Antisemitism should be treated the same way as any other type of racism

Only Jewish students are best placed to define what antisemitism is


This evening we mark Yom HaShoah, the day in which Jewish people commemorate the holocaust. For many Jewish students it is a time to reflect on the family we never met, the family members that survived, and the collective numbers of people who perished at the hands of the Nazis.

Every year I feel blessed to live in a society free from persecution and institutional antisemitism, however there are many Jewish students, even at Leeds, who still feel like our concerns are being disregarded and ignored.

While you may have heard about somebody arguing against Holocaust Memorial Day at the National Union of Students’ conference a few weeks ago, what you may not have realised is this actually happened in Leeds University Union’s own policy-making body a few months ago. Despite the common complaint that Holocaust Memorial Day commemorations are not “inclusive” enough, it is clearly stated that it commemorates all genocides since the Second World War.

On a panel of 15 students, two voted against the Union supporting Holocaust Memorial Day commemorations, this is symbolic of how student politics has left Jewish students out of its inner circle because they consider us too privileged to be cared for.

Speaking personally, whenever I walk around Leeds campus I feel absolutely safe and have nothing to worry about. While I may not wear a skullcap, some of my friends who do wear one claim that they haven’t experienced any abuse on campus. Yet when I step into an area of student politics, there is an impression that those who are paid to hear and act on our concerns are the ones to dismiss them. Why should this be the case for Jewish students?

One thing that Student Unions all over the country do so successfully is allow for minorities to determine what they consider offensive, this allows for an inclusive space where everyone feels comfortable and safe. Sometimes this leads to heavy-handed decisions, such as trying to ban David Cameron from Manchester’s Student Union. But often it allows those who are black or LGBTQ+, for example, to feel much more at home in their own Student Union, which is clearly vital.

Just as black students are best placed to define what racism is, it follows that Jewish students are the best placed to define what antisemitism is.

When one of my Jewish friends was labelled a “Zio” by a prominent member of a Union Society, he raised this concern with a paid member of Union staff. He was told: “It isn’t really antisemitism, is it?” This was extremely concerning since it had just followed the news about the Oxford University Labour Club, where Jewish students were reported as being called “Zios” by various committee members. This was revealed when the co-chair, a Jewish student, stepped down from his role.

During the recent twinning referendum with Al-Quds, messages on the Union’s official voting page included those who claimed that antisemitism is a “myth” and that Jews should stop using antisemitism as a “pretext”. It is extremely concerning that these people think they can tell Jewish students what is or isn’t antisemitic. It also somewhat echoes a concerning trend where antisemitism isn’t treated as a genuine concern but rather a Zionist plot or Blairite smear.

For Jewish students to stand up and speak up against an act of antisemitism – which appears to be something discouraged by the Union – is not something which we can do easily and often it is extremely difficult. I have never spoken publicly about this systemic disregard for antisemitism. I am made to feel like calling out antisemitism is a crude political tactic rather than a reporting of abuse and offence.

Unions across the country choose to turn a blind eye when it came to antisemitism under the cloak of anti-Zionism, and this prevents Jewish students from feeling emboldened to raise concerns and be reassured that they’ll be treated seriously.

When the Jewish Society complained about a speaker last year during Israel Apartheid Week who we deemed antisemitic, we were swatted away despite having demonstrated his antisemitism. The speaker proceeded to admonish the Jewish Society at his talk, resulting in his subsequent banning from our campus, but this was too little, too late.

This is NOT an argument about boycotting Israel, it is NOT an article that is asking for people to change their politics, I am simply asking people to hear our concerns. When Jewish students say that we think something is antisemitic – don’t dismiss it, investigate it.

When a Jewish student garners the courage to call something antisemitic, don’t make them feel like there is a political cost. I’ve heard it said that antisemitism is a plague on student politics, whilst I may not necessarily of this far, its presence in student politics is extremely concerning and the blatant disregard for Jewish students needs to end.