LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Thursday urged university chiefs to address a rise in anti-Semitic abuse on campus and disruption to learning in response to the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Downin Street said Sunak and his ministers would meet with university vice-chancellors to ensure a zero-tolerance approach to anti-Semitic abuse is adopted on all campuses.
The government said it wants to make it clear that debate and open exchange of ideas is essential in universities, but this can never translate into hate speech, harassment or incitement to violence.
Sunak said, "Universities should be places of rigorous debate, but also bastions of tolerance and respect for every member of their community."
“A vocal minority on our campuses are disrupting the lives and studies of their fellow students and, in some cases, perpetrating outright harassment as anti-Semitic abuse.This has to stop,” he said.
The meeting also aims to help inform planned government guidance on tackling anti-Semitism on campus.
Meanwhile, the Office for Students (OfS) has committed to publishing a response to its consultation on a new condition of registration, which could give the OfS the power to impose sanctions where there is clear evidence that universities have not taken adequate or appropriate action. Have failed to do. Deal with harassment, including anti-Semitic abuse.
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said, “I have made it absolutely clear that universities must crack down on anti-Semitism and ensure that protests do not unnecessarily disrupt university life.,
In last year's budget, the government announced GBP 7 million of additional aid to tackle anti-Semitic abuse in educational settings, and GBP 500,000 of this to support the work of university Jewish chaplains increasing support for Jewish students on campus. Will be dedicated to.
The University Chaplaincy helps students deal with incidents of antisemitism and bullying and currently supports over 8,500 students at over 100 universities in 13 regions. The Union of Jewish Students (UJS) has criticized the "toxic environment" faced by Jewish students across the country. University-related anti-Semitic incidents are set to increase by 20 percent between 2022 and 2023, according to the UK's Community Security Trust.
Ministers want to ensure universities take immediate disciplinary action if they find any student inciting racial hatred or violence – and contact police where they believe a criminal act has been committed.The Education Secretary wrote to vice-chancellors on Sunday setting out the Government's expectations regarding the support provided to Jewish students. Representatives of the Jewish Students Union will also attend the roundtable on Thursday to share their experiences and perspectives during the meeting with Sunak and Keegan, who will invite chancellors to share practices and lessons learned and how the government can continue to Maybe, will seek opinion on this. To support them in fighting anti-Semitic incidents.
This comes as some camps have been set up on some UK university campuses for students protesting against the Israel-Hamas conflict, following massive protests on US university campuses.
Downin Street said Sunak and his ministers would meet with university vice-chancellors to ensure a zero-tolerance approach to anti-Semitic abuse is adopted on all campuses.
The government said it wants to make it clear that debate and open exchange of ideas is essential in universities, but this can never translate into hate speech, harassment or incitement to violence.
Sunak said, "Universities should be places of rigorous debate, but also bastions of tolerance and respect for every member of their community."
“A vocal minority on our campuses are disrupting the lives and studies of their fellow students and, in some cases, perpetrating outright harassment as anti-Semitic abuse.This has to stop,” he said.
The meeting also aims to help inform planned government guidance on tackling anti-Semitism on campus.
Meanwhile, the Office for Students (OfS) has committed to publishing a response to its consultation on a new condition of registration, which could give the OfS the power to impose sanctions where there is clear evidence that universities have not taken adequate or appropriate action. Have failed to do. Deal with harassment, including anti-Semitic abuse.
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said, “I have made it absolutely clear that universities must crack down on anti-Semitism and ensure that protests do not unnecessarily disrupt university life.,
In last year's budget, the government announced GBP 7 million of additional aid to tackle anti-Semitic abuse in educational settings, and GBP 500,000 of this to support the work of university Jewish chaplains increasing support for Jewish students on campus. Will be dedicated to.
The University Chaplaincy helps students deal with incidents of antisemitism and bullying and currently supports over 8,500 students at over 100 universities in 13 regions. The Union of Jewish Students (UJS) has criticized the "toxic environment" faced by Jewish students across the country. University-related anti-Semitic incidents are set to increase by 20 percent between 2022 and 2023, according to the UK's Community Security Trust.
Ministers want to ensure universities take immediate disciplinary action if they find any student inciting racial hatred or violence – and contact police where they believe a criminal act has been committed.The Education Secretary wrote to vice-chancellors on Sunday setting out the Government's expectations regarding the support provided to Jewish students. Representatives of the Jewish Students Union will also attend the roundtable on Thursday to share their experiences and perspectives during the meeting with Sunak and Keegan, who will invite chancellors to share practices and lessons learned and how the government can continue to Maybe, will seek opinion on this. To support them in fighting anti-Semitic incidents.
This comes as some camps have been set up on some UK university campuses for students protesting against the Israel-Hamas conflict, following massive protests on US university campuses.
