Goldsmiths undermines its own antisemitism probe announcement by adopting wrecking Jerusalem Declaration and International Definition of Antisemitism but without examples

Goldsmiths, University of London has announced an “independent review into antisemitism at the College” 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 has announced that an independent probe will take place.

Frances Corner, the Warden of Goldsmiths, said: “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.”

However, in a move that undermines the announcement of its review by disregarding the preferences of the majority of the Jewish community, including Prof. Hirsh, around whom Goldsmith’s own antisemitism probe is centred around, the University has said that it will adopt the International Definition of Antisemitism but “without the case studies.” 

In addition, it will 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. 

Shortly after the University’s announcement of its antisemitism probe, Prof. Hirsh released a statement of his own, stating that he initially thought that “Things are turning around,” before continuing: “And then I remember that affirming that I’m not a Nazi is quite a low bar. The authorities feeling the need to put out a public statement that I’m not a Nazi is pretty humiliating in itself, really.”

Prof. Hirsh added that last week was the first time that anybody in authority at Goldsmiths had “ever publicly supported me against those who exclude me from the community of scholarship. It is the first time that the institution itself has affirmed that the claim that my work is racist is false.”

Speaking on the University’s decision not to adopt the Definition in full, Prof. Hirsh suggested that the University’s preference for the Jerusalem Declaration over the globally-recognised Definition could indicate “evidence of the antisemitic academic culture at Goldsmiths.” He went on to say that by not adopting the Definition in full, the University, rather than acknowledging the “seriousness of the kind of antisemitism” present, instead decided to cite “the advice of those who support and legitimate” it.

He added: “The task of seriously addressing the antisemitic hostile environment at a place like Goldsmiths is formidable. Anything that might be done would, in the short term at least, be met by significant antisemitic opposition. One of the predictable effects of taking antisemitism seriously would be to increase the hostility of the environment for Jewish scholars and students. This is not a justification for inaction, it is a statement of the embeddedness of the problem.”

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].