Cambridge University fails to suspend students who sent death threats over Israel trip

Bradley Smart was told ‘he needs to die’ after visiting Israel

1 week ago

Ellamaria Viscomi | News

A Cambridge University college has failed to suspend students who made death threats against another undergraduate.

Bradley Smart, a third-year student at Homerton College, received the threats after taking part in an organised trip to Israel.

The visit, organised by Pinsker Centre think tank, took Oxbridge student leaders to meet with Israelis and Palestinians to better understand the Gaza conflict.

The 21-year-old student claimed he received death threats from other students at Homerton College, after returning from the trip.

Bradley, who is not Jewish, claimed he was subjected to abuse in a student group chat, where individuals from the college wrote: “I’m going to kill him,” “kill him”, and “he needs to die”.

Other messages included slurs and degrading language, as well as anti-Semitic content including comparisons between Israel and the Nazis.

The two Homerton students who made the comments have been handed disciplinary warnings, which will remain on their college records.

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Bradley claimed he reported the threats to the college’s harassment channels, but was told to either speak to welfare staff or consider moving out.

He moved out of Homerton College a month later out of fear for his safety. The Cambridge Tab understands Bradley told college staff his preferred outcome was to transfer to another college.

A source close to the situation told The Cambridge Tab the college “read the riot act” to the accused students, making it clear the use of death threats was a “red line” for the college. Cambridge colleges do not have the power to suspend students, as this area is handled by the university.

Bradley said he complained to the police, but they informed him it was an “academic matter,” so did not investigate.

via Wikimedia Commons

Bradley told The Telegraph: “As a Cambridge student, I expected my university to be a place where opinions could be refined through dialogue. The reality, however, was that this trip was enough to trigger a campaign of cancellation, including explicit death threats and being banned from a college club.”

Lord Walney, a former government counter-extremism tsar, said: “It is entirely unacceptable that students at one of our leading universities would threaten to kill one of their peers for visiting Israel. The college’s response is wholly inadequate, and sets a dangerous precedent that intimidation and threats of political violence will be tolerated. Cambridge must do better.”

Ben Freeman, the executive director of the Pinsker Centre, said: “Jewish students and their allies are in fear for their lives. After recent attacks, this fear is all the more justified. Threats of violence cannot be normalised. We cannot allow intimidation to shut down dialogue.”

Gabrielle Apfel, the president of the Cambridge Israel Society, said: “Over the past two and a half years, Cambridge has become a lion’s den with regards to Israel and Zionism. At Cambridge University Israel Society, we have had progressives come to speak, including former Labour MPs, but we still determined it necessary to keep the locations of our events off the public record.

“Jewish and Israeli students feel like they have to keep their connections to Israel and their identities to themselves. No student should feel unable to be themselves because of their background or identity.”

A Homerton College spokesperson said: “When threatening messages were reported to Homerton College, we took immediate disciplinary action against the students responsible and made clear in the strongest possible terms that this behaviour was entirely unacceptable.

“Homerton is proud to be the only Oxbridge college to have issued an unprompted public statement of solidarity with Jewish students following the horrific attack in Golders Green. We abhor racism and antisemitism in all their forms, and we will always act decisively to protect every member of our community.”

Cambridge University has been contacted for comment.

Featured image via Unsplash

Ellamaria Viscomi | News