Antisemitism on University Campuses

Lord Addington Excerpts

Monday 16th March 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

I made that clear in my initial response. There is absolutely no place for antisemitic abuse or incitement to violence. I heard the debate on the radio this morning and I read the foreword to the report by the noble Lord, Lord Finkelstein. There is a legitimate debate to be had; personally, I find some of it quite insensitive and not acceptable, but people have a legitimate right to express views about Zionism and the State of Israel. They also have a right to express concerns about the Government of Israel and some of their policies and plans. However, we are absolutely clear that they do not have a right to any abuse that attacks the individual or to incitement to physical violence. We are protecting the rights that we have fought so hard for, including the right to be educated in our universities.

[Lord Addington (LD)]

My Lords, the Minister has accepted that every individual, regardless of when or how they pray, has a right to be educated and feel safe while that is going on. Can he go a little further and tell us what process the Government will introduce to ensure that those groups feel safe while they are being educated?

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

I hope I have indicated the range of actions we are taking in my responses so far. Of course the Government condemn all racial and religious hatred in the strongest possible terms, and we strongly encourage universities to take steps to foster the cohesion on campuses that I mentioned earlier. However, we make no apology for acting decisively to tackle the unprecedented rise in antisemitic abuse in universities, particularly since October 2023.