Christian Wakeford (Bury South) (Con) [V]: Yesterday, the Union of
Jewish Students and the Bristol Jewish Society held a virtual rally
to call on the University of Bristol to finally take action against
the lecturer David Miller, who brazenly states that Jewish students
are an “enemy” that must be “defeated”, that prominent Jewish
people and organisations are a “pillar of Islamophobia” and that
Jewish students who have the audacity to complain about his
comments are part of a...Request free
trial
(Bury South) (Con) [V]: Yesterday, the Union of Jewish
Students and the Bristol Jewish Society held a virtual rally to
call on the University of Bristol to finally take action against
the lecturer David Miller, who brazenly states that Jewish students
are an “enemy” that must be “defeated”, that prominent Jewish
people and organisations are a “pillar of Islamophobia” and that
Jewish students who have the audacity to complain about his
comments are part of a Zionist “lobby”, which is a well-known
antisemitic conspiracy theory. The rally was called after the
university failed to take action, despite the complaint being
originally placed in 2019. Can we have time for a debate on the
need to improve university complaints procedures, which are failing
Jewish students?
The Leader of the House of Commons (Mr Rees-Mogg): My hon. Friend
brings to the attention of the House comments that are deeply
wicked and the sort of thing that decent people simply do not say.
We expect higher education providers to be at the forefront of
tackling antisemitism, making sure that higher education is a
genuinely fulfilling and welcoming experience for everyone.
Providers should have robust policies and procedures in place to
comply with the law, to investigate and to swiftly address hate
crimes, including any antisemitic incidents that are reported.
Antisemitism is one of the most evil creeds and thoughts. It has
been a blot on the history of the world for hundreds of years and
it has no place in our society. Universities must be part of
ensuring that antisemitism ceases to exist.
