Cambridge
– three Jewish students at Christ’s College in Cambridge, Britain were
subjected to vile antisemitic abuse and physically attacked by members of the
Cambridge University drinking society.
One
of the victims has accused the university authorities of failing to investigate
the incident properly and punish the perpetrators. Two members of Christ’s
College were disciplined for their role in the attack but were cleared of
charges of antisemitism.
The students were attacked by a mob after they entered the
graduate union building at the end of last month. The bar area had been rented
for a party by the sporting societies of Christ’s College.
One
of the victims, Shlomo Roiter-Jesner, 25, told The Telegraph: “It was a closed
party so we walked out but as we did so these individuals started getting more
physical and more vocal and they noticed our kippot. All of a sudden they were
shouting: ‘Jew, get the fuck out of here’. We tried to leave but they were yelling
at us.”
Another
of the victims wrote an email to the head of Christ’s College, Professor Jane
Stapleton, stating “We, and other bystanders, heard a number of vicious antisemitic
slurs including ‘fucking Jew, you don’t belong here’, ‘dirty Jew’ and to
myself, ‘fuck off, darkie’.
“They then proceeded to try and choke
my friend with his scarf, leaving him gasping for oxygen, and to push me and
the third friend around, despite our attempts to de-escalate the situation.
They eventually went back in after threatening to ‘smash our faces in’.”
The
university obtained security camera footage of the incident but no audio
recording.
Two
and a half weeks later, Mr. Roiter-Jesner received a perfunctory reply from
Stapleton, stating “The internal disciplinary process of the tutors is now
concluded and two students have been disciplined. Thank you for bringing this
matter to my attention.”
The
students were shocked by the response and the lack of appropriate recognition
and disciplinary action. “The college has not confronted the issue at all,”
said Mr Roiter-Jesner, “They have brushed it under the carpet.”
Prof
Stapleton told the The Telegraph: “The internal investigation did succeed in
identifying two Christ’s College students who admitted using foul language and
participating in a scuffle but they denied initiating the physical hostility
and denied using any antisemitic or racist language. In relation to the former
they were disciplined.”
She
added: “I reject categorically that Christ’s College has engaged in a cover-up
on this matter.”
