Antisemitism on University Campuses

Lord Walney Excerpts

Wednesday 7th May 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Walney (CB)]

We have heard many harrowing accounts today. Of course antisemitism has existed for millennia, long before the Hamas atrocities on 7 October, and it is a privilege to be in the presence today of so many people who have literally dedicated their lives, and have had to do so, to fight antisemitism.

I add my praise, love and respect for the Union of Jewish Students. It was amazing to work with those students back in the day when, among the many things they were doing, they supported one particularly talented young student to be elected on to the block of 12, I think it was—my noble friend Lady Berger, who sits on these Benches today. The Union of Jewish Students clearly has an even harder job today, given what is happening.

Of course antisemitism existed long before Hamas’s atrocities, but it is deeply disturbing that the extremist ideology of those hateful terrorists has been seemingly so willingly adopted by many students at our country’s universities. The examples of antisemitism identified in today’s report by StandWithUs UK are notable both for their volume and for their consistency. I will briefly share a couple more examples.

A student at Queen Mary University of London was shouted out as they walked past the library; in front of campus security, students filmed themselves as they yelled,

“There’s a Zionist there, so you need to shout as loud as possible”.


An Israeli flag was burned at a student event arranged by Jewish and Israeli societies that was supposed to be a moment of solidarity and celebration for young adults traumatised by the events of 7 October; it was turned into the opposite of that.

As others have said, the antisemitism by university staff is the most shocking thing here. Consider the example of the professor at the University of Leeds who posted on their personal social media account that the local Jewish society is “virulently Zionist” and declared that there is

“no space for Zionists on campus, not now or ever”.

I believe that no disciplinary action, according to the report, was taken after the posts had been deleted. Can you imagine that happening if it had been a white supremacist who had revealed themselves? Of course it would not happen, but it slips by, and university life is allowed to go on as if nothing has happened.

When university administrators fail to enforce adequate sanctions and some university staff even feel emboldened to participate in this festival of hate, is it any surprise that anti-Jewish racism and intolerance have spread so widely among the student body? I am afraid that many Jews feel that they are being sent the unmistakable message, “You are not welcome here on campus”, and it is hard not to escape the echoes of a period in the 1930s that led to the darkest moment in human history.

I implore the Government to read carefully the recommendations in the StandWithUs UK report and those that have been made over the years by the Antisemitism Policy Trust, which has been dedicated in this area for many years. As a democracy founded on the principles of equality and freedom of religion, we can ill-afford to allow this crisis to continue.