour Party MP for Tottenham and Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, said: “The invitation of IRGC commanders and other speakers who glorify its actions to speak to British students is incredibly concerning. Robust action is needed now.”

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “The reports that IRGC commanders are addressing students on British campuses are alarming. This is an antisemitic Islamist terrorist organisation that has repeatedly targeted Jewish people and institutions in Britain and around the world and sponsors practically every major terror group in the Middle East. The IRGC cannot be allowed to disseminate its propaganda in the UK and radicalise impressionable students. What further evidence does the Government need to see before it heeds calls from us and others to ban the IRGC once and for all?”

A statement from the Union of Jewish Students stated that the group was “disgusted” by the news.

“UJS is disgusted that senior members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps have been speaking on several campuses across the UK,” the statement said. 

“These commanders boasted that the Holocaust was ‘fake’, that they trained al-Qaeda terrorists, and urged students to join ‘the beautiful list of soldiers’ who would fight and kill Jews in an apocalyptic war. We are deeply concerned for Jewish student welfare. This can never be allowed to happen again. We will seek urgent meetings on behalf of Jewish students with senior university leaders and the Government to ensure Jewish students can be safe on campus, free from this hatred that has no place in our society.”

Earlier this year, Campaign Against Antisemitism wrote to all MPs calling on them to back the Government’s reported proposal to proscribe the IRGC under the Terrorism Act 2000.

We provided the Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, and the Security Minister, Tom Tugendhat, and all MPs with a dossier on the IRGC, detailing its horrendous record of antisemitism and violence against Jewish people.

The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has a long and appalling record of promoting antisemitic propaganda, including Holocaust-denial, and funding and orchestrating violence against Jews. This is in addition to being the world’s biggest state-sponsor of terrorism more generally, the effects of which are not only profound in the Middle East but felt on every continent in the world. According to our nation’s security chiefs, Iran directly threatens the UK.

But what is less known is that it is specifically the IRGC that is one of the principal instruments through which the Iranian regime carries out these endeavours.

Founded in 1979 by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the IRGC is a paramilitary force that answers directly to the radical regime. Its purpose is to serve as a praetorian guard for the theocracy at home and to advance its interests abroad. That includes training, arming and supporting terrorist groups and encouraging strategic acts of terror against targets deemed hostile to the Islamic Republic.

The IRGC has a paramount role in cultivating antisemitic sentiment, giving succour to antisemites and backing terrorism against Jews.

The IRGC is a vital organ pumping out antisemitic propaganda in Iran and through the Middle East, it emboldens those who wish harm to Jewish people in the name of extremist religion, and it is the indispensable patron of such antisemitic genocidal terrorist groups as Hizballah and Hamas, both of which are proscribed by the UK.

, , ,

Goldsmiths Senior Lecturer David Hirsh says being called a “far-right white supremacist” was “utterly humiliating”

David Hirsh, an expert in antisemitism and the Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Goldsmiths, University of London, appeared on the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism where he spoke candidly about his experiences of being called a “far-right white supremacist” by the University’s then-Students’ Union President.

This podcast can be listened to here, or watched here.

Initially, the Students’ Union apparently refused to investigate Sara Bafo, its now-former President, following allegations of antisemitism, despite being requested to do so by the University.

She is to said to have tweeted: “D*vid H*rsch is a far right white supremacist. All you have to do is read his work and tweets and that’s all the confirmation needed.” 

Ms Bafo’s tweet was said to have been written in response to a tweet from Mr Hirsh which said: “There is an antisemitic edge to official, institutional, university campaigns to ‘decolonise’ education.”

Ms Bafo later tweeted that the University “has tried to get the SU trustee board to investigate me for a tweet I made in response to a Zionist Goldsmiths academic’s explicit racist history & his delegitimisation of ‘Decolonisation’ campaigns,” adding: “This was a dirty tactic from the institution to silence me further as I was leaving.”

Shortly after, an “independent review into antisemitism at the College” was announced by the University.

Mr Hirsh revealed on the podcast that when he brought up the incident to his department’s union at Goldsmiths, little was done about it.

“There was a little bit of sympathy and warmth and support. I mean, there’s always a little bit, there are always people who are solid. It’s not unanimous by any means.” he said. 

However, he added that after department representatives said that they would speak to members of the union branch, a period followed “where there was a fight going on about whether it was legitimate to say David Hirsh is a far-right white supremacist or not.”

He said: “Just the fact that there’s a fight going on between my colleagues about that is already utterly humiliating, and even more humiliating is that my department colleagues in the union lost, and the union stood firm and refused to do anything about it.

“When I’m at a union meeting now, I’m sitting there thinking, ‘The official position of this branch is that I’m a Nazi’.”

When the topic of mental health arose, he stated that “evidently, it must have” had an impact on him.

“I’ve been dealing with this stuff for twenty years now, for the main part of my adult life, and the main part of my career, and sometimes it’s really hard,” he said. “Sometimes, I get treated with great respect. Sometimes I get treated with nothing but contempt.”

Speaking on the University’s antisemitism investigation, led by senior barrister Mohinderpal Sethi KC, he said that it was “really interesting” and “a real surprise”.

“We’ll see. We’ll see what happens. We’ll see what evidence emerges. We’ll see what the report says. I hope that people who have had experiences of antisemitism at Goldsmiths make submissions,” Mr Hirsh urged. 

Podcast Against Antisemitism, produced by Campaign Against Antisemitism, talks to a different guest about antisemitism each week. It streams every Thursday and is available through all major podcast apps and YouTube. You can also subscribe to have new episodes sent straight to your inbox.

Previous guests have included comedian David Baddiel, television personality Robert Rinder, writer Eve Barlow, Grammy-Award-winning singer-songwriter Autumn Rowe, and actor Eddie Marsan.

, , ,

Antisemitic and homophobic vandalism discovered at Michigan University fraternity houses

Antisemitic and homophobic vandalism has been discovered at two fraternity houses at the University of Michigan. 

The vandalism includes a swastika at one of the locations. The remaining content of the vandalism has not been reported but has been described as “vile”. 

The incidents have been reported to local law enforcement and are currently under investigation. 

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism throughout the United States.

Image credit: Google

, ,

CAA to write to University of West of England over staff member’s alleged tweets about the “Holocaust industry” and comparisons between Israelis to Nazis

Campaign Against Antisemitism will be writing to the University of West of England over reports that a staff member published numerous incendiary tweets relating to the Holocaust, Zionists, and Israel, many of which breach the International Definition of Antisemitism.

According to Gnasher Jew, Siamak Alimi, a Senior IT Instructor in the Faculty of Arts, Creative Industries, and Education, posted tweets under the account ‘@Salimi’, which has now been deleted.

A screenshot appears to show that on 21st July 2014, the account wrote: “Fed up with feeling sorry for Zionists who hide behind holocaust industry whilst committing atrocities.” 

A tweet from 19th March 2016 asserts that “powerful Jews were not the only ones engaging in slave trade and other forms of exploitation,” before continuing: “The more we emphasize the uniqueness of the role of ‘the jew’ in global exploitation and atrocities rooted in their culture and religion, the more we legitimize the idea of tribalism and ‘chosen-ness’ which people like Gilad [Atzmon] try to negate.”

On 22nd November 2020, the account tweeted: “Zionism is a racist ideology and the creation of Israel was a racist endeavour.”

Similar sentiments appear to have to been expressed on 10th and 11th July of this year when Mr Alimi allegedly wrote that “Zionism is based on racism and Jewish exceptionalism” and that “it is a form of tribal/racist/supremacist nationalism based on National Socialism.” 

Additionally, the account appears to have published tweets comparing Israelis to Nazis, with one tweet referring to “Nazi and Zionist states committing similar atrocities.” 

According to the Definition, “Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination (e.g. by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavour)” and “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” are both examples of antisemitism. 

The University adopted the Definition in June 2021. Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors the adoption of the Definition by universities.

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].

Image credit: Brett Jordan via Canva.com

, , , ,

Antisemitic former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad welcomed by leading British Muslim groups

Numerous leading British Muslim organisations have welcomed an antisemitic former Malaysian Prime Minister on his visit to the UK.

Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad is a proud antisemite: in 2012 he insisted that he is “glad to be labelled as antisemitic…How can I be otherwise, when the Jews who so often talk of the horrors they suffered during the Holocaust show the same Nazi cruelty and hard-heartedness towards not just their enemies but even towards their allies should any try to stop the senseless killing of their Palestinian enemies.”

His record bears out this antisemitism:

  • In 2019, he declared in a speech to the UN General Assembly that the “Because of the creation of Israel, there is now enmity towards the Muslims and Islam.” He also reportedly claimed: “If you are going to be truthful, the problem in the Middle East began with the creation of Israel. That is the truth. But I cannot say that.” 
  • In 2018, he said in a BBC Hard Talk interview that “If you are going to be truthful, the problem in the Middle East began with the creation of Israel. That is the truth. But I cannot say that.”
  • In 2012, he claimed in a speech to the Organisation of the Islamic Conference that “The Jews rule the world by proxy. They get others to fight and die for them.”
  • He also described sympathy with Jewish victims of the Holocaust as “wasted and misplaced.”
  • In 2003, he argued at the Organisation of the Islamic Conference summit in Kuala Lumpur that “1.3 billion Muslims cannot be defeated by a few million Jews…There must be a way. And we can only find a way if we stop to think, to assess our weaknesses and our strength, to plan, to strategize and then to counterattack. We are actually very strong. 1.3 billion people cannot be simply wiped out. The Europeans killed six million Jews out of 12 million.”
  • In 1994, during his premiership, he oversaw a ban on the film Schindler’s List by Malaysia censors, reportedly saying in response to claims that the film was banned due to antisemitism: “I am not antisemitic but I am anti-Zionist expansionism and the conquest of Arab territories by the Zionists.”
  • In his 1970 book The Makay Dilemma, he said that “The Jews are not merely hook-nosed, but understand money instinctively” and that “they are hook-nosed. Many people called the Malays fat-nosed. We didn’t object, we didn’t go to war for that.”

Speaking to the Oxford Union in 2019, he was pressed on his views on Jews and said: “We talk about freedom of speech, but yet you cannot say anything against Israel, against the Jews, why is that so? If we are free to say what we like, we can say something that is regarded as antisemitic by the Jews, that is their right, to hold such an opinion of me. It is my right to tell them, also, that they have been doing a lot of wrong things.”

In 2019, at the Cambridge Union, Dr Mohamad said when asked about his past comments about Jews: “I have some Jewish friends, very good friends. They are not like the other Jews. That’s why they are my friends.” On his views on the Holocaust, he said: “The Israelis should know from the sufferings they went through in the war not to treat others like that.” He denied previously stating that only four million died in the Holocaust, although he had made that comment on the record. According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” is an example of antisemitism. On antisemitism, he said: “Of course if you say anything against the Jews, you are labelled antisemitic. No other race in the world labels people like that, why is it forbidden to criticise the Jews when other people criticise us?” He added that: “The Jews do a lot of wrong things, which force us to pass comment.”

Notwithstanding his record, Dr Mohamad, Malaysia’s longest-serving Prime Minister who was in office for 22 years from 1981 to 2003 and then again between 2018 and 2020, was greeted as an honoured guest on his UK visit last month. He delivered an “exclusive private briefing” at the Asia House think tank and attended an event with British Muslim community and business leaders.

The schedule was organised by the UK-based Islam Channel, which was fined £20,000 by Ofcom in 2020 for broadcasting a programme that included “antisemitic hate speech”. The channel said: “We were all inspired by the insightful conversations and impactful moments shared by one of the world’s esteemed leaders.” Its founder, Mohamed Ali Harrath, who interviewed Dr Mohamad, told him: “We can’t see you passing by London without seizing the opportunity to speak to you and benefit from your wisdom.”

Dr Mohamad also reportedly held a meeting to discuss “governance, development, civilisation, leadership” with a group that included Mohammed Kozbar, who is the Chairman of the Finsbury Park Mosque and a former Vice President of the Muslim Association of Britain, which courted controversy last year when it mourned the death of the antisemitic Islamist cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi. Mr Kozbar reportedly wrote on Facebook that he was “honoured” to meet the Malaysian leader. He added: “What an inspirational figure, a fruitful and constructive dialogue about Muslims in the West, I really benefited from his wisdom and experience.”

The former Prime Minister also held a “lunchtime lecture” at the Dar Ul-Isra Mosque in Cardiff, hosted by the Muslim Council of Wales, which said that it was “honoured” by his visit and his “inspiring” lecture.

At the Centre for the Study of Islam in the UK at Cardiff University, he was presented with a Welsh translation of the Quran etched onto slate.

A Cardiff University spokesperson told the JC: “A roundtable event attended by the former Malaysian Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad was held at Cardiff University in June. The event was jointly organised by the Muslim Council of Wales, Perdana Foundation, and the Centre for the Study of Islam in the UK and attended by a range of civil society Muslim leaders from across Cardiff. It’s important to stress that the event was focused on a variety of subjects including development and leadership. At no point were such comments made nor were they a focus of any discussion. For the avoidance of doubt, the hosting of the former Prime Minister is not in any way an endorsement of the antisemitic comments attributed to the former Prime Minister and we condemn such comments in the strongest possible terms.”

, ,

Goldsmiths and Royal Holloway academic reported to have history of trolling Jews on Twitter

An academic serving as an Associate Lecturer at Goldsmiths, University of London and as a Teaching Fellow at Royal Holloway, University of London has reportedly been trolling Jewish individuals and groups online. 

According to Gnasher Jew, Dr Ray Campbell, who works in the Department of Theatre and Performance at Goldsmiths and in Humanities at Royal Holloway, has been using the account ‘@buddy_hell’ to target Jews on Twitter. 

The account shares its name with Dr Campbell’s stage name as a comedian, ‘Buddy Hell’. The tweets accuse the State of Israel of practising forced sterilisation on women, and assert that Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis and David Hirsh, a fellow Goldsmiths academic who is also a prominent and highly-respected antisemitism expert, are racist. 

Goldsmiths is currently conducting an internal investigation into antisemitism after Mr Hirsh was reportedly called a “far-right white supremacist” by its then-Students’ Union President. 

Campaign Against Antisemitism was also the target of numerous tweets. The Twitter account accuses us of “hoping to achieve what the National Front, British Movement and the BNP [British National Party] failed to do: start a ‘race war’”. 

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “These tweets exhibit an extremely alarming pattern of targeting Jews and falsely accusing them of a hidden agenda. The accusations made against us and other groups combatting antisemitism are not only conspiratorial but repugnant, and we wholly reject them.

“This deliberate trolling of Jews has no place in civil discourse, and especially not at an academic institution. Goldsmiths University must immediately investigate these posts and, if the allegations are borne out, take swift and decisive action.”

Last year, Goldsmiths announced that it would adopt the International Definition of Antisemitism but “without the case studies.” 

In addition, it said that it would also adopt the Jerusalem Declaration, which is a wrecking document intended to undermine the globally-recognised Definition, owing to the fact that the University’s “academic community” favoured it. 

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].

, ,

CAA to write to University of Leicester and UCU over lecturer’s “lies about antisemitism” rant

Campaign Against Antisemitism will be writing to the University of Leicester and the University and College Union (UCU) regarding a lecturer who delivered a rant in which he dismissed reports of antisemitism as “lies”.

Dr Joseph Choonara, a lecturer in political economy at the University and a Chair of UCU’s Leicester branch, gave a speech at last week’s Marxism Festival where he appeared on stage next to the controversial filmmaker Ken Loach.

In the video, orginally posted by the Harry’s Place Twitter account, Dr Choonara can be heard saying: “We know that the establishment turned on, and sought to destroy, Corbynism. We know that the lies about antisemitism are just that, they are lies. The lies directed towards Ken Loach are an absolute smear and a disgrace and we should reject them.”

Mr Loach was expelled from the Labour Party in August 2021 without public explanation. Mr Loach had been a leading ally of other controversial figures in Labour’s antisemitism scandal, especially those who denied that there was such a scandal of antisemitism. He said at the time of his expulsion: “Labour HQ finally decided I’m not fit to be a member of their party, as I will not disown those already expelled,” adding that he was “proud to stand with the good friends and comrades victimised by the purge. There is indeed a witch-hunt…Starmer and his clique will never lead a party of the people. We are many, they are few. Solidarity.”

Mr Loach’s voice was among the loudest of those who attempt to dismiss Labour’s antisemitism crisis as non-existent and a right-wing smear campaign. He claimed that Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was subjected to a “torrent of abuse” that was “off the scale” and that regardless of what he did, the “campaign” of antisemitism accusations was “going to run and run”. He described the BBC’s Panorama investigation into Labour antisemitism as “disgusting because it raised the horror of racism against Jews in the most atrocious propagandistic way, with crude journalism…and it bought the propaganda from people who were intent on destroying Corbyn.”

He was also reportedly behind a motion passed by Bath Labour Party branding the Panorama programme a “dishonest hatchet job with potentially undemocratic consequences” and asserting that it “disgraced the name of Panorama and exposed the bias endemic within the BBC.” 

In 2017, Mr Loach caused outrage when, during an interview with the BBC, he refused to denounce Holocaust denial. The International Definition of Antisemitism states that “denying the fact, scope, mechanisms (e.g. gas chambers) or intentionality of the genocide of the Jewish people at the hands of National Socialist Germany and its supporters and accomplices during World War II (the Holocaust)” is a manifestation of antisemitism. Although Mr Loach later sought to clarify his remarks, he has continued to make inflammatory and provocative statements about Labour’s antisemitism scandal.

While speaking at a meeting of the Kingswood Constituency Labour Party, Mr Loach advocated the removal from the Party of those Labour MPs, some of whom are Jewish, who have taken a principled stand against antisemitism. Shortly after that incident, the Labour Party announced that it would no longer use Mr Loach as a producer of their election broadcasts.

Mr Loach is also featured in the antisemitism-denial propaganda film Oh, Jeremy Corbyn! The Big Lie. Following action by Campaign Against Antisemitism, Glastonbury Festival chose to cancel its screening of the film. This has been followed by a slew of venues across the country.

The Labour Party was found by the EHRC to have engaged in unlawful discrimination and harassment of Jews. The report followed the EHRC’s investigation of the Labour Party in which Campaign Against Antisemitism was the complainant, submitting hundreds of pages of evidence and legal argument. Sir Keir Starmer called the publication of the report a “day of shame” for the Labour Party.

The University of Leicester adopted the Definition in May 2020. Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors the adoption of the Definition by universities.

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].

, ,

UCU Scotland President nonsensically claims Union is committed to fighting antisemitism seconds before rejecting the International Definition of Antisemitism and defending David Miller

In an absurd speech, the President of the University and College Union (UCU) Scotland nonsensically claimed that the Union is committed to fighting antisemitism just seconds before rejecting the International Definition of Antisemitism and defending the disgraced academic David Miller.

Mr Miller was fired by the University of Bristol over comments he had made about Jewish students, a month after Campaign Against Antisemitism commenced a lawsuit on behalf of current students against the institution and amidst a Jewish communal outcry.

He is a conspiracy theorist with a history of controversy relating to Jewish students. In one outburst, he asserted that “Zionism is racism”, declared his objective “to end Zionism as a functioning ideology of the world” and accused the Bristol University Jewish Society of being part of a worldwide Zionist conspiracy, adding that it is “fundamental to Zionism to encourage Islamophobia and anti-Arab racism”. At the same online event, Mr Miller also observed that the Jewish Society and the Union of Jewish Students are Zionist, thereby implying that Jewish students (and the wider Jewish community) inherently “encourage Islamophobia and anti-Arab racism”.

He also portrayed the Definition as an attack on free speech and accused the Israeli Government of engaging in an “all-out attack” on the global Left as part of an “attempt by the Israelis to impose their will all over the world”. In comments reminiscent of the darkest years of the United Nations, Mr Miller insisted that “Zionism is racism” and asked how “we defeat the ideology of Zionism in practice”, “how is Zionism ended” and about the way “to end Zionism as a functioning ideology of the world”.

In a video posted by the ‘Harry’s Place’ Twitter account, Jeanette Findlay, the Union’s President, said that the Union is “committed to anti-racism in all its forms” including antisemitism, before stating that “it is for that reason that we have rejected the IHRA Definition.”

Ms Findlay went on to erroneously claim that the Definition had been “widely discredited” and that its primary use was to defend Israel from criticism. 

Addressing Mr Miller’s release from the University, Ms Findlay said: “We are very clear in UCU Scotland in our opposition to the treatment of David Miller by the University of Bristol. I was personally horrified and shocked when I heard that he had been sacked.”

She described Mr Miller as the victim of a “vicious and sustained assault” before stating that “it is [the Union’s] greatest wish that he will be reinstated.”

UCU has a horrendous reputation in the Jewish community, and this is not the first time its Scotland branch has defended Mr Miller. 

, ,

Durham student who reportedly called Jews “apex predators in capitalism” accepted to PhD programme

A student at Durham University who reportedly called Jews “apex predators in capitalism” in social media group chats has been accepted to study for a PhD at the institution.

Hugo Lunn reportedly shared posts that included phrases such as “Hitler would be more efficient if he privatised his death factories” and “the Jewishtocracy.” Another post apparently appeared to mock a student who had been offended by the claim that “the only reason the Holocaust was bad is because the Jews did not consent to being gassed,” saying of the student that “he got triggered, the cuck.”

“Cuck” is a far-right term used to refer to white men who are viewed by the far-right as traitors to their race and gender.

Mr Lunn, who is taking a PhD in medieval history, is understood to have made the comments in the chat group of the Durham University Free Market Association, of which he was President. After details of the discussion emerged following a complaint to the University in 2020, the Association was shut down by the Students’ Union.

The University investigated the comments in the summer of 2020, two months after Mr Lunn had completed his undergraduate degree.

Mary Kelly Foy, the MP for the City of Durham, said: “These comments are extremely concerning, and the University’s leadership and multifaith student body will agree that such abhorrent views have no place on their campus. I am proud to represent such a diverse University and as such I have raised my serious concerns with the University. I expect they will always act to ensure the safety of students and workers and that any such remarks would be swiftly investigated and decisive action taken.”

A spokesperson for Durham University said: “In 2020, in response to concerns raised, we undertook an investigation under our Non-Academic Misconduct Procedure. Our misconduct procedures apply only to members of Durham University. At that time, the individual named by the Jewish Chronicle was not a student at Durham University. We did take action against two other individuals, who were at that time Durham University students. As there was no investigation against the individual, because they were not at that time a student at Durham University, there was no record to be kept and no record to consider when they later applied for further study with us. We are looking into this matter urgently and considering what actions we may take.

“At the same time we are reaching out to communities affected by these comments to offer our support. We condemn any incidents of antisemitism in the strongest possible terms and are working hard to counter all forms of discrimination, including antisemitism.”

According to the JC, Mr Lunn refused to comment on the record.

Durham University has adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism.

Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors the adoption of the International Definition of Antisemitism by universities.

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].

,

Connecticut College appoints interim president facing multiple allegations in relation to antisemitism

Connecticut College has appointed an interim President facing multiple allegations in relation to antisemitism.

Leslie Wong is set to become the College’s interim President beginning 1st July until a permanent hire is appointed.

Jewish students at the College expressed their concern at the announcement, however, as during Mr Wong’s previous role as President of San Francisco State University, he was accused of having failed to address concerns over antisemitism at that institution, notwithstanding the pleas of Jewish students.

Connecticut College students were especially outraged at this decision in view of Mr Wong’s appointment in place of outgoing President Katherine Bergeron, who resigned following protests by students against her appearance at a golf club with an allegedly antisemitic history.

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism throughout the United States.

Image credit: Connecticut College

,

Lehigh University student tags Jewish classmates in a swastika social media post

A student at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania reportedly posted a swastika hand gesture on social media and tagged Jewish classmates.

Lehigh representatives said that the student responsible will be held accountable according to the student code of conduct. 

According to the FBI, over 60 percent of hate crimes against a religious minority are motivated by antisemitism.

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism throughout the United States.

, , ,

New free speech tsar now acknowledges importance and actual effects of International Definition of Antisemitism

The Government’s new ‘free speech tsar’ appears to have changed his mind on the International Definition of Antisemitism.

Prof. Arif Ahmed, a philosophy professor at the University of Cambridge, will begin his role as Director for Freedom of Speech and Academic Freedom at the Office for Students, the independent regulator of higher education in England, later this summer in an appointment that the Department for Education described as “a huge step forward.”

In a blog post in February 2021, he sharply criticised the Definition, writing: “I am strongly against Gavin Williamson’s requirement that universities adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism….This ‘definition’ is nothing of the kind; adopting it obstructs perfectly legitimate defence of Palestinian rights.” He added: “As such it chills free speech on a matter of the first importance. I hope the Secretary of State reconsiders the need for it; but these new free speech duties ought to rule it out in any case.”

It has long been a canard of opponents of the Definition that it restricts freedom of speech on campuses. Campaign Against Antisemitism has previously published a resource explaining why this is not the case. A recent report also showed how there is no evidence of such restriction either.

However, in an article for The Times this week on his appointment, Prof. Ahmed said: “There are urgent threats to free speech and academic freedom in our universities and colleges.” He went on to indicate that the Definition might constitute one of those threats, writing: “The public sector equality duty means institutions must “have due regard” to the need to achieve certain equality aims. They should be clear about equality implications of their decisions. They must recognise the desirability of achieving equality aims, but in the context of the importance of free speech and academic freedom. Similarly, the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition [also known as the International Definition of Antisemitism] is an important tool for understanding how antisemitism manifests itself in the 21st century. Adopting it sends a strong signal to students and staff facing antisemitism. But it must not restrict legitimate political speech and protest.

“I have had concerns about this in the past. Since then, I have seen at Cambridge how in practice the working definition can accommodate robust support for free speech and academic freedom. More recently, the report of the Parliamentary task force on antisemitism in higher education indicates that none of the 56 university adopters who were asked reported that its adoption had in any way restricted freedom of speech. I will act impartially. I have no interest in promoting the views of this or of any future government. I have no interest in any ‘culture war’.”

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “We are pleased that Prof. Ahmed’s view of the International Definition of Antisemitism has apparently changed in the past two years, and that he assumes his new role with a more accurate understanding of the importance and effects of the Definition and a recognition that the popular criticisms of the Definition have no basis in law or evidence in fact. The Definition plays a crucial role in the fight against antisemitism, and we look forward to working with Prof. Ahmed in securing the rights and safety of Jewish students on campus.”

Prof. Ahmed’s appointment is pursuant to the Freedom of Speech Act, which became law in May. The law is intended to help to protect the status of universities “as centres of academic freedom” and also holds students’ unions to the same legal responsibilities as universities and their colleges, requiring them to “take reasonably practicable steps to ensure lawful freedom of speech.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors the adoption of the International Definition of Antisemitismby universities.

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].

,

University of Sydney set to re-hire professor previously sacked over displaying Israeli flag superimposed with swastika during lecture 

A court has ruled in favour of a professor who sued his erstwhile employer, the University of Sydney, ordering the institution to rehire him after he was sacked in connection with the display of a graphic of an Israeli flag with a swastika superimposed onto it.

The image was displayed as part of a slideshow presentation during a lecture regarding media coverage of the Israel-Palestine conflict.

According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” is an example of antisemitism.

Political economist Dr Tim Anderson also requested compensation for the “psychological burden” he was faced with post-dismissal, however this was denied by the court.

The University’s original decision to sack Dr Anderson in February 2019 came after two warnings regarding prior inflammatory remarks that he made about politicians and journalists. 

The court has justified the order to reinstate him by arguing that professors are entitled to express their views under the protection of intellectual freedom.

The order to rehire Dr Anderson is pending the outcome of another appeal against previous legal orders, and it is set to return to court on 5th June.

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism worldwide.

,

Warsaw University unveils plaque honouring memory of past Jewish students victimised by Polish antisemitism 

The University of Warsaw has unveiled a plaque honouring the memory of its past Jewish students victimised by Polish antisemitism. 

Polish laws introduced in the 1930s required Jewish students to sit only in assigned areas at the back of lecture theatres, referred to as “ghetto seats”.

This practice originated in 1935 at the Polytechnic in Lviv, and by 1937 it became law and was applied to academic institutions throughout Poland. 

The unveiling ceremony was attended by Yacov Livine, the Israeli Ambassador to Poland, who said: “We must remember the dark parts in our joint history as well as the enlightened ones.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism throughout Europe.

,

University of Maryland investigates antisemitic incident

The University of Maryland is investigating a report of antisemitic slurs and symbols discovered inside the La Plata Residence Hall.

Those responsible are yet to be found. 

This report is not the first of its kind. The University’s estimated 6,000 Jewish students have previously reported numerous incidents of antisemitism on campus. 

The University of Maryland stated their, “deep concern to learn of these actions, which have no place on our campus or in our community.”

According to the FBI, over 60 percent of hate crimes against a religious minority are motivated by antisemitism.

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism throughout the United States.

, ,

56 British universities report no instances where adoption of International Definition of Antisemitism restricted freedom of expression or academic research

56 universities have reported that there has been not a single instance where their adoption of the International Definition of Antisemitism has restricted or chilled freedom of expression on campus or academic research at their institution.

A Parliamentary Task Force on Antisemitism in Higher Education, established by the Government’s Independent Adviser on Antisemitism with support from members of the All-Party Parliamentary Group Against Antisemitism, has published a report that made various findings about antisemitism on university campuses in the UK.

The task force reported that “56 universities across the UK [were] asked about their experience of using the Definition, which they had all adopted. None knew of or could provide a single example in which the IHRA Definition had in any way restricted freedom of speech or academic research, or where its adoption had chilled academic freedom, research or freedom of expression.”

It has long been a canard of opponents of the Definition that it restricts freedom of speech on campuses. Campaign Against Antisemitism has previously published a resource explaining why this is not the case. This report also shows how there is no evidence of such restriction either.

The report also made other concerning discoveries, including that it is “commonplace” for students not to wear “certain clothing or jewellery around campus because it would make them visibly identifiable as Jewish.” The report even found that some Jewish staff choose to keep their identity secret to avoid “negativity” at work.

Polling by Campaign Against Antisemitism has also shown that, more broadly, almost half of British Jews try not to show visible signs of their Judaism when they go out due to antisemitism.

The report further found that Jewish students spoke “repeatedly” of an “underlying fear of being targeted” over their backgrounds and of being “expected to answer questions about Israel,” even showing reluctance to attend seminars or lectures relating to the Jewish state “for fear of personal interrogation”.

According to the Definition, “Holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the State of Israel” is an example of antisemitism.

The report observed that “Jewish students generally have a positive university experience” but recognised the rise in antisemitic incidents on campuses.

The CST has recently reported recent significant increase in antisemitic incidents on campus, while polling by Campaign Against Antisemitism has found that 96 percent of British Jews believe that antisemitism on university campuses it is a problem.

It recommended further adoption of the Definition by universities and for more robust and transparent disciplinary procedures, and emphasised the importance of religious provision for Jewish students and staff.

Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors the adoption of the International Definition of Antisemitism by universities.

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected]. 

, ,

Goldsmiths announces barrister for independent investigation into antisemitism

Goldsmiths, University of London has announced the barrister who will be leading its “independent review into antisemitism at the College”. 

Senior barrister Mohinderpal Sethi KC will lead the investigation, in which current and former University students and staff will have the opportunity to become involved by coming forward with their own experiences.  

The report is expected to be presented by next year.

The investigation was announced last year after Professor David Hirsh was reportedly called a “far-right white supremacist” by its then-Students’ Union President.

Initially, the Students’ Union apparently refused to investigate Sara Bafo, its now-former President, following allegations of antisemitism, despite being requested to do so by the University.

Ms Bafo’s alleged tweet was said to have been written in response to a tweet from Prof. Hirsh, a prominent and highly-respected antisemitism expert, which said: “There is an antisemitic edge to official, institutional, university campaigns to ‘decolonise’ education.”

In response to the University’s request for the investigation, Ms Bafo tweeted that the University “has tried to get the SU trustee board to investigate me for a tweet I made in response to a Zionist Goldsmiths academic’s explicit racist history & his delegitimisation of ‘Decolonisation’ campaigns,” adding: “This was a dirty tactic from the institution to silence me further as I was leaving.”

However, despite the Student’s Union denying the investigation on grounds of “free speech”, the University announced that an independent probe will take place.

Frances Corner, the Warden of Goldsmiths, said at the time: “We are supporting Dr Hirsh after unwarranted messages about him were posted on social media which I believe are utterly without foundation. These kinds of behaviours are completely unacceptable and will always be challenged.

“As Warden I want to make it clear that this kind of conduct is not in line with the College’s values and that it brings harm to individuals as well as our good reputation as a place of learning.”

Prof. Hirsh said of the probe: “I am really pleased that the leadership of Goldsmiths is taking this difficult and courageous step. I have been clear that there is a hostile environment at the college for scholars and students who refuse to embrace anti-Zionism.”

Last year, the University also announced that it would adopt the International Definition of Antisemitism but “without the case studies.” 

In addition, it said that it would also adopt the Jerusalem Declaration, which is a wrecking document intended to undermine the globally-recognised Definition, owing to the fact that the University’s “academic community” favoured it. 

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail campus@antisemitism.org.

, ,

CAA writes to Loughborough University over tweets comparing Zionists to Nazis

Campaign Against Antisemitism is writing to Loughborough University over a number of incendiary tweets comparing Zionists to Nazis, as first reported by the Gnasher Jew Twitter account

The tweets are believed to come from the account of Fazal Rehman who, according to his Twitter account, works at the University in the maintenance department. 

In one tweet, Mr Rehman appears to have tweeted “Hiel Hitler [sic]”, while another tweet read: “Antisemitism the allegation zionist throw around more  than confetti at a wedding.”

Several tweets made comparisons of Zionists to Nazis, some of which are viewable here, here, here, here, and here. 

According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” is an example of antisemitism.

Other inflammatory posts included the claim that “Zionist have control of Facebook” and the accusation that “Israelis are bloodthirsty barbarians with no regard for human life except their own.”

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Abhorrent tweets of ‘Hiel Hitler [sic]’ and comparisons of Zionists to Nazis, which is a breach of the International Definition of Antisemitism, would be disgraceful regardless, but even more so given that these seemingly originate from the account of a Loughborough University employee. Any individual spewing such hateful rhetoric has no business working near students, and we will be in urgent contact with Loughborough University.”

, ,

Antisemitic graffiti bearing swastikas and slurs discovered at Davidson College

Swastikas and antisemitic slurs were discovered on a blackboard in Davidson College, North Carolina this week.

Photographs of the graffiti, discovered on 26th April on the blackboard of an outdoor classroom, were circulated on social media over the weekend. College President Doug Hicks released a statement announcing that local police were investigating the incident and that support would be provided for “members of our community who feel targeted.”

Jewish students at the College, disappointed by the response, released a statement, saying: “This hate crime is not an isolated incident. We’re not surprised by it. The administration has not done enough to respond.” They also noted that the College “never reached out to Jewish students.” 

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism throughout the United States.

,

Adelaide University rejects International Definition of Antisemitism

The University of Adelaide has reportedly rejected the International Definition of Antisemitism.

Following calls from Jewish students at the University to adopt the Definition, the University of Adelaide has rejected it on the grounds of protecting freedom of speech on campus. 

A spokesperson for the University said: “We proudly encourage critical thinking and respectful debate. Freedom of speech is a right everyone holds, subject to the law. The right to express lawful views about controversial matters is at the heart of a robust democracy. It is also the essence of academic freedom.”

As Campaign Against Antisemitism has shown, it is a canard popular with critics of the Definition that it stifles freedom of expression or academic research.

Last year, it was reported that the University’s student magazine, On Dit, published an article that called for “death to Israel”. According to the Definition, “denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination” is an example of antisemitism. 

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism worldwide.

,

Swastika found at Dartmouth College

A swastika has been discovered at Dartmouth College.

It has been reported that, earlier this week, a swastika was found carved into the ground at the College in New Hampshire. It is understood that the symbol has since been reported to the College and subsequently been removed. 

In an e-mail to its staff and students, the Provost of the College observed: “Antisemitism has been on the rise in the US and has no place at Dartmouth.” 

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism throughout the United States.

Image credit: Google

, ,

CAA writes to University of Gloucestershire over Visa and Immigration Officer’s incendiary comments about Zionists and Hamas

Campaign Against Antisemitism is writing to the University of Gloucestershire over incendiary comments made by its Visa and Immigration Officer about Zionists and Hamas.

Comments posted to the Twitter account of Joe Sucksmith, who is said to work at the University in the student-facing role, included saying that “Zionists should stfu [shut the f*** up] on the topic of racism” and that “Zionism is racism”.

According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination (e.g. by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavour)” is an example of antisemitism.

Other comments from Mr Sucksmith’s account included writing “Oh f*** off about the Hamas charter” and professing support for the disgraced academic David Miller, whose employment was terminated after Campaign Against Antisemitism brought a lawsuit on behalf of students at the University of Bristol against the institution, which alleged unlawful harassment on the basis of Jewish ethnicity and Judaism, amounting to breaches of the Equality Act 2010, as well as breaches of contract.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Comments minimising the racist hatred of the antisemitic genocidal terrorist group, Hamas, showing solidarity with the disgraced former Bristol professor David Miller, and telling ‘Zionists’ that they have no right to speak about racism, are reprehensible. They have no place even on social media, let alone coming from an official in a university’s administration. The University of Gloucestershire has adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism. It must now show that this was not an empty gesture, and urgently investigate and sanction this individual. We will be writing to the University.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors the adoption of the International Definition of Antisemitism by universities.

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].

Image credit: Twitter via University of Gloucestershire

,

CAA writes to Staffordshire University and police following content that describes Jews as “filth”

Campaign Against Antisemitism has written to Staffordshire University and West Midlands Police following reports that a Regional Course Director at the University shared conspiratorial posts about Jews. 

Dr Rizwan Mustafa, whose role at the University includes overseeing accredited training programmes for new police recruits, has reportedly been under investigation since February following the publication of the Government’s report into its Prevent Strategy.

The report was produced by Sir William Shawcross, who was appointed as the Independent Reviewer of Prevent, the Government’s flagship anti-radicalisation programme, in January 2021.

The report claimed that Dr Mustafa shared content which called for the destruction of Israel and asked: “Where is the Caliph of the Muslims? Don’t you care that the Jews are defiling the place of the prophet’s nocturnal journey with their filth? The Jews are the most hostile people towards the believers.” He is also alleged in the report to have “shared conspiracy theories” about the origins of Al Qaeda and the Islamic State.

Following the release of the report, Simon Foster, the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner, said: “I am deeply concerned about this matter and am treating it with the utmost seriousness.

“I have immediately requested that West Midlands Police conduct an investigation into this matter and report to me as a matter of urgency, so that I can then determine the best course of action, based on the outcome of that investigation.”

In response to Campaign Against Antisemitism’s letter, Staffordshire University has confirmed that an internal investigation is underway.

Staffordshire University has adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism.

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected]. 

, ,

Former NUS President Shaima Dallali reportedly joked about killing Zionists

The former NUS President Shaima Dallali is reported to have joked about killing Zionists.

According to the JC, Ms Dallali, who was removed from her position as NUS President amidst investigations into her conduct following allegations of antisemitism, made the inflammatory comments in 2014 in relation to entering the West Bank.

She is alleged to have said of Israeli border guards: “I don’t want no Zionist near my passport, I’ll probs kill him tbh.”

Ms Dallali’s lawyers have apparently said that her remarks were “clearly not remotely serious”.

The JC added that in a Facebook comment, Ms Dallali said that fatwas from radical clerics meant “we’re not allowed to go to occupied Palestine…Israel and that…It’s still not allowed because you’ll need Israeli authorities to stamp your passport and that’s like recognising Israel…”

One of the clerics reportedly cited was Yusuf al-Qaradawi who, in 2009, said on Al-Jazeera TV that he would “shoot Allah’s enemies, the Jews” and called upon God to “kill them, down to the very last one.”

Ms Dallai is alleged to have described him as the “moral compass for the Muslim community at large”. 

In a 2010 interview on BBC Arabic, Mr Yusuf al-Qaradawi reportedly said: “Throughout history, Allah has imposed upon the [Jews] people who would punish them for their corruption. The last punishment was carried out by Hitler. By means of all the things he did to them – even though they exaggerated this issue – he managed to put them in their place. This was divine punishment for them. Allah willing, the next time will be at the hand of the believers.”

Ms Dallali’s lawyers are said to have stated that she does not endorse all of the cleric’s views and added that the JC’s newest findings was an example of old posts being dredged up to “besmirch her reputation”, that it was “not language she would use now” and “would not have been taken remotely seriously by anyone reading it”.

Her removal as NUS President, which came after she became the first President in the Union’s 100-year history to have been suspended, arrived in the wake of Rebecca Tuck KC’s damning report into the allegations of antisemitism within the NUS.

Ms Tuck’s report, which was released in January and followed an investigation into which Campaign Against Antisemitism, the Union of Jewish Students (UJS) and others provided input, observed that NUS allowed the development of a “hostile environment” for Jewish students, with instances in which Jewish students were “subjected to harassment” likely to be in breach of the Equality Act 2010, in addition to NUS’s own code of conduct. It rightly recognised that there had been a “poor relationship” between NUS and Jewish students for a long time. Ms Tuck drew on Campaign Against Antisemitism’s input and past research, including our annual Antisemitism Barometer survey of the Jewish community.

The report recommended improvements in NUS’s record-keeping, elections, due diligence of candidates, and code of conduct complaints. It also called for antisemitism training and the provision of educational materials, and a governance review. Ms Tuck also advised improvements in discussions about Israel, including the inclusion of an “experienced facilitator” in such debates.

Importantly, the report also called for the establishment of an advisory panel to ensure the implementation of the recommendations and for a survey of Jewish students to test that implementation, which were among the suggestions made to Ms Tuck by Campaign Against Antisemitism to ensure the durability of any recommendations that the report made. Indeed Ms Tuck observed how the recommendations of past reports relating to NUS have often not been implemented, a point that we stressed to her.

The announcement of Ms Tuck’s investigation last April came after Robert Halfon MP (then the Chair of the Education Select Committee) wrote together with Campaign Against Antisemitism to the Charity Commission calling for an investigation into the union’s charitable arm, which the Commission agreed to launch. The full dossier on NUS, produced by Campaign Against Antisemitism, can be read here.

There were numerous controversies involving NUS in 2022. In one scandal, the rapper Kareem Dennis, known as Lowkey, was due to headline NUS’s centenary conference but, after initially dismissing the concerns of Jewish students, who pointed out the rapper’s inflammatory record, the Union came under media scrutiny and eventually Mr Dennis withdrew from the event. As the scandal erupted, Robert Halfon MP excoriated NUS for failing to send a representative to attend a hearing held by the Education Select Committee, which he chairs.

This scandal was immediately followed by the election of Shaima Dallali as NUS’s new President, despite her history of antisemitic tweets and other inflammatory social media posts. Ms Dallali was forced to apologise for tweeting the words of an antisemitic chant. In 2012, during an escalation of tensions between Israel and the antisemitic genocidal terrorist group Hamas, Ms Dallali tweeted the words “Khaybar Khaybar, ya yahud, Jaish Muhammad, sa yahud.” Translated into English, this chant means “Jews, remember the battle of Khaybar, the army of Muhammad is returning.” It is a classic Arabic battle cry referencing the massacre and expulsion of the Jews of the town of Khaybar in northwestern Arabia, now Saudi Arabia, in the year 628 CE.

These scandals come after decades of atrocious relations between NUS and Jewish students. Ms Tuck’s investigation is at least the third major such inquiry into NUS’s relations with Jewish students in the last twenty years.

It was reported recently that, claiming that her dismissal was discriminatory, Ms Dallali is taking legal action against NUS.  

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].

, , ,

After CAA provides evidence appearing to show Birkbeck’s Prof. Rob Singh using antisemitic language, University confirms he is leaving at end of academic year

Birkbeck, University of London has confirmed to Campaign Against Antisemitism that Professor Rob Singh will be leaving the institution at the end of the academic year.

The confirmation comes after we provided the University with evidence that appeared to show Prof. Singh using the most appalling language in correspondence with a third party.

We wrote to Vice-Chancellor Professor David Latchman CBE, sharing copies of the messages, which contained expressions of various forms of bigotry, including a number of antisemitic comments, urging the University to investigate.

Comments included appearing to accuse a Jewish person of contemplating theft and saying “Too bad you live down to stereotypes.” asking “Is it difficuybeing a Jew?” [sic] and “Are you pretending to be a Jew?” There was also a reference to “Jew boy” and other inflammatory language. In addition there were also references in the messages to “f***ing apes” and uses of the n-word, and abuse directed at other minority groups.

Prof. Latchman responded to Campaign Against Antisemitism to inform us that Prof. Singh would be leaving the University on 31st July 2023, without going into further detail.

Prof. Singh currently serves as Professor of Politics and Director of Education in the Department of Politics at Birkbeck. He did not respond to a request for comment.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “The language used in the correspondence that was provided to us is extreme and appalling, containing various forms of bigotry, including a number of antisemitic comments. Someone who repeatedly uses such language, even in the heat of sustained argument, has no place teaching impressionable young people. It is right that he is imminently leaving Birkbeck.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors the adoption of the International Definition of Antisemitism by universities.

, , ,

UCL Jewish Society, backed by CAA and others, sends letter to UCL Council urging rejection of alternative definitions of antisemitism

The University College London (UCL) Jewish Society has submitted a letter to the UCL Council, urging it to reject alternative definitions of antisemitism that contradict the International Definition of Antisemitism, which the University has previously adopted.

The Jewish Society letter is backed by Campaign Against Antisemitism, UJS and other leading Jewish community charities.

In 2021, UCL’s Academic Board passed an advisory resolution calling on the University to “retract and replace” the International Definition of Antisemitism, which UCL adopted in 2019. The resolution was greeted with outrage, with one academic resigning in protest and others writing a letter in support of the Definition.

Tomorrow, UCL’s Council is considering the Academic Board’s recommendations to dilute the Definition by adopting three other definitions, including the so-called Jerusalem Declaration, which is a wrecking document intended to undermine the globally-recognised International Definition of Antisemitism. The letter urges the Council not to do so and instead to uphold the status quo.

The letter notes that UCL was the first University to admit Jewish students, and yet numerous serious antisemitic incidents on campus prompted an internal investigation and a report, followed by the appointment of an Antisemitism Programme Manager by the University.

A recent survey of Jewish students at UCL by the Jewish Society found that 98 percent of Jewish students support only the International Definition of Antisemitism, while polling by Campaign Against Antisemitism for our Antisemitism Barometer has shown that a staggering 92 percent of British Jews believe that antisemitism in British universities is a problem, and the CST has recorded a 22 percent increase in antisemitism on campus.

In a statement, the UCL Jewish Society said: “We strongly stand behind IHRA as the only definition that can protect our Jewish students at UCL. Jewish students are most affected by any policy changes on antisemitism. This is a crucial moment and we thank the Jewish community for their unwavering support. We look forward to Council standing up for Jewish students.”

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “UCL’s Jewish students have every right to expect that, when it comes to defining the hatred that they themselves experience, the University will listen to them. Like the overwhelming majority of the Jewish community, there is near-unanimous support among UCL’s Jewish students for the International Definition of Antisemitism, and the strength of that opinion must be heeded by UCL’s Council. The International Definition of Antisemitism is the only definition that can protect Jewish students.

“We are proud to have supported UCL’s Jewish Society, along with other communal organisations, in making the voice of its members heard.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors the adoption of the International Definition of Antisemitism by universities.

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].

, ,

CAA considering legal action after SOAS Palestine Society reportedly posts quote from Hizballah Secretary-General

Campaign Against Antisemitism is considering legal action after the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) Palestine Society reportedly shared a quote from the Secretary-General of Hizballah.

In 2019, following a gruelling effort over several years by Campaign Against Antisemitism and our allies, Hizballah was completely proscribed by the Home Secretary, Sajid Javid, with the support of the Foreign Secretary, Jeremy Hunt.

Hizballah’s Secretary-General, Hassan Nasrallah, has previously said: “If Jews all gather in Israel, it will save us the trouble of going after them worldwide.” Hizballah has been true to its mission, bombing Jewish targets from Buenas Aires to Burgas, and it has even been blamed for setting off two bombs in London outside buildings used by Jews and Israelis.

According to the JC, the SOAS society shared an Instagram post to its story which contained a quote from Mr Nasrallah that read: “The law of executing Palestinian prisoners will increase the faith, courage and willingness of the Palestinian youth to carry out operations, and this measure is a foolish one.

“Everything that is happening now indicates the end of the Zionist entity.”

The society reportedly also shared a video hours prior of an interview, during which a girl says that “The Jews are hateful”.

In 2021, Professor David Hirsh, a lecturer at Goldsmiths, University of London who was appointed as the Chairman of a panel that oversaw an antisemitism-related complaint at SOAS, said that SOAS could be institutionally antisemitic.

The incident related to a complaint from a former student at SOAS who sought to have his fees refunded after he was forced to leave the University due to a ”toxic antisemitic environment”.

The University has not adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism.

The University has previously told Campaign Against Antisemitism that: “While SOAS has not adopted the IHRA definition, we are committed to maintaining a neutral platform and ensuring that all members of our diverse community are free to express their opinions in a mutually respectful and collegial environment.

“SOAS has a strong academic track record in research and teaching which relates to Israel Studies and Jewish Culture, including the UK’s first Professor of Israel Studies, an active Centre for Jewish Studies and a range of degree programmes including Hebrew with Arabic. The School is also home to the Jewish Music Institute. All of this is part of our leading role in the development of thinking on issues relating to the Middle East.

“We will continue to promote open and robust discussion on campus.”

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected]. 

Image credit: JC

, ,

NUS conference opens with apology for failings over tackling antisemitism 

The National Union of Students (NUS) opened its conference earlier this week by apologising for its failings in tackling antisemitism.

The apology arrived in the wake of Rebecca Tuck KC’s damning report into the allegations of antisemitism within the NUS.

Nehaal Bajwa, NUS’ Vice President for Liberation and Equality, said at the conference: “[Rebecca Tuck’s] findings were truly shocking and showed us what Jewish students have been saying and have known for a long time; that antisemitism is real and it is happening in NUS spaces as well as in student unions and wider student politics.”

Chloe Field, Vice President for Higher Education, added: “So, we really want to open conference today with a moment of accountability for NUS and a moment of humanity towards our Jewish friends and members. On behalf of NUS today and the past, I am genuinely, truly sorry that it has taken us so long to address antisemitism head-on. You have been let down by the very organisation that you should have been able to trust the most. My team and I will do everything that we can do to make sure that you never have to fight this fight on your own again.

“Let us say this to anyone in doubt: antisemitism is real and it is happening in student politics today. Antisemitism is an attack not just on Jewish people, but on all of us and the shared values we hold.”

Ms Tuck’s report, which was released in January and followed an investigation into which Campaign Against Antisemitism, the Union of Jewish Students (UJS) and others provided input, observed that NUS allowed the development of a “hostile environment” for Jewish students, with instances in which Jewish students were “subjected to harassment” likely to be in breach of the Equality Act 2010, in addition to NUS’s own code of conduct. It rightly recognised that there had been a “poor relationship” between NUS and Jewish students for a long time. Ms Tuck drew on Campaign Against Antisemitism’s input and past research, including our annual Antisemitism Barometer survey of the Jewish community.

The report recommended improvements in NUS’s record-keeping, elections, due diligence of candidates, and code of conduct complaints. It also called for antisemitism training and the provision of educational materials, and a governance review. Ms Tuck also advised improvements in discussions about Israel, including the inclusion of an “experienced facilitator” in such debates.

Importantly, the report also called for the establishment of an advisory panel to ensure the implementation of the recommendations and for a survey of Jewish students to test that implementation, which were among the suggestions made to Ms Tuck by Campaign Against Antisemitism to ensure the durability of any recommendations that the report made. Indeed Ms Tuck observed how the recommendations of past reports relating to NUS have often not been implemented, a point that we stressed to her.

The announcement of Ms Tuck’s investigation last April came after Robert Halfon MP (then the Chair of the Education Select Committee) wrote together with Campaign Against Antisemitism to the Charity Commission calling for an investigation into the union’s charitable arm, which the Commission agreed to launch. The full dossier on NUS, produced by Campaign Against Antisemitism, can be read here.

After the investigation was announced, Shaima Dallali, the then-President of NUS, was removed from her position amidst allegations of antisemitism. This was the first time in the Union’s 100-year history that a President has been removed.

There have been numerous controversies involving NUS over the past twelve months. In one scandal, the rapper Kareem Dennis, known as Lowkey, was due to headline NUS’s centenary conference but, after initially dismissing the concerns of Jewish students, who pointed out the rapper’s inflammatory record, the Union came under media scrutiny and eventually Mr Dennis withdrew from the event. As the scandal erupted, Robert Halfon MP excoriated NUS for failing to send a representative to attend a hearing held by the Education Select Committee, which he chairs.

This scandal was immediately followed by the election of Shaima Dallali as NUS’s new President, despite her history of antisemitic tweets and other inflammatory social media posts. Ms Dallali was forced to apologise for tweeting the words of an antisemitic chant. In 2012, during an escalation of tensions between Israel and the antisemitic genocidal terrorist group Hamas, Ms Dallali tweeted the words “Khaybar Khaybar, ya yahud, Jaish Muhammad, sa yahud.” Translated into English, this chant means “Jews, remember the battle of Khaybar, the army of Muhammad is returning.” It is a classic Arabic battle cry referencing the massacre and expulsion of the Jews of the town of Khaybar in northwestern Arabia, now Saudi Arabia, in the year 628 CE.

These scandals come after decades of atrocious relations between NUS and Jewish students. Ms Tuck’s investigation is at least the third major such inquiry into NUS’s relations with Jewish students in the last twenty years.

It was reported today that, claiming that her dismissal was discriminatory, Ms Dallali is taking legal action against NUS.  

It was also reported that Manchester Students’ Union is set to hold a referendum on whether it should disaffiliate from NUS, citing concerns over antisemitism and Islamophobia.

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].

Image credit: NUS via Twitter

, , ,

Middlesex University reportedly to cut ties with Islamic College over links to Iran and inflammatory staff

Middlesex University is reportedly cutting ties with the Islamic College.

The University is terminating its partnership with the Brondesbury Park-based institution, whose degrees are validated by Middlesex University and which has received hundreds of thousands of pounds in taxpayer funds, according to the JC.

The Islamic College is alleged to be the British affiliate of Al-Mustafa International University, which is controlled by Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and which was sanctioned by the United States in 2020 because it is allegedly “a recruiting platform for the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force.”

Earlier this year, Campaign Against Antisemitism wrote to all MPs supporting the Government’s mooted ban on the IRGC terror group.

There is no evidence that the Islamic College itself is involved in terrorism. A staff member, however, reportedly claimed that mass-murderer Anders Breivik was an “ultra-Zionist, freemason, Islamophobic who claims to belong to the Templar order of the Rose-Cross.”

In addition, a former Principal of the College, Mohammad Saeed Bahmanpour, has reportedly been captured on video apparently urging the crowd at a rally in 2013 to chant their support for the antisemitic genocidal terrorist organisation Hizballah, which has since been proscribed by the British Government.

Another lecturer was reportedly captured on video comparing Israel’s policies to those of the Nazis. The JC has reported that, after it began investigating, this video is no longer available. According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.”

The founder of the College, Saied Reza Ameli, who until 2006 was a trustee of the Irshad Trust, the charity that runs the College, is reportedly now a secretary to Iran’s Supreme Council for the Cultural Revolution.

The Islamic College runs courses on Arabic, Islamic studies and Islamic law at undergraduate and graduate levels. Its degrees are “validated” by Middlesex University, and, in addition to significant taxpayer funds received under the Covid furlough scheme, it is owned by a charity, enjoying the benefit of tax-incentivised donations.

The Islamic College is closely associated with the controversial Islamic Centre of England.

A spokesperson for Middlesex university reportedly said: “Following a review of our partnership with the Islamic College in London we have mutually agreed to terminate. Middlesex University has a statutory duty of care to students currently studying at the college and we are in close contact with the regulatory body, the Office of Students, to ensure a smooth transition. The end date of our partnership will be December 31, 2023.” 

In a further statement, spokesperson for the University said: “Middlesex University validates academic provision offered by the Islamic College and provides services related to oversight of academic quality and standards, in line with standard sector practice. All of our partnerships are regularly reviewed and we undertake thorough due diligence before formalising any collaborative relationship. We are grateful to the JC for bringing these serious allegations to our attention and we will be raising them with the Islamic College as a matter of urgency.”

The Islamic College denies affiliation to Al-Mustafa University. A spokesperson said that the College’s aim is to “offer programmes of the highest standards in Islamic studies, promulgate a rational and critical study of religion, enhance community cohesion and promote interfaith dialogue. It is not engaged in the dissemination of any ideology.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors the adoption of the International Definition of Antisemitismby universities.

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected]. 

, ,

University College London students chant “From the river to the sea” in protest of speaker

Students at the University College London have been recorded chanting “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” in protest of activist Yoseph Haddad’s speech at the University. 

The chant of “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” only makes sense as a call for the destruction of the world’s only Jewish state — and its replacement with a State of Palestine — and is thus an attempt to deny Jews, uniquely, the right to self-determination, which is a breach of the International Definition of Antisemitism.

Additionally, signs reading “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” were seen, while calls for an intifada were also heard.

An intifada is a rebellion or uprising, but the Palestinian intifadas were characterised by acts of terrorism targeting Jews. 

During an anti-Israel demonstration held last year, the UCL Students for Justice in Palestine Society, Saleem Nusseibeh, led the “from the river, to the sea” chant and warned the crowd of hundreds about “Zionist plotting”.

UCL adopted the Definition in 2019 but in 2021, its Academic Board passed an advisory resolution calling on the University to “retract and replace” the Definition. The Students’ Union also voted down a similar resolution. After the vote, one Jewish academic affiliated to the University resigned in disgust, calling UCL an “antisemitic cesspit”.

Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors the adoption of the Definition by universities.

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].

, ,

Warwick University students vote for Students’ Union to disaffiliate from NUS “over failures of alleged bigotry”

Students at the University of Warwick have voted to disaffiliate the Students’ Union from the National Union of Students (NUS) “over failures of alleged bigotry”.

In an “all students vote”, 487 voted to disaffiliate from the campaigning body of NUS – albeit not from NUS’s charitable arm, which works with students’ unions – while 416 voted against and 253 abstained.

The motion asserted: “The NUS has failed to protect minorities from abuse through divisive rhetoric and lack of zero tolerance and condemnation for hate speech. Warwick SU, and any national student union it belongs to, must have zero tolerance against bigotry towards any individual, minority group and other protected characteristics, and require the same of elected individuals and guests…Warwick SU, and any national student union it belongs to, should prioritise the day-to-day issues students face, such as requesting financial support following increasing living costs…There are various alternative organisations which deal with national issues that have little direct relevance to students, including foreign affairs, which are more suitable for other causes and to which students are free to sign up to.”

The motion added: “The NUS’ constant failure over allegations of bigotry and their detachment from key student concerns, as shown by successive low turnout, has left the union without credibility to many students from various backgrounds and politicians from across the spectrum, endangering the success of any future lobbying by NUS UK…Collective power of students remains important, and a sustainable alternative model of national cooperation between student unions should be explored.”

The vote came after a damning report by Rebecca Tuck KC – following an investigation to which Campaign Against Antisemitism contributed – found that that NUS allowed the development of a “hostile environment” for Jewish students, with instances in which Jewish students were “subjected to harassment” likely to be in breach of the Equality Act 2010, in addition to NUS’s own code of conduct.

During the investigation, Shaima Dallali, the President of NUS, was removed from her position amidst allegations of antisemitism. This was the first time in the Union’s 100-year history that a President has been removed.

The University of Oxford’s Students’ Union has also announced that it will be holding a vote on disaffiliation later this month.

Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors the adoption of the International Definition of Antisemitismby universities.

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].

,

Prospective director for free speech on university campuses denounced International Definition of Antisemitism

The prospective director for free speech on university campuses, a new role to be implemented by the Government, was discovered to have denounced the International Definition of Antisemitism.

Arif Ahmed, a philosophy professor at the University of Cambridge, reportedly issued a blog post in February 2021 in which he sharply criticised the Definition.

He wrote: “I am strongly against Gavin Williamson’s requirement that universities adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism….This ‘definition’ is nothing of the kind; adopting it obstructs perfectly legitimate defence of Palestinian rights.”

He added: “As such it chills free speech on a matter of the first importance. I hope the Secretary of State reconsiders the need for it; but these new free speech duties ought to rule it out in any case.”

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected]. 

,

Journalist who allegedly called Holocaust a “myth” mentored students at University of Westminster

A journalist who reportedly called the Holocaust a “myth” mentored students at the University of Westminster, according to the JC.

Motasem Ahmed Dalloul, who works as the Gaza correspondent of Middle East Monitor, a news site backed by the Qatari Government, reportedly provided career advice to students in the 2021-22 academic year.

In November 2014, Mr Dalloul allegedly shared an article about Germany’s decision not to recognise a state of Palestine, writing: “They nurtured the myth of the Holocaust and then they continue supporting the Zionists!!”

In 2014, he reportedly claimed: “Israeli occupation is crueller on Palestinians than Hitler persecution to Jews.”

In June 2016, he reportedly shared a link to an article published by a website called Days of Palestine, which he apparently co-founded. The page was titled “A 91-year-old Jew admits telling lies about Holocaust” and recounted the story of Joseph Hirt, who in 2016 admitted that he had lied about escaping Auschwitz. The article claimed that “This adds more reasons to review the facts about the Holocaust,” and Mr Dalloul shared the article on Twitter with a photo of Mr Hirt and allegedly wrote: “This adds more question marks ahead of what is called a Holocaust.”

In 2017, two days after three Israeli civilians were stabbed to death, Mr Dalloul allegedly wrote on social media: “Resisting occupation with all available means, including armed struggle is legitimate based on inte’l law. #ResistanceIsNotTerrorism.” When another user responded, “Walking into a home and stabbing three innocent people in the middle of dinner is not remotely equal to ‘resistance’. Terrorism is terrorism,” Mr Dalloul reportedly replied: “No, they live in occupied land, they’ve served in army, killed Palestinians, innocent Jews live in their home countries, not others’ countries.”

According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Calling for, aiding, or justifying the killing or harming of Jews in the name of a radical ideology or an extremist view of religion,” “Accusing the Jews as a people, or Israel as a state, of inventing or exaggerating the Holocaust,” and “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” are all examples of antisemitism.

The University of Westminster has adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism.

Mr Dalloul graduated from the University of Westminster, following which he worked as a staff writer at Middle East Monitor and contributed to Middle East Eye and TRT World. He was awarded a certificate of participation signed by Vice-Chancellor Dr Peter Bonfield and Caroline Lloyd, the University’s Director of Student Services, in spite of his history of inflammatory statements.

Motasem Dalloul reportedly told the JC: “All what you said is fake. I’m actually against the Zionist-Israeli occupation of Palestine, but don’t deny anyone’s pain and suffering.”

Binyomin Gilbert, Programme Manager at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “It is deplorable that the wellbeing of Jewish students at the University of Westminster seems to be playing second fiddle to a desire to tolerate those whose rhetoric has been so inflammatory.

“According to our 2021 Antisemitism Barometer, a staggering 92% of British Jews believe that antisemitism in British universities is a problem, with 84% believing that it is a ‘very big problem’ or ‘quite a big problem’. One need only to look at the example set by the University of Westminster to see why.

“The University has adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism. Now it is time to enforce it and prove that it is serious about protecting its Jewish students.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors the adoption of the International Definition of Antisemitismby universities.

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].

Image credit: JC

, , ,

Following input from CAA, UJS and others, independent report into NUS finds it created “hostile environment” for Jewish students and calls for major reforms

Rebecca Tuck KC has published her much-anticipated report, providing the clearest assessment of antisemitism at the National Union of Students (NUS) to date.

The report, which follows an investigation into which Campaign Against Antisemitism, the Union of Jewish Students (UJS) and others provided input, observes that NUS allowed the development of a “hostile environment” for Jewish students, with instances in which Jewish students were “subjected to harassment” likely to be in breach of the Equality Act 2010, in addition to NUS’s own code of conduct. It rightly recognises that there has been a “poor relationship” between NUS and Jewish students for a long time.

Gideon Falter, Chief Executive of Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “Rebecca Tuck KC’s report is exceptionally important in vindicating the experiences of Jewish students over many years, finding that NUS has created a ‘hostile environment’ for Jewish students. The Tuck Report draws heavily on CAA’s research and our extensive contributions to the investigation. It is scathing and clearly evidenced. It must become NUS’s roadmap.

“If the removal of Shaima Dallali as NUS President was an encouraging first step, this report is a second. We support the recommendations that the report proposes, which, if implemented, will help steer NUS down a better path.

“However, we have been here before: this is at least the third major report into NUS’s relations with Jewish students in twenty years, and, whatever their merits, those reports failed to overcome the personnel and institutional problems that have plagued NUS, with Jewish students bearing the impact. NUS must not only implement the Tuck Report’s specific recommendations but must introduce measures to monitor and assess progress. We will continue to help Jewish students, including by providing them with free legal representation, and hold NUS to account to ensure that the body that is meant to represent all students finally recognises that that includes Jews.”

Ms Tuck drew on Campaign Against Antisemitism’s input and past research, including our annual Antisemitism Barometer survey of the Jewish community.

The report recommends improvements in NUS’s record-keeping, elections, due diligence of candidates, and code of conduct complaints. It also calls for antisemitism training and the provision of educational materials,,  and a governance review. Ms Tuck also advises improvements in discussions about Israel, including the inclusion of an “experienced facilitator” in such debates.

Importantly, the report also calls for the establishment of an advisory panel to ensure the implementation of the recommendations and for a survey of Jewish students to test that implementation, which were among the suggestions made to Ms Tuck by Campaign Against Antisemitism to ensure the durability of any recommendations that the report made. Indeed Ms Tuck observed how the recommendations of past reports relating to NUS have often not been implemented, a point that we stressed to her.

The announcement of Ms Tuck’s investigation in April came after Robert Halfon MP (then the Chair of the Education Select Committee) wrote together with Campaign Against Antisemitism to the Charity Commission calling for an investigation into the union’s charitable arm, which the Commission agreed to launch. The full dossier on NUS, produced by Campaign Against Antisemitism, can be read here.

In addition, over twenty former NUS Presidents wrote a letter expressing their “serious concerns about antisemitism”, and another letter, organised by UJS and signed by over 1,000 Jewish students and allies, called for NUS to launch an independent investigation.

Since the investigation was announced, Shaima Dallali, the President of NUS, has been removed from her position amidst allegations of antisemitism. This was the first time in the Union’s 100-year history that a President has been removed.

In a letter to Campaign Against Antisemitism, NUS confirmed that its own investigation — which is independent of Ms Tuck’s and is still ongoing — had “found that significant breaches of NUS’ policies have taken place” and that consequently “we have terminated the President’s contract.” Ms Dallali is still able to appeal this decision.

There have been numerous controversies involving NUS over the past twelve months. In one scandal, the rapper Kareem Dennis, known as Lowkey, was due to headline NUS’s centenary conference last month. After initially dismissing the concerns of Jewish students, who pointed out the rapper’s inflammatory record, the union came under media scrutiny and eventually Mr Dennis withdrew from the event. As the scandal erupted, Robert Halfon MP excoriated NUS for failing to send a representative to attend a hearing held by the Education Select Committee, which he chairs.

This scandal was immediately followed by the election of Shaima Dallali as NUS’s new President, despite her history of antisemitic tweets and other inflammatory social media posts. Ms Dallali was forced to apologise for tweeting the words of an antisemitic chant. In 2012, during an escalation of tensions between Israel and the antisemitic genocidal terrorist group Hamas, Ms Dallali tweeted the words “Khaybar Khaybar, ya yahud, Jaish Muhammad, sa yahud.” Translated into English, this chant means “Jews, remember the battle of Khaybar, the army of Muhammad is returning.” It is a classic Arabic battle cry referencing the massacre and expulsion of the Jews of the town of Khaybar in northwestern Arabia, now Saudi Arabia, in the year 628 CE.

These scandals come after decades of atrocious relations between NUS and Jewish students. Ms Tuck’s investigation is at least the third major such inquiry into NUS’s relations with Jewish students in the last twenty years.

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].

, ,

University of Nottingham event featuring controversial cleric who described Jews as “a cowardly nation” is postponed

An event organised by a society at the University of Nottingham which was set to feature a controversial cleric, who had previously described Jews as “a cowardly nation”, has been postponed. 

Nottingham University Islamic Society invited Sheikh Asrar Rashid, a controversial cleric in Birmingham, to give a talk on “The End of Times”.

Mr Rashid, who is reported to have said that Hitler did Jews “a favour”, was initially advertised by the Society in a Facebook post on 7th December, scheduled to appear at the University’s Law and Social Science building.

However, on 10th December, a further announcement was made stating that the event would instead be held at the Lenton Muslim Centre. 

The next day, the Society wrote that the event was “postponed until further notice due to unforeseen circumstances”.

A spokesperson for the University of Nottingham Students Union said that it had been “made aware of an invitation issued by the Islamic Society to Asrar Rashid to address its members. The Students’ Union has requested a postponement of the event to ensure that the agreed process for issuing such speaker invitations has been followed and allows us to determine whether the event can be held peacefully and safely for all those concerned,” adding: “Our priority is, and always will be, for all of our student members and it is of the utmost importance to us that we make sure all Students’ Union activity is safe, inclusive, dignified, respectful, and responsible.”

However, a Nottingham Jewish Society spokesperson said that its members were “appalled” by the invitation of Mr Rashid, and said that “This invitation should never have been approved in the first place, and our complaints should have been taken seriously and been treated discretely by the University and Students’ Union. Speakers who seek to incite hatred should not be invited to speak at our university.”

Mr Rashid has reportedly claimed that “By the 1940s, Hitler did a favour for the Jews that the Jews now were favoured by Europe.” Last year, the cleric stood by his description of Jews as “a cowardly nation” and call for a “jihad” on Israel.

Whilst commenting on last year’s violence in Israel and Gaza during a panel discussion, Mr Rashid was quoted as saying: “Personally, I believe the only solution is jihad, and a call for jihad, and an announcement for jihad by Muslim majority states that we have.

“Even surgical strikes or wallpaper strikes, the type that Saddam Hussein did in the early Nineties, I believe. Thirty-nine rockets he fired into Tel Aviv and every Jew was running into his shelter. Those with a European passport would be running back to Europe.”

“You see the way they react to Katyusha missiles or Qassam missiles that do not even kill anyone, they run into their shelters so the Jews are known as…a cowardly nation.”

Following criticism from the JC, which Mr Rashid described as a “Zionist newspaper”, he defended his comments on Facebook and Twitter, writing that the term “Jews” was “used in the same vein as the mainstream media regularly employ ‘Muslim’, ‘Arabs’, or ‘Palestinian’.”

He went on to say: “This context also reflects my statements that the ‘Jews are known as a cowardly nation’, pertaining to the State of Israel and its actions against the Palestinians where women and children are indiscriminately killed.”

According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Calling for, aiding, or justifying the killing or harming of Jews in the name of a radical ideology or an extremist view of religion” is an example of antisemitism, as is “Making mendacious, dehumanising, demonising, or stereotypical allegations about Jews as such or the power of Jews as collective.”

, ,

Bristol University students chant “From the river to the sea” in protest of speaker

Students at the University of Bristol have been recorded chanting “From the river to the sea” in protest of a speaker at the University’s union. 

The chant of “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” only makes sense as a call for the destruction of the world’s only Jewish state — and its replacement with a State of Palestine — and is thus an attempt to deny Jews, uniquely, the right to self-determination, which is a breach of the International Definition of Antisemitism.

Last night’s event, where the speaker was Charlotte Korchak, the Senior Educator at StandWithUs, was protested by members of the University’s Friends of Palestine society.

Ms Korchak wrote on her Instagram story how the society were invited to partake in the event but declined, only to arrive later to protest. She added how, following the event, she had to be escorted out of the premises by six security guards.

The University adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism in 2019, following a controversial debate.

Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors the adoption of the Definition by universities.

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].

, ,

Queen Mary University Students’ Union shamefully votes to disaffiliate from NUS citing removal of Shaima Dallali without mention of antisemitism allegations

Queen Mary University Students’ Union has passed a motion to disaffiliate from the National Union of Students (NUS) following its removal of Shaima Dallali earlier this month.

Ms Dallali was removed from her position as NUS President amidst investigations into her conduct following allegations of antisemitism.

However, nowhere in yesterday’s motion was there any mention of the antisemitism allegations.

Ms Dallali’s removal came after she became the first President in the Union’s 100-year history to have been suspended. The decision to remove Ms Dallali is subject to appeal.

The removal follows an internal investigation conducted by NUS, while an independent investigation is underway, led by Rebecca Tuck KC. Campaign Against Antisemitism has provided input into the latter investigation.

The investigations arose following a string of controversies surrounding the NUS and its leadership, and were announced after Robert Halfon MP wrote together with Campaign Against Antisemitism to the Charity Commission calling for an investigation into the Union’s charitable arm. The full dossier on NUS, produced by Campaign Against Antisemitism, can be read here. In addition, over twenty former NUS Presidents wrote a letter expressing their “serious concerns about antisemitism”, and another letter, organised by the Union of Jewish Students (UJS) and signed by over 1,000 Jewish students and allies, called for NUS to launch an independent investigation.

The Queen Mary University Students’ Union motion accused the NUS of having “spread of anti-Palestinian racism” which was a “part of a wider pattern of endemic and systematic bigotry and prejudice,” calling the removal of Ms Dallali is a “direct attack on pro-Palestine student activism.”

Another motion was also proposed which endorsed the BDS movement to boycott Israel, the tactics of which an overwhelming majority of British Jews find intimidating.

In a statement on Friday, Queen Mary Jewish and Israel Society criticised both the proposal to disaffiliate and the fact that the Society had not been informed by the Students’ Union of the motion.

In a joint statement with the Union of Jewish Students, Queen Mary Jewish and Israel Society addressed the motion, stating Jewish students at the University “feel betrayed and let down by their Students’ Union, with many Jewish students now feeling unsafe in their own Students’ Union which shrugs its shoulders at the expense of Jewish students.”

Last year, Queen Mary University Students’ Union failed to represent and show solidarity with their Jewish members by adopting the Jerusalem Declaration, which is a wrecking document intended to undermine the globally-recognised International Definition of Antisemitism. The University’s decision to repeal the Definition was reportedly not discussed with Jewish students, who reacted with disgust.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Of all the reasons that there may be to disaffiliate from NUS, it is revealing that QMUL Students’ Union did so because of the sacking of Shaima Dallali as NUS President. Her inflammatory social media activity alienated Jewish students even more from NUS, which already had an atrocious record on Jewish issues. Yet this first remedial step that the Union has taken to affirm that Jewish concerns do actually matter was too much for QMUL’s SU. This motion, which did not even include reference to antisemitism, comes after QMUL adoption of the ‘Jerusalem Declaration’ earlier this year. QMUL has made it abundantly clear what it thinks of the views of Jewish students.”

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].

, ,

Cambridge students chant “From the river to the sea” in protest of speaker

Students at the University of Cambridge have been recorded chanting “From the river to the sea” in protest of a speaker at the University’s union. 

The chant of “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” only makes sense as a call for the destruction of the world’s only Jewish state — and its replacement with a State of Palestine — and is thus an attempt to deny Jews, uniquely, the right to self-determination, which is a breach of the International Definition of Antisemitism.

Wednesday evening’s event, which was organised by the Pinsker Centre, a British think-tank with a focus on international policy, and where the speaker was Dan Meridor, Israel’s former Deputy Prime Minister, was protested by approximately 50 students.

A spokesperson for the University’s union reportedly told the Varsity student newspaper that “the Cambridge Union is strongly committed to our founding principle of promoting Free Speech. The Union’s role is to create a safe space in which to discuss difficult topics and provide members with the opportunity to cross examine them. The format of our speaker events offers members a unique opportunity to directly question powerful and high profile figures”.

Earlier this year, the University was rocked by antisemitic chanting and graffiti in connection with a visit by the Israeli ambassador.

The University of Cambridge adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism in 2020.

Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors the adoption of the International Definition of Antisemitism by universities.

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].

, ,

PhD student who defended the phrase “Stop the Palestinian Holocaust” reportedly no longer employed by Sheffield Hallam University

An academic who believes that “Zionist lobbies…buy presidents”, defended the phrase “Stop the Palestinian Holocaust” and shared a video called “Truth About Zionist Jews Talmud” is no longer employed by Sheffield Hallam University, according to the JC. 

Shahd Abusalama, who was studying for a PhD in cinema at the University, reportedly shared tweets defending a first-year student who had made a poster that said “Stop the Palestinian Holocaust” and who was accused by a Jewish student of antisemitism.

According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, which Sheffield Hallam has adopted, “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” is an example of antisemitism.

On social media, Ms Abusalama defended the student by citing Jewish individuals who have made the same analogy, and also wrote: “I understand why a first-year university student used #Holocaust when thinking of Israel’s repeated bombardment of Gaza”, adding: “Maybe she thought she’d garner European sympathy for Palestine by evoking ‘Never Again’ slogan.”

She noted of the term “Holocaust” that she herself would not “use such a politicised word often used to justify the racist state of Israel” because it “distracts attention from the Zionist practices of settler-colonialism and ethnic cleansing against the Palestinians.” However, she proceeded to use other inflammatory terms and claimed that the suggestion that the University’s Palestine Society should undertake antisemitism training in light of the incident was indicative of a “hierarchy of racisms” asking: “Are Islamophobia & Xenophobia insignificant? Prioritising one form of racism over others is itself racist and divisive.”

This was not the first time that Ms Abusalama has courted controversy. She is active in the BDS movement to boycott Israel, the tactics of which an overwhelming majority of British Jews find intimidating, and in the past she reportedly urged people to watch a video on YouTube called “Truth About Zionist Jews Talmud”, which presented numerous antisemitic myths about the Talmud. The video’s description asked “Why the Zionist don’t want us to know what’s in Talmud? [sic],” adding: “Why they want the teaching of the Talmud to be known only to Jews.” Ms Abusalama wrote on Twitter: “Must watch this video that tells you the truth about #zionist #Jews. They take their legitimacy from #Talmud.” In another post, she reportedly wrote that the “Zionist lobbies control all this for their interest,” adding: “They buy presidents/slaves.” The video and tweets have since been deleted.

Ms Abusalama has also asserted that “Zionism is one of the worst forms of antisemitism,” described the BBC as part of the “Zionist propaganda machine”, claimed that the Jewish Chronicle newspaper is so named in order to “cement the analogy between anti-Zionism and antisemitism” and has further claimed that “Germany was always one of the greatest supporters and Zionists managed to mobilise German guilt for Nazism to normalise and enable their oppression and dispossession of the Palestinians.” She has also reportedly posted: “Barak Hussein Obama is b*stard! Those racists should be happy now & re-elect him as he’s anti-Arabs and anti-Muslims & #Zionists’ puppet [sic].”

In 2013, Ms Abusalama reportedly appeared at the 46th anniversary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), an antisemitic genocidal terrorist organisation. The event was addressed via video by the convicted terrorist, Leila Khaled, with Ms Abusalama reportedly singing in front of a PFLP banner. In a blog post, Ms Abusalama has also reportedly described Kozo Okamoto, the Japanese Red Army terrorist who participated in the PFLP’s 1971 Lod Airport massacre, as a “freedom fighter”, and described six terrorists who escaped from an Israeli jail last year as “heroes”. She has previously referred to Akram Rikhawi, who was sentenced to nine years in prison for transporting suicide bombers, as “legendary”.

During the University’s short-lived investigation into Ms Abusalama’s posts, she claimed that “Zionist racist publications/trolls have renewed online #bullying to discredit my academic reputation,” and she was suspended by the University. She declared: “Family, friends, and followers, I am under renewed attack by Zionist publications protesting my recent appointment as an Associate Lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University, where I also recently submitted a PhD dissertation on the historical representation of Palestinian refugees in colonial, humanitarian and Palestinian documentary films, from 1917 and 1993. The Zionist defamation campaign by Jewish News, Campaign Against Antisemitism and Jewish Chronicle joins a historical pattern where the Zionist colonial narrative is consistently privileged over the narratives of the oppressed.” She also claimed that “Zionists are still targeting me.”

She was then reinstated to her teaching duties, and it is understood that the investigation by the University was then dropped entirely and she was given a full-time position at Sheffield Hallam. Campaign Against Antisemitism corresponded with the University over the fiasco.

However, the JC has now stated that shortly after, a second investigation took place following a complaint from a Jewish student. The investigation was reportedly carried out by human rights barrister Akua Reindorf.

According to Sheffield Hallam’s Deputy Vice Chancellor, Richard Calvert, Ms Abusalama “chose to leave the university” after the second investigation.

Among Ms Abusalama’s supporters was the controversial former President of the National Union of Students, Malia Bouattia, who was found by her own institution to have made antisemitic comments.

Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors the adoption of the International Definition of Antisemitism by universities.

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected]. 

,

Arrest over threatening note at top US college

Police in Providence, Rhode Island have arrested a suspect following an alleged antisemitic incident involving a threatening note at Brown University.

The note, which included violent threats against Jewish people, was discovered in the Hillel reception area of the Ivy League college. It followed two incidents of antisemitic graffiti found over the summer.

Rabbi Josh Bolton, executive director of Hillel, said he was “encouraged” that the Providence Police Department had conducted “a full investigation” into the incident and that an arrest had been made. Rabbi Bolton noted that the case had now been passed to the Attorney General’s office.

The threatening antisemitic message was reported to Brown’s Department of Public Safety (DPS). The matter, including the previous incidents of antisemitic graffiti, was referred to Providence police. 

Noting that the suspect was not a member of the Brown community, Rabbi Bolton expressed thanks to the DPS and police for their “swift and thorough handling” of the situation and his gratitude to the “many voices” who had expressed support for Hillel and Jewish students at Brown. 

University spokesperson Brian Clark said the college was “grateful” that “with assistance from Brown DPS and Hillel” the Providence police were able to “successfully investigate this incident” and make an arrest.

“While we hope this offers some level of reassurance,” added Mr Clark, “it remains deeply distressing that members of the Jewish community on campus… continue to face antisemitic acts like this, which should have no place in any community.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism throughout the United States.

, ,

Shaima Dallali reportedly accepted award from group that allegedly branded Jewish-Muslim interfaith a ‘Zionist plot’ days prior to removal as NUS President

It has been reported that Shaima Dallali accepted an award from a group that allegedly claimed that Jewish-Muslim interfaith work is a ‘Zionist plot’ days prior to being removed as President of the National Union of Students (NUS).

Images of her on-stage alongside the Palestinian Forum in Britain surfaced on Twitter. The group previously held a meeting at an art gallery in London entitled “How interfaith groups are being used to normalise Israeli apartheid”.

Earlier this week, Ms Dallali was removed from her position as NUS President amidst investigations into her conduct following allegations of antisemitism.

In a letter to Campaign Against Antisemitism, NUS confirmed that its investigation — which is still ongoing — had “found that significant breaches of NUS’ policies have taken place” and that consequently “we have terminated the President’s contract.”

The letter continued: “We are sorry for the harm that has been caused and we hope to rebuild the NUS in an inclusive way – fighting for all students as we have done for the past 100 years.”

It came after Ms Dallali last month became the first President in the Union’s 100-year history to have been suspended. The decision to remove Ms Dallali is subject to appeal.

The removal follows an internal investigation conducted by NUS, while an independent investigation is underway, led by Rebecca Tuck KC. Campaign Against Antisemitism has provided input into the latter investigation.

The investigations arose following a string of controversies surrounding the NUS and its leadership, and were announced after Robert Halfon MP wrote together with Campaign Against Antisemitism to the Charity Commission calling for an investigation into the Union’s charitable arm. The full dossier on NUS, produced by Campaign Against Antisemitism, can be read here. In addition, over twenty former NUS Presidents wrote a letter expressing their “serious concerns about antisemitism”, and another letter, organised by the Union of Jewish Students (UJS) and signed by over 1,000 Jewish students and allies, called for NUS to launch an independent investigation.

There have been numerous controversies involving NUS this year. In one recent scandal, the rapper Kareem Dennis, known as Lowkey, was due to headline NUS’s centenary conference last month. After initially dismissing the concerns of Jewish students, who pointed out the rapper’s inflammatory record, the union came under media scrutiny and eventually Mr Dennis withdrew from the event. As the scandal erupted, Robert Halfon MP excoriated NUS for failing to send a representative to attend a hearing held by the Education Select Committee, which he chairs.

This scandal was immediately followed by the election of Shaima Dallali as NUS’s new President, despite her history of antisemitic tweets and other inflammatory social media posts. 

Ms Dallali was forced to apologise for tweeting the words of an antisemitic chant. In 2012, during an escalation of tensions between Israel and the antisemitic genocidal terrorist group Hamas, Ms Dallali tweeted the words “Khaybar Khaybar, ya yahud, Jaish Muhammad, sa yahud.”

Translated into English, this chant means “Jews, remember the battle of Khaybar, the army of Muhammad is returning.” It is a classic Arabic battle cry referencing the massacre and expulsion of the Jews of the town of Khaybar in northwestern Arabia, now Saudi Arabia, in the year 628 CE.

Ms Dallali issued a statement on 23rd March, saying: “Earlier today I was made aware of a tweet I posted ten years ago. During Israel’s assault on Gaza I referenced the battle of Khaybar in which Jewish and Muslim armies fought. I was wrong to see the Palestine conflict as one between Muslims and Jews. The reference made as a teenager was unacceptable and I sincerely and unreservedly apologise.”

It also came to light that Ms Dallali’s output on Twitter also included other inflammatory messages, including one last May allegedly saying that “organisations like UJS [the Union of Jewish Students] have a history of bullying pro-Palestine sabbs [sabbatical officers] and activists. You speak one word of solidarity and they’re after you. UJS and their likes need to be called out.”

Another alleged tweet from 2018 read: “So your special forces invade the Gaza Strip, attempt to kidnap a Hamas commander, kill him and others. Then cry about Hamas being the terrorists. Makes perfect sense. #GazaUnderAttack.” Hamas is an antisemitic genocidal terrorist organisation that is proscribed in the UK.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Ms Dallali’s election and the duration of her term, both in spite of the public history of her comments and the limited remorse that she has shown, bolster concerns over the culture of student politics and the institutional problems at NUS. 

“For an NUS President to have apparently appeared on stage to accept an award from a group that reportedly claimed Jewish-Muslim interfaith is a ‘Zionist plot’ is appalling, but worse still is the fact that it was not surprising. The task of rebuilding NUS’s relations with Jewish students is colossal and urgent.”

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].

, ,

Shaima Dallali removed as NUS President following antisemitism investigation prompted by outrage from CAA and others

Shaima Dallali, the President of the National Union of Students (NUS), has been removed from her position amidst investigations into her conduct following allegations of antisemitism.

In a letter to Campaign Against Antisemitism, NUS confirmed that its investigation — which is still ongoing — had “found that significant breaches of NUS’ policies have taken place” and that consequently “we have terminated the President’s contract.”

The letter continued: “We are sorry for the harm that has been caused and we hope to rebuild the NUS in an inclusive way – fighting for all students as we have done for the past 100 years.”

It came after Ms Dallali last month became the first President in the Union’s 100-year history to have been suspended. The decision to remove Ms Dallali is subject to appeal.

The removal follows an internal investigation conducted by NUS, while an independent investigation is underway, led by Rebecca Tuck KC. Campaign Against Antisemitism has provided input into the latter investigation.

The investigations arose following a string of controversies surrounding the NUS and its leadership, and were announced after Robert Halfon MP wrote together with Campaign Against Antisemitism to the Charity Commission calling for an investigation into the Union’s charitable arm. The full dossier on NUS, produced by Campaign Against Antisemitism, can be read here. In addition, over twenty former NUS Presidents wrote a letter expressing their “serious concerns about antisemitism”, and another letter, organised by the Union of Jewish Students (UJS) and signed by over 1,000 Jewish students and allies, called for NUS to launch an independent investigation.

There have been numerous controversies involving NUS this year. In one recent scandal, the rapper Kareem Dennis, known as Lowkey, was due to headline NUS’s centenary conference last month. After initially dismissing the concerns of Jewish students, who pointed out the rapper’s inflammatory record, the union came under media scrutiny and eventually Mr Dennis withdrew from the event. As the scandal erupted, Robert Halfon MP excoriated NUS for failing to send a representative to attend a hearing held by the Education Select Committee, which he chairs.

This scandal was immediately followed by the election of Shaima Dallali as NUS’s new President, despite her history of antisemitic tweets and other inflammatory social media posts. 

Ms Dallali was forced to apologise for tweeting the words of an antisemitic chant. In 2012, during an escalation of tensions between Israel and the antisemitic genocidal terrorist group Hamas, Ms Dallali tweeted the words “Khaybar Khaybar, ya yahud, Jaish Muhammad, sa yahud.”

Translated into English, this chant means “Jews, remember the battle of Khaybar, the army of Muhammad is returning.” It is a classic Arabic battle cry referencing the massacre and expulsion of the Jews of the town of Khaybar in northwestern Arabia, now Saudi Arabia, in the year 628 CE.

Ms Dallali issued a statement on 23rd March, saying: “Earlier today I was made aware of a tweet I posted ten years ago. During Israel’s assault on Gaza I referenced the battle of Khaybar in which Jewish and Muslim armies fought. I was wrong to see the Palestine conflict as one between Muslims and Jews. The reference made as a teenager was unacceptable and I sincerely and unreservedly apologise.”

It also came to light that Ms Dallali’s output on Twitter also included other inflammatory messages, including one last May allegedly saying that “organisations like UJS [the Union of Jewish Students] have a history of bullying pro-Palestine sabbs [sabbatical officers] and activists. You speak one word of solidarity and they’re after you. UJS and their likes need to be called out.”

Another alleged tweet from 2018 read: “So your special forces invade the Gaza Strip, attempt to kidnap a Hamas commander, kill him and others. Then cry about Hamas being the terrorists. Makes perfect sense. #GazaUnderAttack.” Hamas is an antisemitic genocidal terrorist organisation that is proscribed in the UK.

Binyomin Gilbert, Programme Manager at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “The removal of Shaima Dallali as NUS President is an encouraging first step, and may represent the first acknowledgement by NUS of how dreadful its relations with Jewish students have become.

“Nobody with a history of expressing antisemitic sentiments has a place in student leadership, and while her removal is certainly the right decision, the culture in NUS and student politics that allowed somebody like Ms Dallali to rise so high must still be addressed.

“This is hardly the first time that we have had to raise concerns about antisemitism at the top of NUS. That is why Rebecca Tuck KC’s investigation into antisemitism in NUS more widely, to which we have contributed, is so important.”

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected]

,

No place for ‘heinous’ hate messages says Principal of prestigious Canadian university

The Principal of a leading Canadian university has said there was “no place” for “antisemitism or for hate or violence of any kind” after racist symbols and graffiti were found on campus.

Patrick Deane, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of Queen’s University, Ontario, issued a statement after swastika graffiti and “heinous” “messages of violence“ were found “at various locations on campus” and reported through social media.

In a presumed reference to comments by the rapper Ye, Mr Deane said a “platform” for “antisemitic hatred by public personalities had had “a chilling effect across the country and the world,” adding that “sadly, Queen’s has also seen the emergence of this sentiment with swastika graffiti and messages of violence” on its campus.

He said the University had “acted as swiftly as possible” to condemn these “violent and discriminatory acts,” that “these heinous messages” had done damage to our community” and that they had “a responsibility to investigate and wherever necessary take action.”

“I want to be very clear,” he declared, “that there is no place at Queen’s for antisemitism or for hate or violence of any kind against any member of our community. We will not tolerate it and we will speak against it and take action whenever and wherever we can.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism throughout Canada, which have dramatically increased according to a recent audit.

, ,

University of Edinburgh to host academic who stated that “only Jews are immune from criticism” and referred to “Jewish financial power”

The University of Edinburgh is set to host an academic who has previously stated that “only Jews are immune from vilification or even criticism” and made reference to “Jewish financial power”.

Salman Abu Sitta is set to deliver a seminar at the University in November.

According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Making mendacious, dehumanising, demonising, or stereotypical allegations about Jews as such or the power of Jews as collective — such as, especially but not exclusively, the myth about a world Jewish conspiracy or of Jews controlling the media, economy, government or other societal institutions” is an example of antisemitism.

Additionally, Mr Sitta referred to the antisemitic former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn as “a great, honourable man”, who was “unseated” by “the enemy” after they used their “money” and “political influence”.

Mr Sitta’s comments, which were captured on video, were unearthed and uploaded to Twitter on Monday.

The University has adopted the Definition in full, including all of its examples.

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].

,

University investigates fresh allegation of “appalling” antisemtism

The president of Tufts University has said an alleged antisemitic incident involving members of a sports team was “appalling” and “diminishes every single member of our community.”

In an email, Anthony Monaco, President of the Boston-based university said that the “alleged conduct” relating to a sports team travelling to another college for a match “is appalling  and goes against our values as an institution.”

He added that “those values do not end at the borders of our campus” and that when “any member of our community leaves our campus, they represent each of us. This alleged act diminishes every single member of our community.”

The activities of the Tufts club have been suspended for the duration of the investigation while Tufts and the college to which the students were travelling jointly conduct a formal investigation. 

According to Mr Monaco, the alleged incident – which occurred during the Jewish High Holy Days – follows a two-year effort by the university to “fight antisemitism on campus.”

In his email, the university president said he wanted to “express my solidarity” with Jewish students, faculty, staff, and alumni. “We strive to create a community in which all members can express their beliefs and identities free from fear or intimidation,” he wrote.

Last year, an investigation took place at Tufts University after a student’s mezuzah was removed from his dormitory.

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism throughout the United States.

, ,

University of Aberdeen shamefully adopts wrecking Jerusalem Declaration instead of International Definition of Antisemitism 

In a shameful decision, the University of Aberdeen has adopted the Jerusalem Declaration, a wrecking document intended to undermine the globally-recognised International Definition of Antisemitism. 

The University finalised its decision after consulting for a reported two years, following concerns raised at the University’s senate which alleged that the Definition “impinged too heavily on academic freedom and the work of academics” and posed a “threat to academic freedom”.

The advice of the University’s Race Definitions Task and Finish Group was apparently ignored after it unsuccessfully proposed that the Definition should be adopted in May 2021, and have since noted that the Jerusalem Declaration was “developed largely as a response to the [Definition]”. 

A spokesperson for the Scottish Council of Jewish Communities said: “If the critics of the [Definition] had taken the trouble to read it, they would see that far from ‘defining antisemitism as any critique of the state of Israel’, it explicitly says the opposite – the second paragraph begins ‘criticism of Israel similar to that leveled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic.’

“Unfortunately however there is no shortage of antisemitism of all kinds on campuses, and universities and their staff should be at the forefront of stamping it out. If they claim to oppose racism but tolerate antisemitism of any kind, they are simply proving David Baddiel’s thesis that ‘Jews don’t count’ and indulging in second-order antisemitism.”

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “The Jerusalem Declaration is a wrecking document intended to undermine the globally-recognised International (IHRA) Definition of Antisemitism. The University is the only such institution in the country to take this scandalous position. In rejecting the Definition that has consensus support across the Jewish community in favour of the fringe and controversial Jerusalem Declaration, the University has done the opposite of standing with British Jews and Jewish students.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors the adoption of the International Definition of Antisemitism by universities.

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected]. 

, ,

Birkbeck professor appears to agree International Definition of Antisemitism “restricts” debate on Israel on panel at Conservative Party conference fringe event

A Birkbeck professor appeared to agree with the spurious claim that the International Definition of Antisemitism “restricts” debate on Israel.

Responding to a claim by an audience member that the Definition “does restrict what people can say about the Israel/Palestine conflict” and other assertions, Eric Kaufmann said: “I totally agree with you”.

Prof. Kaufmann made the comment while sitting on a panel organised by the Taxpayers Alliance and Institute of Economic Affairs in a fringe event at Conservative Party conference in Birmingham.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has shown that the claim that the International Definition of Antisemitism conflict with freedom of expression is wrong as a matter of law.

Birkbeck, University of London has adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism.

, ,

Visiting fellow at LSE reportedly posted inflammatory tweets comparing Israel to the Nazis

A visiting fellow at the London School of Economics (LSE) is reported to have posted several inflammatory tweets about the Holocaust.

Saqib Iqbal Qureshi, whose Twitter account now appears to be deactivated, reportedly tweeted: “6m Jews died in the Nazi holocaust, which had more non Jewish than Jewish victims. There is no minimizing [sic]. You simply want to appropriate “holocaust” exclusively for Jews so that Israel can continue its dismantling of all things Palestine. Why else are you fretting?”

Mr Qureshi also asserted that “German Jews murdered ordinary German civilians to protect fellow Jews” and that “Nazim wrecked the Jews. Israel wrecked Judaism,” before using the hashtag ‘zionazi’.

Also posted on the Twitter account was a meme which features an antisemitic quote falsely attributed to Albert Einstein that reads: “It would be my greatest sadness to see Zionists do to Palestinian Arabs much of what Nazis did to Jews.” 

Other tweets seemingly posted from Mr Quereshi’s Twitter account included “Israel is committing a holocaust against Palestinians” and “As far as I can tell, the only reason the holocaust matters today is to help justify the decimation of Palestine. I can’t see what other purpose it serves. It’s not about “never again”. It’s about “we got decimated, so let us decimate in turn, turn a blind eye please.”

According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the State of Israel” and “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” are both examples of antisemitism. 

Following a request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 that was submitted by Campaign Against Antisemitism, LSE has told us that it has adopted the Definition in full, including all its examples, but it has not provided evidence to support its claim.

, ,

Flyers accusing Jews of paedophilia found at Swansea University

A concerned party has contacted Campaign Against Antisemitism informing us that they have found two stickers at Swansea University which make inflammatory accusations about Jews.

The stickers were reportedly found at the University’s Singleton Park entrance.

One sticker contains grainy black and white imagery that apparently documents the circumcision of a baby Jewish boy and contains accusations of paedophilia, a common antisemitic trope.

Underneath the images, the caption advertises the online domain GoyimTV, a video-sharing site operated by Jon Minadeo II, who is understood to be the leader of the Goyim Defence League.

The GDL has been described as an antisemitic hate group whose membership reportedly contains several neo-Nazis. In the United States, the group is divided into regional branches and regularly distributes antisemitic flyers. Last year, Mr Minadeo II created t-shirts carrying antisemitic slogans such as the Holocaust was “a hoax” and more recently, they hung a banner from a bridge in Austin, Texas that read “Vax the Jews”.

The source told Campaign Against Antisemitism that, on an earlier date, they had also found a sticker that contains a version of the “smirking merchant” image along with the caption “Jews have been kicked out of 109 countrieds [sic] over 1300 times”.

The smirking merchant meme depicts a hook-nosed man with a nefarious grin wearing a head covering and holding banknotes. The meme is thought by many to be a classically antisemitic representation of a Jewish person.

The source went on to state that they saw the stickers when they were walking to work at around 8:00 on 1st September, and they were still there when they were walking home around 15:30 the same day, prompting them to take photographs of the images. However, when they returned to the office on 6th September, the flyers appeared to have been removed.

Campaign Against Antisemitism closely monitors the far-right, which remains a dangerous threat to the Jewish community and other minority groups.

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].

, ,

Charity Commission investigates City, University of London’s Students’ Union’s attempts to abandon International Definition of Antisemitism under Shaima Dallali’s Presidency

The Charity Commission has opened an “ongoing case” into City, University of London’s Students’ Union regarding attempts to abandon the International Definition of Antisemitism during the tenure of the previous President, Shaima Dallali. Ms Dallali has recently been suspended from her current role as President of the National Union of Students (NUS).

It was reported that the Commission received a complaint after the Students’ Union’s Board of Trustees announced in March 2021 that they would hold a referendum about whether the University should refuse to continue to adopt the Definition. The Board of Trustees was, at the time, chaired by Ms Dallali.

A spokesperson for the Charity Commission told Jewish News: “We are aware of these concerns and have an ongoing case into City, University of London Students’ Union. We are engaging with the trustees.”

Ms Dallali was suspended as NUS President at the start of September, apparently pursuant to an investigation of antisemitism allegations at NUS.

During her election campaign, Ms Dallali was forced to apologise for tweeting the words of an antisemitic chant. In 2012, during an escalation of tensions between Israel and the antisemitic genocidal terrorist group Hamas, Ms Dallali tweeted the words “Khaybar Khaybar, ya yahud, Jaish Muhammad, sa yahud.” Translated into English, this chant means “Jews, remember the battle of Khaybar, the army of Muhammad is returning.” It is a classic Arabic battle cry referencing the massacre and expulsion of the Jews of the town of Khaybar in northwestern Arabia, now Saudi Arabia, in the year 628 CE. She also had a history of other inflammatory tweets and it also emerged that Ms Dallali had been in a group shouting aggressively at Jewish students attending an Israel Society event at King’s College London in 2018, at which it was reported that the “Khaybar” chant was heard.

It is said that this is the first time in the century-long history of the NUS that its President has faced suspension.

The announcement of Ms Dallali’s suspension came after Robert Halfon MP wrote together with Campaign Against Antisemitism to the Charity Commission calling for an investigation into the union’s charitable arm. The full dossier on NUS, produced by Campaign Against Antisemitism, can be read here. In addition, over twenty former NUS Presidents wrote a letter expressing their “serious concerns about antisemitism”, and another letter, organised by the Union of Jewish Students (UJS) and signed by over 1,000 Jewish students and allies, called for NUS to launch an independent investigation.

An NUS spokesperson said: “We cannot comment at this time as we are in the middle of an independent QC-led investigation into allegations of antisemitism. But as we have said before, we are prepared to take any and all actions recommended by Rebecca Tuck QC’s investigation.”

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].

We are seeking to recruit a General Counsel to join our London office

Join the fight

Subscribe
Volunteer
Donate

Campaign Against Antisemitism is a volunteer-led charity dedicated to exposing and countering antisemitism through education and zero-tolerance enforcement of the law. Everything that we do is done by people who volunteer their time, using donations contributed by members of the public. Join the fight against antisemitism by subscribing to our updates, volunteering, or donating.