Goldsmiths University confirm barrister-led inquiry into antisemitism claims

Goldsmiths University has announced an independent barrister-led inquiry into allegations of antisemitism within the institution.

Professor Frances Corner, warden of Goldsmiths, confirmed the probe, which will be led by the highly-regarded KC Mohinderpal Sethi.

The announcement follows a Jewish News report last June, which revealed how the Jewish lecturer Dr David Hirsh, from the Department of Sociology, had been labelled a “far right white supremacist” and a “Zionist Goldsmiths academic” by a student leader.

Several academics at the uni also signed petitions in support of the disgraced Bristol professor David Miller.

In a message to students on Thursday Professor Corner confirmed the inquiry adding it would “determine whether students or staff have experienced antisemitism at Goldsmiths, as well as examining the college’s response to any reports, if our policies are adequate and if we are meeting legal duties.”

She added the university was “committed to providing a safe and supportive environment for Jewish students and staff and we hope this inquiry will provide a clear picture of the experiences of our Jewish community and allow the college to take appropriate action to support students and staff.

The south London based university is to announce a call for evidence, in which students and staff, both current and former, are invited to submit evidence.

The Union of Jewish Students is also likely to encourage past and present students to submit testimonies, in the same way Jewish students provided significant evidence for the wider investigation into antisemitism claims within the National Union of Students.

In the same way as the NUS inquiry was conducted, the latest probe will access whether Goldsmiths has breached its duties under the Equalities Act, and failed in its duty to of care towards Jewish students and staff.

Barrister Sethi will lead the inquiry, having previously looked into allegations of racism at Yorkshire Cricket Club.

Goldsmiths had previously been at the centre of a string of controversies over allegations of anti-Jewish racism.

Last June, Jewish News revealed how Jewish lecturer Dr David Hirsh, from the Department of Sociology, had been labelled a “far right white supremacist” and a “Zionist Goldsmiths academic” by its former student union leader Sara Bafo.

Hirsh had criticised the Decolonise Education campaigns run by the NUS, over claims it was offensive to Jewish students.

The Twitter account of Goldsmiths University College Union re-tweeted the formrt SU President’s accusations against Hirsh, saying that it stood in “full solidarity” with Bafo and was “100% behind her”.

Hirsh was offered support by Professor Corner, and Goldsmiths confirmed it was consulting with the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) over good practice.

There were also further claims that Jews had been prevented from attending a meeting called to “defend” Palestine.

Asked to comment on confirmation of the barrister led investigation Hirsh told Jewish News:”Goldsmiths is acting with courage, asking for help in determining whether it has institutional antisemitism, and if it does, asking what should be done about it.

“The College has not been forced into this course of action. It would have been easy for it to continue to look the other way, as it has for decades and as other institutions do. This is a choice.

“If a community can only accept Jews who embrace a given intellectual framework, and if it tolerates a culture that quietly but ruthlessly marginalises and de-legitimises Jews who think differently, then it is not a community of scholarship, it is not a genuine university.

“I hope that everybody who has endured the hostile environment at Goldsmiths, everybody who has stayed quiet for fear of the consequences of speaking, everybody who has redirected their intellect in safer directions, everybody who bit their lip, everybody who has been marked down for telling the truth as they saw it, everybody who has written a more acceptable essay, everybody who avoided participating, everybody who has felt the need to pass, I hope they will now find the courage and the words to tell their story.

“People will feel that they don’t have ‘evidence’, or what they suffered was inconsequential compared to some other ‘real’ suffering, or that others will speak for them; or they may feel unable to put into words that which they have difficulty facing even within the privacy of their own minds.

“But they are being asked to tell their stories and they must tell them.”