Antisemitism on University Campuses

Lord Polak Excerpts

Monday 16th March 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

The right reverend Prelate raises a really important point. After the outrageous events in Manchester, my right honourable friend Bridget Phillipson wrote to all universities, drawing attention to their responsibility to address this issue. Our universities have a world-class reputation, which makes them a prime target for foreign states and hostile actors that seek to erode their reputation by shaping or censoring what universities can offer, as we are seeing at this moment. We are tackling that threat by investing £3 million to bolster existing support and access to expert advice on national security risk management, including a new academic interference reporting route and new guidance.

[Lord Polak (Con)]

My Lords, we are in a dark place. The Union of Jewish Students has been around for over 100 years to look after the welfare of the Jewish students on campus, but the fact is that Louis Danker, the chair of UJS, had to write this report, Time for Change, when he should be looking after the welfare—and the fun—of Jewish students on campus. In this report, 82% of students regard calls to “globalise the intifada” as antisemitic—I am unsure what the other 18% are thinking. Jewish students and the Jewish community hear that phrase as a call for violence against the Jewish community. Does the Minister accept that allowing such rhetoric on campus and on our streets undermines the safety of Jews throughout this country? Like others have asked, what practical steps can HMG take to rid us of this despicable intimidation?

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

I agree with the noble Lord that people’s political views about the Middle East are often used in a very abusive way that I personally find very offensive, but this does not actually stop individuals saying that they do not agree with Zionism, or with the State of Israel, et cetera. It is not illegal to express those opinions. What is very much illegal is to incite the hatred that we have seen evidenced in this report. That is where we need to take clear action.

I am sorry to keep quoting the noble Lord, Lord Finkelstein—I am trying to prompt him to get up—but he pointed out in one of his articles that his own father, or grandfather, was very much an anti-Zionist and that Zionism was not a tradition in the family. But the experience of Jewish communities throughout the world after the Second World War and the horrendous Holocaust has meant that the State of Israel represents something else: it represents that security and that place they can go to when facing the horrendous antisemitism that we are seeing on the rise. I agree with the noble Lord, Lord Polak, but we have to be very clear about free speech and balancing it with addressing the horrible things that antisemitism can give rise to.