(Brigg and Goole) (Con):
Hannukah semeach, Mr Speaker. This evening, of course, is the
last evening on which Jews will light their hannukiah. It is
normally the time of year for joy, but for many Jews we are
frightened to show our Jewishness on the streets of this country,
not least because of the appalling examples of Jew hate we have
seen on some of the marches. But it is Jewish students on our
campuses who have it the worst. At a recent Jewish Society event
at Warwick University, its WhatsApp chatgroup was infiltrated and
freshers were called, “effing dirty Jewish…”—I will not say the
last word. Visibly Jewish students at St Andrews were egged and
an emeritus professor at Bristol called for her followers to blow
up the Jewish Labour
Movement May we have a debate on antisemitism on
campuses, so that Members can hold vice-chancellors, some of whom
are doing a good job on this, to account for what is happening on
our campuses?
: I thank my hon. Friend for
raising this very important point. This was also raised last week
in the wake of the appalling testimony that was given in the
United States from three of its universities. His question is
very balanced, because many universities are doing a very good
job on this front. I will just put on record my thanks to the
noble , the right hon. Member for
Barking ( ) and my own fantastic
Parliamentary Private Secretary, my hon. Friend the Member for
West Bromwich East (), for the work that they
have done with others in producing a very good report on this
subject. It is incredibly important that those universities that
are not doing what they should do—we know there is no excuse,
because the bulk of universities are doing a fantastic job—really
get their act together. They owe it to this country and everyone
in it, in particular the Jewish community, to get that right. I
again pay tribute to the work of the Union of Jewish Students,
who do so much work to combat the terrible antisemitism that is
unfortunately lingering in some of our academic institutions.
