The student union at York University in the north of England has become the first in the UK publicly apologized and offer compensation to a Jewish student after he complained of antisemitic abuse, The Times reports.
Zachary Confino, a 21-year-old law student, just missed out on a first-class degree after two years of being subjected to abuse from anti-Israeli students at the university.
As a result, a public apology will be published online and a sum of around £1,000 ($1,360) will be paid to Confino.
British Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis said he hoped that the apology would serve as a message to other universities, The Times reports. Mirvis had previously warned that “British universities are turning a blind eye to Jew hatred.”
“The apology is most welcome, not only in the context of Zachary Confino but also for the clear message it sends to other universities that there must be absolutely no place for antisemitism on our campuses,” Mirvis’ spokesperson said in a statement, cited in The Times.
Among the abusive messages Confino received on social media app Yik Yak were “Hitler was onto something,” “Jewish prick” and “Israeli twat.” When attempting to oppose a student union motion to boycott Israeli produce, Confino was told he was responsible for the antisemitic abuse he was getting because of his support for Israel, The Times says.
Confino was also, he says, accosted by several members of the university’s Palestine Solidarity Society, including Jeremy Corbyn’s son Tom.
“The number of antisemitic incidents I was subject to went from zero in my first year to about 20 in my second and third years,” Confino said, quoted in The Times.
“The university did not do much about it. It has taken me two years to fight a complaint and I am relieved I have finally got this apology. The stuff I was subjected to came from far-left students,” he continued.
“The far left say racism is a black/white issue. They seem to think Jews are fair game. The experience has been so depressing… It ruined my experience at university. I can never get that time back.”
The student union apology acknowledges that Confino was subjected to “very distressing experiences” and said it was committed to “preserving the right to freedom of expression while also combating antisemitism, Islamophobia and any other form of race hate.
“To this end, we have signed joint statements with both the Jewish Society and the Islamic Society on campus,” the statement added.
