Pro-Palestine protests at UK universities reflect a “vocal minority” and must stop, a furious Rishi Sunak has said.
The Prime Minister, whose become increasingly outspoken about protests engulfing Britain, will meet with vice chancellors from some of the country’s leading universities in No10 tomorrow.
Sunak’s intervention came after students from a number of universities joined encampments to show support for Gaza.
A number of protest hubs have sprung up across the UK as protests against events in the Strip continue to grip the West.
'This has to stop!' Rishi Sunak intervenes on university protests amid spike in antisemitism
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Following the recent spate of protests, Sunak said: “Universities should be places of rigorous debate but also bastions of tolerance and respect for every member of their community.
“A vocal minority on our campuses are disrupting the lives and studies of their fellow students and, in some cases, propagating outright harassment and antisemitic abuse. That has to stop.”
Sunak will meet several vice-chancellors alongside Education Secretary Gillian Keegan.
Keegan added: “I have made it absolutely clear that universities must crack down on antisemitism and ensure that protests do not unduly disrupt university life.
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Oxford University
Flickr“I am looking to welcoming vice-chancellors to No10 today to make sure together we have clear steps in place to protect Jewish students on campus.”
Communities Secretary Michael Gove and Security Minister Tom Tugenhadt will also call on university leaders to ensure a zero-tolerance approach to antisemitic abuse is adopted on all campuses.
Representatives from the Union of Jewish Students will also attend the roundtable to share their experiences and perspective.
The University Jewish Chaplaincy Service will receive a cash injection of £500,000 to provide welfare services for Jewish students after last year’s Autumn Statement.
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan
PAChancellor Jeremy Hunt announced £7million of extra support to tackle antisemitic abuse, including £500,000 for university students.
The University Jewish Chaplaincy helps students deal with incidents of antisemitism and intimidation and currently supports over 8,500 students at over 100 universities in 13 regions.
Students at Oxford University were asked to sign a radical pro-Palestinian manifesto as the war in Gaza rages on.
Oxford Action for Palestine is insisting students who want to join their encampment in the centre of the city agree with the radical manifesto which effectively ensures the collapse of Israel as a country.
Pro-Palestine activists in the UK continue to put pressure on universities and colleges to pull all investments in Israel or with Israeli links.
Students walk through Cambridge University in Cambridge
GETTYThey are also pushing for an increase in the number of bursaries handed out to Palestinian students wanting to study in the UK.
However, activists have also been accused of pushing for the dismantling of Israel.
Students wanting to pitch a tent in front of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History were told they must be “committed to upholding the Thawabit”, a set of demands laid down by the Palestinian Liberation Organisation in the 1970s.
The demands go beyond the two-state solution advocated by the G7, the European Union, US and China.
