Former
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams has called on the government to act
over the rise of antisemitism at British universities.
Lord
Williams, who is now master of Magdalene College, Cambridge, revealed that he
had written to Jo Johnson, the universities ministers, because of what he
called the “muted” official response to Jew-hatred on campuses.
His
move follows allegations of antisemitism among members of Oxford University
Labour Club and incidents at York and in London.
According
to the Sunday Times, Lord Williams has been in contact with a Jewish student at
York University, who had been the victim of antisemitic abuse.
In
a letter to Zachary Confino, a law undergraduate, the former archbishop
disclosed that he written to the government after being “very shocked” by a
series of incidents.
He
told Mr Confino: “It is truly appalling stuff but sadly seems not to be that
unusual at the moment.”
“It’s
ironic that just as we are waking up to all sorts of ways in which ‘hate
speech’ works we should lose sight of one of the most ancient and poisonous
forms of it, in the shape of antisemitic rhetoric.”
He
added: “Anyone concerned (as I am) about Islamophobia here and elsewhere needs
to be scrupulously alert to the risk of scapegoating and demonising other
religious communities, especially Jews; and anyone with even the least bit of
historical sense ought to hear the echoes of past bigotry and violence towards
Jewish people in Europe.”
Lord
Williams also said he was “dispirited” by the failure of Christian chaplains at
York to support Mr Confino. “You’d expect a more simply empathetic engagement,”
he wrote.
His
comments came as police announced they were investigating claims of
antisemitism at the university.
York
Jewish students this week met university officials and the student union to
discuss their concerns. The meetings were arranged after the students
complained that their fears about antisemitism were being ignored.
Last
month, Palestinian supporters at York performed Seven Jewish Children – a play
by Caryl Churchill widely described as antisemitic – as part of Israel
Apartheid Week, an annual nationwide campus campaign against Israel.
In
his letter to Mr Confino, Lord Williams said that “no degree of opposition” to
the policies of a government “can possibly justify the appalling language I
have seen used about Jews in general”.
