CONCERNS are rising over restrictions to free speech, academic inquiry, and student activism related to Palestine at universities across the UK.
This trend has been attributed to the mandated use of the IHRA definition of anti-semitism by the government. This definition, originally linked to a project backed by Israel’s intelligence agency, Mossad, has been promoted by Israel and its supporters.
The European Legal Support Centre (ELSC) has documented cases between January 2017 and May 2022, where accusations of anti-semitism have been made against staff, students, or guest speakers. According to their analysis, the definition is not being employed to counter prejudice against Jews, but to quash and intimidate critics of Israel. ELSC has logged 40 such cases, of which 38 were found to be baseless accusations, and two are still under review.
In the majority of the recorded incidents involving university staff, formal complaints led to investigations and sometimes lengthy disciplinary procedures. According to a new report by ELSC and BRISMES (the British Society for Middle Eastern Studies), all staff subjected to formal hearings were cleared of the charges.
Pro-Israel groups have also targeted student events and external speakers, demanding cancellations or modifications. Universities have even gone to the extent of demanding speakers and student groups to comply with the IHRA definition as a precondition for holding events.
For instance, Somdeep Sen, a professor from Denmark’s Roskilde University, was forced to withdraw from a speaking engagement at the University of Glasgow following accusations that his topic was ‘anti-semitic.’ The university administration demanded advance information about the content of his lecture, asking him to abide by the IHRA definition, which he found discriminatory against academic freedom.
Critics argue that the IHRA definition, which includes 11 examples mostly focusing on criticism of Israel, effectively prohibits meaningful discussion of Israel’s history and current policies.
These limitations raise serious questions for educators on how to approach subjects like the 1948 displacement of Palestinians or ongoing Israeli policies.The UK government has exerted pressure on universities to adopt this definition, even threatening financial repercussions for non-compliance. This has resulted in three-quarters of UK universities implementing some form of the IHRA definition.
False allegations of anti-semitism have led to emotional and psychological stress among those targeted, often belonging to marginalised communities. ELSC and BRISMES are now urging the UK government to halt the imposition of the IHRA definition and are calling for academic and student bodies to protect the freedom of speech and academic inquiry within their institutions.
Meanwhile in the USA, seven students from the University of Illinois, Chicago, have lodged a federal complaint against their institution, accusing the university’s staff of ethnic and national origin discrimination.
The complainants include six Palestinian American students and one Jewish American student, who were part of a Zoom session organised to inform students about a summer study abroad programme in Israel. The students contend that they faced racial profiling, harassment, and silencing from both university officials and campus police.
The complaint details how students with Arab and Muslim names were initially denied entry to the Zoom session, while those with Western names were granted access. Several Palestinian American students only gained admission after changing their usernames to Western-sounding aliases. One Jewish American student, with a European-origin name, was allowed immediate entry and corroborated the allegations of overt discrimination against her peers.
Represented by civil rights organisation Palestine Legal, the students argue that the university has breached its obligations under Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on race, colour, or national origin.
Prior to the virtual session, the university’s study abroad office had advertised the event on Instagram, describing it as an opportunity for cultural immersion. However, the complaint notes that the post was removed after members of the Students for Justice in Palestine criticised the programme, highlighting Israel’s history of discriminating against Palestinians.
Internal emails accessed through a Freedom of Information Act request reveal that university staff strategised to keep students critical of the programme out of the session. The emails indicated the staff’s intent to admit only those students whom they deemed had shown genuine interest in the programme, effectively excluding others.
In the filed complaint, the students also recount being relegated to a ‘waiting room’ on Zoom, and allege they were denied meaningful participation even after gaining entry under Western pseudonyms.
Several of them claim that their questions about potential racial profiling and discrimination were met with dismissive responses from faculty. The case took a more serious turn when the students were confronted by police for distributing flyers on campus that criticised the university staff’s handling of the Israel study programme.
The students allege that they were detained without justification and felt targeted due to their support for the Palestinian cause.The complaint further details that the study abroad program’s executive director later demanded the removal of Instagram posts by the student group, even threatening legal repercussions.
The Dean of Students also announced that disciplinary action would be taken against the Students for Justice in Palestine. The students and their legal representatives argue that these actions manifest the university’s intent to silence critical voices, particularly those highlighting issues of racial and ethnic discrimination.
Amid escalating scrutiny of student activism for Palestine in American and British universities, parents in Gaza face a different but equally pressing concern: the struggle to provide their children with adequate meals at school.
Khitam Salim, a single mother of three, echoes the same sentiments as many Yemeni parents, finding it almost impossible to provide her children with packed lunches for their primary school in Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza. Her children’s school, run by the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA), offers no meals, forcing students to either bring their own food or buy from the canteen.
Salim, who is reliant on social assistance and has been unemployed, simply cannot afford the over $1 per day her children would need to buy food at school. ‘No one helps me,’ she laments. ‘Not being able to buy anything has a detrimental effect on my children psychologically.’
Similarly, Faris Qishta, father of five children attending UNRWA schools, said: ‘If it wasn’t for food aid packages, my family would have died of hunger.’ The aid doesn’t cover meals at school, and Qishta, once a taxi driver, is currently jobless. ‘I am always looking for work,’ he said, ‘My children have many dreams and when they come to tell me about them, I feel sad.’
These difficulties are exacerbated by UNRWA’s budget constraints, which have led to the termination of a general school-feeding programme in 2014. The agency is grappling with severe financial challenges, despite a more favourable stance from the US under President Joe Biden. As of 2022, US contributions to UNRWA were still lower than before the cuts made during the Trump administration.
This grim situation has a ripple effect on nearly 300,000 students across 288 UNRWA schools in Gaza. Thousands attend school without breakfast or money for food during the day, affecting their ability to concentrate on lessons. Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA’s commissioner-general, recently highlighted that the agency needs $170-190 million ‘to sustain core services until the end of this year,’ and an additional $75 million to continue their food aid.
