Antisemitism in Universities

University College London

International Definition of Antisemitism

University

The University has adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism in full, including all of its examples.

The Definition was adopted on 21st November 2019.

This information was obtained after Campaign Against Antisemitism submitted a request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 on 13th July 2020. On 7th August 2020, the University responded.

As part of its response, the University provided minutes of a meeting of its Council on 21st November 2019, which show that the Definition was adopted. Additionally, the University published a statement on its website on 22nd November 2019.

Students’ Union

When asked on 7th August 2020, Students’ Union UCL failed to confirm whether it has adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism.

Incidents

The following are recent incidents that have been reported to us, however we recognise that antisemitism is chronically underreported and it is possible that there are incidents that have not been reported. To report an incident, please contact us.

University College London (UCL) Jewish Society, backed by Campaign Against Antisemitism and others, sent a letter to UCL Council urging rejection of alternative definitions of antisemitism.

Students at the University College London were recorded chanting “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” in protest of activist Yoseph Haddad’s speech at the University.

During an anti-Israel demonstration, the President of the University College London Students for Justice in Palestine Society, Saleem Nusseibeh, led the notorious “From the river to the sea” chant and warned the crowd of hundreds about “Zionist plotting”.

Following a “one-sided” Instagram post about Israel by University College London (UCL)’s Students’ Union, Jewish students at UCL have been told on social media that “Hitler was right” and that when they come back to campus there will be people “waiting for you”.

A group of academics at the University reportedly wrote a letter expressing their support for the International Definition of Antisemitism, in the wake of a report and resolution by the University’s Academic Board calling on the University to “retract and replace” the Definition.

Dr Lars Fischer, an academic at the University, resigned over the Academic Board’s advisory resolution calling on the University to “retract and replace” the International Definition of Antisemitism.

The University’s Academic Board has passed an advisory resolution calling on the University to “retract and replace” the International Definition of Antisemitism, which the University adopted in 2019.

Professor Sacha Stern, the head of the Hebrew and Jewish Studies Department at the University used a Chanukah message to attack the University’s adoption of the International Definition of Antisemitism.

The University defended hosting Jackie Walker’s book launch about the “price paid” for speaking out about Jews.

Posters of giant bloodthirsty dog emblazoned with a Star of David were posted around the University’s campus to promote an event.

The University opened an investigation into a report of four secret eugenics conferences attended by neo-Nazis and white supremacists allegedly having been held at the University since 2014.

American-Israeli activist, Miko Peled, compared Zionists to Nazis when speaking at the University.

Jackie Walker rejected the International Definition of Antisemitism while answering a question during a session at a lecture organised by Noam Chomsky called “The responsibility of intellectuals 50 years on”.

The University published its report of its investigation into a violent antisemitic protest in October 2016.

Jewish life on campus

The incidence of antisemitism on a university campus and how the university and its students’ union address antisemitism are matters of serious concern. At the same time, they do not represent the totality of Jewish life on any campus. For further information about Jewish life on campus, please contact the local Jewish Society or Jewish chaplain.

No student should have to endure antisemitism. Campaign Against Antisemitism provides specialist help to students who have experienced antisemitism, including free legal representation. For assistance with antisemitism on campus, please contact us.