Campus antisemitism: MP issues warning on ‘scale of the problem’ during Westminster debate

AN MP has warned “we must be clear at the outset about the scale of the problem and its source” as he led a debate on antisemitism on UK campuses in Westminster.

Mark Sewards, Labour MP for Leeds South West and Morley, also told MPs: “We must also be clear that those who deny that there is a problem are part of it.”

The parliamentary chair of the Labour Friends of Israel group added: “We will never be able to grasp or tackle this crisis until we recognise that it is driven primarily by antisemitic anti-Zionism, the ugly form in which centuries of Jew-hate finds its most virulent expression today.”

He noted that according to the CST, over 70% of the antisemitic incidents that it recorded in higher education last year were overtly related to Israel and the Middle East, while also demonstrating anti-Jewish hate or motivation.

But the independent MP Iqbal Mohamed attempted to counter Sewards’ argument.

He said: “It also deeply troubles me when I look across the pond to the United States and hear accusations of antisemitism—including at protests on campuses—thrown around without sufficient care in response to criticisms of the Israeli state’s actions in the Middle East. However, Israel is a state. It is a Government. It has its army. It does not represent or reflect the views or actions of Jews around the world.”

Mohamed did accept there was a problem with anti-Jewish hate on campuses, adding there was also a similar issue affecting Muslim students. He offered to work with Sewards on addressing the crisis.

For the Liberal Democrats, Tim Farron argued: “Netanyahu is an appalling man and the current Israeli Government are guilty of all sorts of terrible actions. That is probably the view of the majority of citizens in Israel, and we await an election there with some eagerness.”

But he added: “Nevertheless, let us remind ourselves what it means for two young Jewish people to feel that they cannot leave this building when there are protests of that sort going on outside. Give me all the what ifs and what abouts—that does not change the fact that two Jewish people felt unsafe walking on our streets.”

Conservative MP Joy Morrissey spoke of the implications of rampant campus antisemitism, stating: “The reason I am so adamant that we stop the rise of antisemitism in our universities is that they are where future leaders—the next generation of British men and women who will go on to lead in Parliament, business and commerce—are being trained… No, every student deserves equality of access to education, and every student, when they go to university, deserves to feel safe in their exams and when walking about. They should not be harassed, bullied, shouted at or attacked because they are wearing a Star of David or any kind of religious symbol. I would say the same for any ethnic minority.”

For the DUP, Jim Shannon said: “We have seen a deeply alarming trend where extreme political activism on these campuses has crossed the line from legitimate debate into outright intimidation and the exclusion of Jewish and Zionist voices.

“I have spoken personally to some of those Jewish students who have given me their testimony and told me their stories. They told me that on occasion they are scared to be active on their own campuses.”