Antisemitism on UK university campuses have reached “record” levels, with an academic accused this month of “smearing” a Jewish student.
Senior education lecturer Dr Muir Houston has been found to be in breach of Glasgow University’s policy against antisemitism after calling the student a part of “the Lobby” and claiming that Jewish Labour MP Louise Ellman was working at the “behest of a foreign power”.
GLAMOUR spoke to a university student based in London about her experiences of antisemitism from both her fellow students and her professors…
When I started at university I was, like all students, looking forward to years of making friends, engaging in academic discourse and expanding my horizons.
It quickly became clear I was the first Jewish person many of my new friends had ever encountered. There were lots of comments about the size of my nose – mainly people expressing surprise that it wasn’t “even that big”. I tried to laugh it off at first.
Horrible as this was, most of the antisemitism I have encountered on campus hasn’t been from my fellow students, but from my teachers.
My course is international politics but a big focus appears to be on Israel. Like many Jewish people, for me Zionism – a belief that there should be a safe state for Jewish people in our ancestral homeland – is part of my identity.