Oxford University student, 20, quits college committee amid claims pro-Palestine encampment is part of ‘growing tide of antisemitism’ on campus

An Oxford University student has resigned from a college committee after experiencing ‘blatant antisemitism’ when other students ‘laughed’ as she brought up anti-Jewish prejudice on campus. 

In an open letter announcing her decision to quit as Junior Common Room (JCR) Vice-President at St Hugh’s College, Madeline Bryant, wrote that she would not work for a committee that had ‘treated me so cruelly.’

She went on to say: ‘The meeting last night was an insult to social justice and a win for antisemites everywhere.

‘Last night, the JCR refused to live up to the values and the community it ought to serve. 

‘It is a stain on this college’s history and it should be a stain on your consciences. St. Hugh’s College has an antisemitism problem’, the letter, reproduced by student newspaper Cherwell, said. 

Pro-Gaza protestors gather at a recent even in Oxford (file picture)

A protester walks during a demonstration in support of Palestinians at Oxford (file picture) 

Protesters stand in front of a university building during a demonstration (file picture)

JCRs represent the undergraduates in Oxford colleges, and as well as organising social events, often also engage in thorny political issues. 

According to her account of the meeting, a motion ‘asking for the basic principle of equal treatment and peace’ was ‘effectively thrown out’ by the student body, while a motion favoured by radical pro-Gaza protesters at the university was allowed to proceed to a full vote.

This motion ‘defames and delegitimizes the Jewish people. It denies our ties to our ancestral homeland, dehumanizes Israeli academics and students, and neglects to call out the actions of terrorists’, Miss Bryant wrote.

Explaining her wider experiences, she wrote about seeing ‘my peers at this university chant to “Globalize the Intifada” – a call for violence against Jews’ and also highlighted how she had warned at the stormy meeting that the college’s Hebrew language program would be at risk if the university cuts ties with Israel, as is being urged by Oxford Action for Palestine (OA4P).

 She said that ‘the response I received was “So what?” with a smile’.

The row follows swastika graffiti being found in another Oxford college, which was also linked by some to JCR politics, soon after pro-Gaza protesters at the elite university clashed with police.

Sir Malcolm Evans, who leads Regent’s Park College, told students ‘appropriate action will be taken should we become aware of the identity of those responsible’.

The Nazi symbols were found on the walls of two toilet cubicles next to the college’s Hall – its dining room – leaving Jewish students ‘deeply upset’.

Students said they were ‘punched in the face’ as the protest was broken up 

Protesters outside waving flags  during the attempted occupation of an Oxford admin office

Police arrested Oxford students trying to occupy a university building 

In recent days, Oxford students tried and failed to occupy a building in their latest demonstration against Israel’s war in Gaza, leading to 16 being arrested.

Oxford Action for Palestine, which is behind tent encampments attempting to mimic the radical pro-Palestine protests seen on US campuses, said the university had ‘enabled an unprecedented level of violence against students’ following the clash.

Furious members of the group posted a video on social media on Saturday, accusing a security guard of ‘slamming the door on the heads of students protesting the university’s complicity in genocide’.

In fact, the video showed the member of staff weakly prodding them with his foot as he tries to access a door that they are obstructing.

University chiefs were already summoned to Downing Street earlier this month to discuss the ‘unacceptable’ rise of antisemitism at universities and the need for campuses to be ‘safe’ for Jewish students.