Antisemitism on University Campuses

Lord Turnberg Excerpts

Wednesday 7th May 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Turnberg (Lab)]

My Lords, I too thank the noble Lord, Lord Cryer, for introducing this debate and giving us such a wonderful opening address. Conor Cruise O’Brien said that

“anti-Semitism is a light sleeper”.

Well, it was woken with a bang on the morning after the devastating slaughter of men, women and children by Hamas on 7 October, when the blame for that act of terror was soon placed on the victims—Israel and the Jews. The marchers in London and even, I am afraid, Amnesty International, stated as much on 8 October, well before Israel reacted. It is no surprise then that university campuses across the country became hotbeds of antisemitism and anti-Zionism. The report published today by StandWithUs provides the verbal testimony of students from a wide range of universities and it makes devastating reading—I should declare an interest as a trustee of StandWithUs.

I will not repeat the many uncomfortable student statements that we have already heard, save for one:

“I was targeted not for what I said, but for who I am—a Jew”.


Another student had a swastika carved into her desk, as we have heard, and there are many more such descriptions from desperate students. Worst of all is the fact that, despite the complaints many students made to university authorities, they have, by and large, been ignored or worse. As one university said:

“There are no further steps or actions related to this matter”.


It is often said that criticism of Israel is valid; indeed, more than 50% of Israelis are vehemently critical of their Government, but that is not anti-Zionism. It becomes anti-Zionism only when it is taken to mean antipathy to the very existence of the State of Israel. The definition of Zionism is simply the desire to support the only Jewish state in the world, and it is far from implying approval of one or other of the Israeli Government’s actions. What Government in the world are immune to criticism, even our own? But no matter how badly behaved they are, we do not deny their existence. On campuses, just as the strong criticism of China’s treatment of the Uyghurs has not led to the persecution of Chinese students, and just as American students have not suffered a backlash from the behaviour of President Trump—unless they happen to be Jewish—so one may ask: why is it only Jewish students who suffer? It is hard to escape the conclusion that, as Jonathan Sacks said,

“Anti-Zionism is the new antisemitism”.


So, my question to my noble friend the Minister is: when will the promised meeting between Ministers and university vice-chancellors take place? What pressure will be brought to bear on them to support their Jewish students and stop their persecution? Will vice-chancellors be brought to recognise that calls for equity, diversity and inclusion should, in all fairness, be applied to all excluded groups, including Jewish students?