20 No. 59 JUSTICE without considering what sort of actions, language and discourse are captured by the term, and that defining the parameters of antisemitism was central to the question of what should be done to address this form of hate.”3 In other words, in order to investigate allegations of antisemitism and in order to identify clear protocols for addressing it, one first needs to define what is meant by the term "antisemitism." However, until February 13, 2017, UK universities did not have a working definition of antisemitism to guide them in identifying or addressing antisemitism on their campuses. To make matters worse, the university sector provides no education and training on the topic of antisemitism for university administrators, including those promoting equality, respect for diversity and inclusivity for minority students, and dealing with incidents and complaints of racism. Moreover, there is no education and training for students’ unions. The only anti-racism and diversity training provided in the university sector focuses on promoting educational opportunity for Black-Minority-Ethnic (BME) students; Jewish students are not included in that group, despite the fact that Jews are classed as a racial as well as a religious group under UK law. In the absence of a working definition of antisemitism, and of education and training on antisemitism in the university sector, a student complaining of campus antisemitism would have to rely on the personal understanding, awareness and knowledge of the university administrator who happens to decide the outcome of his complaint. This could be a risky business, however, because there is a great deal of ignorance in the UK about antisemitism. There is very little knowledge of antisemitism’s pre-Holocaust history. Most people have never even heard of the "blood libel" or the "conspiracy libel" or the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Most people are unaware of the history of antisemitism in Stalinist politics. Most people just associate antisemitism with the Holocaust and consider antisemitism, therefore, to be a relic of the past, a symptom of an outdated ideology.4 This ignorance makes university administrators illiterate with respect to antisemitic language and iconography, which is a typical mode of anti-Zionist expression. Further, it is inevitable that some university administrators are anti-Zionist and will share the same antisemitic and/or anti-Zionist assumptions and attitudes that form the basis of the student complaint. In his May 2015 complaint, "Brian" (the student complainant) alleged, inter alia, that the University tolerated anti-Israel activity on campus that crossed the line from legitimate criticism of Israel into antisemitism and harassment. It listed appalling Facebook posts and tweets by the University’s Palestine Society that went beyond the right to free speech and created a hostile environment for him. These posts accused Israel and Israelis of genocide, deliberately killing Palestinian children, deliberately killing other Palestinian civilians, war crimes, atrocities, using chemical weapons, ethnic cleansing, inhumanity, cruelty, behaving like Nazis, sexual and other abuse of Palestinian children (including abduction and human trafficking), stealing Palestinian organs, being racists and fascists, and rejoicing in Palestinian deaths. For example, one social media post was: “One of the most sophisticated armies in the world is committing monstrous atrocities; it has dropped bombs [on] disability shelters killing those seeking safety within, it has made targeted airstrikes on family homes killing entire families in cold blood, it is slaughtering children who are arriving to hospital ‘in bits’….”5 Brian complained that these posts contributed to “an intimidating campus climate”6 and that he felt “intimidated and afraid to mention Israel on campus or to wear my Star of David or my skull cap for fear of being picked on.”7 He said that “they are based on lies and half-truths about Jews, invoking blood libel motifs, stereotypes and defamations on campus and online, creating a threatening mob mentality.”8 He explained the EUMC (European Union Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia) Working Definition of Antisemitism and invited the University to formally adopt it in order to identify all forms of antisemitic expression on campus and to identify clear protocols for addressing it. The EUMC Definition, which in May 2016, was adopted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), consisting of 31 member states including the UK, and in December 2016, was formally adopted by the UK Government, provides explicit examples of how antisemitism can be manifested, when context is taken fully into account with respect to the State of Israel. These include: denying the Jewish people a right to self3. The House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee, Antisemitism in the UK, Tenth Report of Session 2016-17, para. 12. 4. Anthony Julius, TRIALS OF THE DIASPORA: A HISTORY OF ANTISEMITISM IN ENGLAND (2010), at 517. 5. Brian’s Complaint para. 68. 6. Brian’s Complaint para. 47. 7. Brian’s Complaint para. 188. 8. Brian’s Complaint para. 207. 9. Supra note 3, para. 12.
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