The universities minister is concerned that “ghettoisation” is occurring on campuses, in which Jewish students feel unable to enjoy themselves at university.
Robert Halfon MP made the remarks during a meeting of the House of Commons Education Committee on Tuesday, calling it a “major problem” across higher education in the UK.
“I think it is a major problem across our universities. I fear that there is ghettoisation going on, with Jewish students unable to do what they should be doing, which is having the best time of their life at university,” the minister for skills, apprenticeships, and higher education said.
Mr. Halfon explained that the increase in anti-Semitism on campus was not new, saying that anti-Jewish hatred had been rising across British universities long before Hamas’s terror attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. But he said that incidents had spiked since then.
“It’s been pretty horrific,” the minister said, adding: “This isn’t just a result about the tragedy in the Middle East and the massacre of Jews and the internationals on Oct. 7. But since Oct. 7, it’s gone up well over 200 percent.”
University Anti-Semitism Tsar
In response to rising anti-Jewish hatred on campus, Mr. Halfon announced in February that the government would be appointing an anti-Semitism watchdog for universities, as well as introducing a “seal of quality” for institutions demonstrating they can effectively tackle the issue on campus.
The minister said at the time that the plans were necessary because of a failure of universities to deal with anti-Semitism. Mr. Halfon said: “There’s been at best the turning of a blind eye to anti-Semitism, and at worst appeasing it, and perhaps also not knowing how to deal with it. That’s not acceptable.”
The minister discussed these plans during Tuesday’s committee, adding that he had been travelling around the country, holding regular discussions with Jewish groups connected to universities.
He also highlighted the “horrific instance” of the “intimidation” of the University of Leeds’s Jewish chaplain, Rabbi Zechariah Deutsch. The rabbi and his family were forced into hiding after they received threats to their safety in early February. The university’s Hillel House, owned by the Union of Jewish Students, was also daubed with graffiti.
Mr. Halfon, who is Jewish, said that he still believes that British universities are great places to attend, “and I hope very much that Jewish students will not feel that they can’t go to our universities.”
Anti-Semitism in Schools
Shortly after the terror attacks in Israel, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced an additional £3 million to protect Jewish community sites, including synagogues, schools, and community buildings on campus.The CST’s report highlighted that there had been a rise in anti-Semitic incidents in schools and universities.
Out of 4,103 instances of anti-Jewish hate across the UK in 2023, the charity recorded 182 anti-Semitic incidents in which the victims or offenders were students or academics, or otherwise associated with higher education such as student unions and societies.
This was an increase of 203 percent from 60 incidents reported to the CST in 2022.
Of these incidents, 72 took place on university property or on campus. More than 80 percent of university-related incidents occurred following Hamas’s attack on Israel.
The charity also recorded 325 cases of anti-Semitism that were school-related, which the charity said was a record.
A total of 87 occurred at Jewish schools while 127 involved Jewish children or staff at non-faith schools. An additional 111 involved Jewish children away from school, often when making their way to or from school. Seventy percent of school-related incidents occurred after Oct.
