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| UK universities told to crack down on antisemitism after Manchester synagogue attack |
| 2025-10-16 |
| [IsraelTimes] British universities must take stronger action to protect Jewish students, the British government says, after a deadly attack on a synagogue in northern England and amid concerns over antisemitism on campuses in Britain and the United States. Young people must be equipped to spot and challenge misinformation online, the government says, urging universities to use every tool available to confront hate and division. “One instance of antisemitic abuse is one too many,” UK Education Minister Bridget Phillipson said in a statement. “So I’m clear: the buck stops with universities when it comes to ridding their campuses of hate – and they have my full backing to use their powers to do so.” On October 2, a British man of Syrian descent drove a car into pedestrians and then began stabbing several people on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, outside Manchester’s Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue. Two men were killed in the attack. In the aftermath, Phillipson wrote to university vice-chancellors urging “practical and proportionate steps” to ensure campuses remain safe spaces. New rules introduced in August require institutions to have clear policies and reporting mechanisms to address harassment of all kinds. Last year, Britain reported its second-worst year in modern times for antisemitism, with more than 3,500 incidents recorded, the Community Security Trust, which provides security to Jewish organizations across the country, said earlier this year. Data from Britain’s interior ministry on Thursday showed Jews suffered the highest rate of religious hate crimes in England and Wales in the year ending in March. There has also been a surge in antisemitic incidents reported on US college campuses amid tensions over the Israel-Gaza war. The Trump administration has frozen and threatened to cut federal funds to universities over campus pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel protests. It says universities allowed displays of antisemitism. Anti-Israel protester who chanted ‘put the Zios in the ground’ identified as Oxford student [IsraelTimes] An anti-Israel protester who chanted “put the Zios in the ground” during a protest in London on October 11 has been identified as Oxford University student, Samuel Williams. London’s Metropolitan Police says it is investigating the chant. “Gaza, Gaza, make us proud, put the Zios in the ground,” he chants, as others in the crowd join in. Williams is studying politics, philosophy and economics at the prestigious university, according to the Daily Mail. He has previously been pictured in photos shared by the Oxford Students Palestine Society. “Zio” is a slur popularized by KKK leader David Duke and is generally directed at Jewish people. Investigative journalist David Collier located Williams’ Instagram account, which is now private. A spokesperson for Oxford University tells the UK Jewish News that the school “condemns, in the strongest possible terms, any language urging violence against groups of people or expressing any form of racial hatred. The University’s support for freedom of speech does not extend to any statements including such language.” “When such language is reported, we will always want to speak to the student concerned, and consider the matter under our disciplinary procedures in line with University and college policies,” the spokesperson says. “Oxford is unequivocal: there is no place for antisemitism, harassment, or discrimination within our community. We remain firmly committed to protecting the safety and dignity of all our students and staff,” the spokesperson adds. |
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