Jewish students at London University 'taunted with Hitler jokes'

Letter sent by law firm Mishcon de Reya on behalf of Jewish students at Queen Mary, University of London, details multiple antisemitism claims

Jewish students at Queen Mary, University of London (QMUL) have been taunted with Hitler jokes and threats from other students, it has been alleged.

A letter sent by the law firm Mishcon de Reya on behalf of Jewish students at the institution accuses it of failing to respond to dozens of allegations of antisemitism.

In one incident, reported by the Times, students joked about getting a “Hitler reboot card” on the chat function during an online lecture attended by 500 students.

In the same lecture, a participant in the chat group made jokes about Hitler’s “gas bill”.

The letter also claims Jewish students have been threatened with violence.

One student was sent a video quoting the Quran overlaid with images of war wreckage in Israel.

In a university politics WhatsApp chat, a message said: “We warned the children of Israel in the Scripture, ‘You will certainly cause corruption in the land twice and you will become extremely arrogant. When the first of the two warnings would come to pass, we would send against you some of our servants of great might, who would ravage your homes’. This would be a warning fulfilled.”

A spokesman for QMUL said the university did not tolerate harassment or abuse of any kind and took every report seriously.

The Jewish society at the university confirmed it had received messages accusing its members of being “animals”.

One online comment received by the society said: “You’re all terrorists. Keep playing victim but you’re all going to end up in hell burning.”

Edward Isaacs, president of the Union of Jewish Students, said: “These incidents at QMUL are indicative of the university’s structural failings in ridding the campus of antisemitism. Jewish students must have their experiences heard, recognised and acted upon accordingly. We need QMUL to take urgent action to address the litany of egregious issues outlined in this necessary letter.”

A spokesman for QMUL said: “Whilst we examine the contents of the letter we have just received from a law firm we urge all members of our community to report any concerns they have, including those raised in the letter, through the university’s standard report-and-support process so that we can address them immediately.

“We remain deeply concerned by the horrifying impact on innocent civilians due to the events unfolding in the Middle East, including the terrorist attacks by Hamas on Israel, the taking of civilian hostages, the continuing military action and the resulting humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

“We continue to ask everyone within our diverse and inclusive Queen Mary community to come together to support each other, with compassion, understanding and empathy for others’ pain.”