Antisemitism on University Campuses

Baroness Deech Excerpts

Monday 16th March 2026 Lords Chamber

[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.

[Baroness Deech (CB)]

My Lords, I hope the Minister will not make the mistake—I ask him not to—of linking what is happening to Gaza and the events in the Middle East. What is happening is that antisemitism is being used as an excuse. It has always been there—I was talking about this 15 or 20 years ago—and it reveals a certain rot in the culture of our universities. Will the Minister agree that there is a gap in the Lords’ scrutiny? We do not have a Select Committee on education. We should, because that will be a way of bringing the lax vice-chancellors here to answer for their lack of action. I hope the Minister agrees.

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

A Select Committee is not a matter for the Government, of course. The noble Baroness may also be putting me in a different position because I am a member of the Liaison Committee, so I would not want to take a position that may inhibit my ability to make a view on that committee. I totally accept what she says: as we debated on the Holocaust Memorial Bill, antisemitism has been around for a long time and events globally are often an excuse to exploit it. I accept that completely.

However, that does not mitigate the fact that people have genuine concerns about what is going on in the Middle East and the actions of the Israeli Government. They have a right to express those concerns and differences, but the noble Baroness, Lady Deech, is absolutely right about what they do not have a right to be. I have seen antisemitic abuse being addressed in tube stations; I have seen it when I go home. It is based on what people perceive others to look like and it is terrible. We need to address it very strongly.