Two UK education ministers have written to vice-chancellors to warn them that Jewish students are “hiding their identities” amid ongoing violence in Israel and Gaza.
Gillian Keegan, the secretary of state for education, and Robert Halfon, the higher education minister, have also criticised the UK’s main academic union, the University and College Union (UCU), for what they said was a “grossly insensitive and unhelpful” statement that condemned the “targeting of civilian life by both Hamas and the Israeli military”. The UCU has defended its intervention as “balanced”.
With tensions high over the war that was sparked by Hamas attacks on Israel on Saturday, the actions of universities and students have come under close scrutiny.
Both Palestinian and Jewish student groups have held protests and issued statements in recent days, with social media comments made by academics also being pored over. Previous research has identified a rise in antisemitism on campuses when there is heightened conflict in the Middle East.
