Image: Number 10 [CC BY-NC-ND 2.0], via Flickr
Martin McQuillan considers the situation on UK campuses as ministers plan regulatory intervention on antisemitism
In British universities, the number of student Gaza-related protests continues to grow. There are now reported encampments or occupations, of various sizes, at the universities of Warwick, Leeds, Bristol, Newcastle, Manchester, Sheffield, Swansea, Goldsmiths, Edinburgh, Cambridge, Oxford, Aberdeen, Liverpool, Queen’s Belfast, the School of Oriental and African Studies and University College London.
Following similar protests on campuses in the US, some of which have turned violent, with police intervention, there is a nervousness that protests at UK universities could spiral out of control. That seems unlikely at present—the central demand of the students involved in the protests is that their own institutions divest from companies and services connected to the state of Israel.
However, that has not stopped the government from calling university bosses to a meeting today in Downing Street. Prime minister Rishi Sunak is said to have told his cabinet on Tuesday that vice-chancellors would be called in to discuss the “unacceptable” rise in antisemitism and the “need for universities to be safe for our Jewish students”.
Writing in the Times today, Sunak calls on vice-chancellors “to take personal responsibility for protecting Jewish students in their care”. Announcing £500,000 to support the Jewish Chaplaincy Service in British universities, he says, “There can be no appeasement or pandering to absurd demands from protesters.”
The prime minister writes, “Universities have a profound duty to remain bastions of tolerance, where… debate takes place with respect for others—and where every student feels safe and at home, whatever their faith or background. Right now, that is not the case.”
Today’s meeting will be addressed by both the Community Security Trust and the Union of Jewish Students. In his Times op-ed, Sunak makes the claim that, “only last month, the UJS were themselves subject to a shameful attempt to get their organisation kicked out of the National Union of Students, purely because of their support for the principle of a Jewish state”.
“Freedom of speech can never become an excuse for a vocal and aggressive minority to intimidate or harass other people”, writes Sunak. “Nor can it provide an excuse for the incitement of violence or the glorification of terrorism.”
Writing in the Telegraph yesterday, education secretary Gillian Keegan said the student protests “add to” an existing “hostile and toxic atmosphere” on British campuses since the October 7 attacks in Israel.
She said, “In light of this, I am making myself very clear: antisemitic abuse and intimidation must not be tolerated on university campuses, and we will not stand by as Jewish students suffer.” Keegan went on to criticise bosses at Goldsmiths for giving “in to the unreasonable demands of a vocal minority of protesters”.
Keegan wrote, “I know a great deal of work is already underway by universities to plan an emergency response with law enforcement partners to any escalation of protests, to enable students of all faiths to complete their studies without fear of intimidation or abuse… Where there is evidence of possible criminality, including illegal hate speech or supporting a proscribed terrorist organisation such as Hamas, universities must involve the police and Community Security Trust where appropriate.”
Research Professional News readers will be familiar with occasions when government ministers (not Keegan) have wrongly accused university staff of supporting proscribed terrorist organisations. Keegan’s text may, consequently, have been heavily lawyered.
The news of the cabinet briefing first appeared in the Times yesterday—under a byline of no fewer than four journalists. According to the report, the government is promising a new condition of registration for universities related to antisemitism.
The relevant paragraphs are as follows: “Ministers are currently drawing up new guidance for universities on how they should deal with potentially antisemitic protests and prevent outside groups from infiltrating campuses. At the same time, the university regulator is due to announce that universities will be required, under their conditions of registration, to have robust policies in place to prevent the ‘harassment’ of students on campus.”
“A government source said this would explicitly include Jewish students and allow the Office for Students to investigate claims of antisemitism in individual universities. Universities which breach their conditions of registration can be fined by the OfS and compelled to take the ‘necessary actions’ to address their concerns.”
Accordingly, Research Professional News knocked on some doors to ask what the Times quad of reporters were referring to. The answer came as something of a surprise.
Consultation outcome
We have been told that the Office for Students is soon to publish its response to last year’s consultation on harassment and sexual misconduct. Research Professional News understands that this is the vehicle that will be used to introduce a new condition of registration for universities related to the safety of students, and by extension to antisemitic incidents on campuses.
The OfS response is expected later this month and is thought to include proposed protection for students from all forms of illegal harassment. We have been told that, given the definition of harassment used in the consultation refers to the Equalities Act, this by default extends regulatory protection to Jewish students.
Anyone familiar with the original consultation on sexual misconduct may well think it is quite the stretch to move from a general condition of registration related to harassment to talk of investigations and fines for “potentially antisemitic protests” on campuses. However, the timing of the government source’s comments to the Times, as the student encampments spring up, is more than suggestive.
The original 94-page consultation “on a new approach to regulating harassment and sexual misconduct in English higher education” makes only passing reference to antisemitism.
The casual observer might be forgiven for thinking that the consultation was in fact about regulating personal relationships between staff and students and not about a proposal to introduce a condition of registration related to investigations of antisemitism on campus. In particular, the consultation arose from concerns about the use of non-disclosure agreements to silence the victims of sexual harassment.
On proposing a new regulation last year, the OfS said, “The proposed new condition would require universities and colleges to publish a single document explaining the steps it will take to protect students from harassment and sexual misconduct; arrangements for handling incidents; details of how it will support anyone involved in incidents; details of training for students and staff.”
The OfS went on to say, “This new approach would also provide clear and specific definitions of harassment and sexual misconduct; prohibit non-disclosure agreements forbidding students to talk about incidents of harassment and sexual misconduct; place regulatory requirements on universities and colleges in relation to personal relationships between students and relevant staff.” There was little at the time to suggest that a new condition of registration would be put to an alternative or extended use.
However, we have been told by our own Whitehall source that in light of recent events (ie, the Gaza protest encampments), the government feels it is “probably appropriate” to broaden the scope of the definition of harassment to explicitly address the safety of Jewish students on campuses.
Separately, we have also been told that no final decisions have been made relating to the new condition of registration. At the same time the regulator is currently consulting on issues related to freedom of speech and academic freedom in universities.
Arif Ahmed, director for freedom of speech and academic freedom at the OfS, said, “Universities should uphold free speech within the law for everyone. But this does not, and cannot, include discrimination against, or harassment of, Jewish students, or any other conduct prohibited by law.
“Peaceful protest is itself a legitimate expression of freedom of speech. We expect universities and colleges to make provision for the lawful expression of the greatest possible range of ideas and opinions, even those that some may find deeply offensive.
“Whilst universities and colleges should not seek to suppress the lawful expression of any idea or viewpoint, we recognise that to manage their affairs effectively and safely, they may have to regulate the time, place and manner of expression, where there are compelling reasons to do so.”
Steps beyond
So, is this a story about a Downing Street briefing that over-eggs the regulatory pudding in order to appeal to concerned voters in a general election year, or are we looking at a genuine attempt to introduce a new expansive condition of registration? We await the OfS proposals later this month.
For their part, Universities UK were keen to stress that today’s meeting with Sunak and Keegan will focus on tackling antisemitism and racial harassment on campus rather than student protests.
On the protests and occupations, a UUK spokesperson told us, “Universities are monitoring the small number of encampments which have appeared on UK campuses. Universities work hard to strike the right balance between ensuring the safety of all students and staff, preventing harassment, and supporting peaceful and legitimate protests on campus. Mature dialogue between students and universities on site has so far limited any significant escalation.
“While UUK does not have an operational role with our members, we have been convening our senior leaders and experts from the sector to share best practice and discuss the latest position. Universities are being supported in their operations by AUCSO (the Association of University Chief Security Officers).” That is a very different situation from the scenes witnessed at Columbia University and other US institutions.
On tackling antisemitism and racial harassment, the UUK spokesperson said, “The priority of UUK and our member universities is to ensure that our campuses remain safe for all our students and staff. We will do everything we can to prevent hate crime, antisemitism, Islamophobia and intolerance, and support our universities to respond appropriately if incidents involving these take place.
“In line with the sector’s clear commitment to freedom of speech, it is important that universities enable and support students and staff to debate and discuss this crisis, and the most challenging issues it raises, within the law, and with respect and tolerance.
“We will continue to bring universities together to share their approaches to managing campus relations in this extremely difficult period.” The war in Gaza, with everything that falls out from it, and the harassment of Jewish students on British campuses, are extremely serious issues responsible grown-ups in government and universities ought to be careful not to view either from the prism of our present culture wars for either media reaction or electoral positioning.
One thing we can tell you is that the forthcoming regulatory condition on harassment is seemingly unrelated to the suspension of the government’s £5.5 million tender to develop “a quality seal of approval” for universities tackling antisemitism. Applications to provide the proposed kitemark—which will “allow universities to demonstrate practical commitment to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism”—is currently “paused” but remains a live procurement opportunity. Research Professional News has been told by the DfE that the tender has momentarily been put on hold while several “technical issues” are clarified in order to allow smaller providers who work in Holocaust memorial education to engage with the procurement process.
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