"Higher education can and should be a place of challenging debates... But it is clear that this should never be a front for bigotry"
Committee Room 14, House of Commons
28 January 2009
CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY
There can be no place in our society and in higher education for bigotry and any form of racism including anti-semitism. Anti-semitism is no more or less wrong than any other form of irrational hatred. It's unacceptable in a civilised society and must be fought by anyone who wants to call themselves civilised.
The vast majority of people in higher education find any form of racism repugnant. Higher education institutions are often places of diversity, where people from different backgrounds, different races, different religions or none come together in the pursuit of knowledge.
Prejudice is the opposite of the pursuit of knowledge and truth. It's the opposite of the values of tolerance and free yet civilised debate for which the academy must stand if it is to stand for anything worth having.
Higher education can and should be a place of challenging debates. Freedom of speech and thought is fundamental to it. There will be disagreements and differences of opinion, and they are bound also to be heated at times. But it is clear that this should never be a front for bigotry.
We all know that, just as racism has often hidden behind spurious neuroscience, genetics or anthropology, so anti-semitism sometimes cloaks itself in criticism of the State of Israel.
Let's be clear about this. Criticising the actions of the Israeli state is not inherently anti-semitic. The recent actions of the Israeli armed forces in Gaza and their effect on civilians were indefensible and the whole Government from the Prime Minister down been explicit on that point. We played a leading role in the international community's efforts to secure a ceasefire and we will continue to bend every effort towards securing a lasting peace.
Should the Israeli government be held accountable for its actions? Undoubtedly. As those who attack Israeli citizens must be. Should Jews or Israelis be persecuted or boycotted in British universities because the Israeli government has done something of which most people disapprove?
No. That's not right and it's not just.
Higher education has stood firm against boycott calls – from the key representative bodies, UUK, Russell Group, and NUS to many individual vice-chancellors and academics. The clear message has been given consistently that boycotts stand for everything opposite to the principles of academic exchange higher education is founded on.
The majority of people in higher education do not believe that every Jewish student must be somehow judged on their position on Israel. In the right forums, we must all account for our views. But that forum for most of us is not found in our community gatherings or in our celebrations of our culture or faith. To lobby Friday night dinners or other social gatherings of Jewish students is as perverse as lobbying Chinese New Year celebrations about China's human rights record.
Higher education institutions hold the responsibility for ensuring their campuses are free of discrimination. UUK held a meeting with other higher education partners and Jewish stakeholders to discuss concerns and work out practical answers to these problems. That work is continuing. But always more can be done.
DIUS will build on our, and the sector's commitment to tackling anti-semitism in higher education. We have actively brought parties together and have been vocal publicly, including in Parliament, that all racism in higher education must be challenged. We will establish a sub-group of the Cross-Government Working Group on Anti-semitism to look at higher education.
As a first step to this, I will be holding a meeting in February bringing the right people together to look at the issues raised, what work already exists to help address these issues, and what more can be done.
The Government works with an independent higher education sector. The best way to make progress is to ensure that the evidence is clear and that higher education, in partnership with the Jewish community, works to resolve problems. DIUS will continue to help facilitate this.
I end where I started. We welcome all students with ability to higher education and believe to get the best out of learning the whole experience counts. Students and universities must work hand in hand to overcome any barriers to getting the best out of higher education.
