Keegan writes to v-cs over concerns for Jewish students’ welfare

Two UK education ministers have written to vice-chancellors to warn them that Jewish students are “hiding their identities” amid ongoing violence in Israel and Gaza.

Gillian Keegan, the secretary of state for education, and Robert Halfon, the higher education minister, have also criticised the UK’s main academic union, the University and College Union (UCU), for what they said was a “grossly insensitive and unhelpful” statement that condemned the “targeting of civilian life by both Hamas and the Israeli military”. The UCU has defended its intervention as “balanced”.

With tensions high over the war that was sparked by Hamas attacks on Israel on Saturday, the actions of universities and students have come under close scrutiny.

Both Palestinian and Jewish student groups have held protests and issued statements in recent days, with social media comments made by academics also being pored over. Previous research has identified a rise in antisemitism on campuses when there is heightened conflict in the Middle East.

In their letter, Ms Keegan and Mr Halfon said they were “writing to express our deep concern for the welfare of Jewish students and to ask that you act swiftly and decisively against any threats, be they implicit or explicit, to their safety and welfare”.

They said they had “seen evidence” of student societies supportive of Palestinians “sending out inflammatory messages that either implicitly or explicitly show support for Hamas”.

The ministers described these statements as being “of questionable legality”, as the group is a proscribed terrorist organisation in the UK, and added that “they are deeply troubling and hurtful to Jewish people, given that so many have friends and family based in Israel”.

They said such statements were already having an effect, making students feel that they “need to hide their Jewish identity” or feel “wary of expressing themselves for fear of being held accountable for actions taking place in the Middle East”.

In its statement, the UCU said it was “horrified” by the violence seen in recent days and urged the British government and the international community to “collectively call for a ceasefire and de-escalation”.

The union called for an “end to the blockade of Gaza by the Israeli military and a halt to further violence against civilians by Hamas”. The UCU said the recent events “are part of a continuing cycle of violence that has been the result of decades of brutal occupation”. It added that “lasting peace in the region must start with an end to the occupation”.

The ministers said the UCU “represent[s] some of the very lecturers that Jewish students would be looking to for support” and accused the union of “compounding” the feelings of insecurity felt by Jewish students.

Their letter called on vice-chancellors to “do whatever you can to actively provide Jewish students with the reassurance they need, now and in the weeks and months to come, to go about their lives, and pursue their studies, without fear of harassment or intimidation”.

Responding to the ministers’ comments, a UCU spokesperson said: “It is disappointing that Robert Halfon has cherry-picked for criticism two sentences from a balanced UCU statement which clearly condemned all forms of violence and oppression, as well as antisemitism. The UCU statement also called for an immediate end to the conflict. The UK government should be spending every waking moment attempting to support an immediate ceasefire and a peaceful end to this this desperate situation.”

tom.williams@timeshighereducation.com