Jewish professors and students have revealed the shocking scale of anti-Semitism at Oxford University, with more than 70 incidents in eight months.
A file presented to the vice-chancellor details numerous allegations of bullying, including that of a student insulted because of his “Jewish nose”.
Meanwhile, participants in a vigil for Hamas hostages were called “child murderers” and a university supervisor reportedly told his student: “Israel is a terrorist state.”
Complaints were ignored, and some were simply advised to “leave Oxford” if they felt uncomfortable.
It comes after pro-Palestinian protesters set up encampments in Oxford, demanding that the university end all financial ties with Israel.
Pro-Palestinian Oxford University students take part in an encampment with dozens of tents outside the Pitt Rivers Museum to call for total divestment from Israel
A passerby takes photos of the pro-Palestinian banner displayed at Oxford University, Oxford
A letter accompanying the filing states: “We felt isolated, unsafe, targeted, stressed, disappointed, angry and hopeless. Many of us have faced all kinds of anti-Semitic insults.
A Jewish professor, who spoke anonymously to the Mail, said: “What was a movement of hatred against Israel has become a movement of hatred against Jews. Many students and teachers feel very hurt: they have dropped out or suspended their studies.
The letter, which was not signed because its authors were concerned for their safety, was the result of “a series of meetings and conversations we had with dozens of Jews and Israelis in Oxford.” .
It was sent last week after an encampment was set up outside Oxford’s Pitt Rivers Museum, where protesters agreed to a contract on “the right of colonized peoples to resist occupation.”
The letter describes a “hostile environment” for anyone who believes in Israel’s right to exist, with the university “overflowing” with messages about plans to “globalize the Intifada and eliminate Israel’s existence.”
“The Oxford administration is unlikely to turn a blind eye to faculty members who speak of other minorities in such terms,” he adds. The other 72 anti-Semitic incidents included a professor telling his students that the Oct. 7 massacre was “justified,” while another claimed it was planned by Israel.
Flags and banners hang from tents and infrastructure belonging to pro-Palestinian protesters camping outside the University of Manchester, May 8, 2024.
When a student who had lost family in the massacre complained of bullying on campus, a university official told him: “Oxford is often not a nice place for Israelis and Jews and we can’t do anything about it.
A week after the university received the letter – and after being warned it had been leaked to the Daily Mail – Oxford bosses agreed to meet some students tomorrow. A spokesperson said: “There is no place for anti-Semitism, Islamophobia or any form of unlawful discrimination directed against any faith, race, nationality or ethnic group at the University of Oxford.
Oxford abandoned plans to vet chancellor candidates after being accused of trying to rig the process against white politicians – stipulating that selection must “have due regard to the principles of equality and diversity”.
It comes after senior government ministers branded the proposals a “woke gone mad”. Until now, this position has only been held by former politicians. The current chancellor is the former Conservative minister Lord Patten of Barnes.