The Education Secretary, has announced that the
government is resuming the procurement of £7 million-pounds worth
of funding to tackle antisemitism in schools, colleges and
universities. The commitment comes after the number of incidents
of antisemitic abuse nationwide more than doubled in the first
five months of 2024, compared to the same period a year earlier.
On university campuses, the number of incidents grew by
465%.
The funding will aim to educate people about antisemitism and
better equip schools, colleges and universities to stamp out
antisemitic abuse. To mark the anniversary of the worst terrorist
attack in Israel's history, the Education Secretary is visiting a
Jewish school in North London to meet with students and staff and
demonstrate her support for the Jewish community.
£500,000 of the £7 million funding has been awarded to the
University Jewish Chaplaincy for welfare support for Jewish
students in universities.
Writing for the Telegraph, the Education Secretary said the
government was “resolutely committed” to tackling antisemitic
abuse. She said: “It is completely unacceptable for Jewish
students to feel they cannot fully participate in university life
out of fear for their safety. All students, regardless of race or
religion, should be free to focus on their studies rather than
worry about their safety.”
Some of the funds will go towards funding a project to upskill
teachers and university staff in tackling antisemitism. It will
also pay for an innovation fund to tackle antisemitism in
Education, with a slightly broader focus on settings building
resilience to mis-information.
The Education Secretary said it was “vitally important that staff
in our education system have the confidence and skills to act
quickly to root out antisemitism as soon as it emerges.”
To support this, the Department for Education also plans to
launch an innovation fund that will offer opportunities to
support work at all levels of education on tackling antisemitic
misinformation on social media alongside the Curriculum and
Assessment Review.
The Education Secretary also voiced her outrage at the “shocking”
acts of violence and Islamophobia seen after the Southport
attacks earlier this year, with anti-Muslim incidents more than
trebling in the months after October 7.
She said: “With a foundation of knowledge about history and the
world, critical thinking, logical reasoning and empathy, we can
build children's resilience not just to antisemitic hate, but all
other forms of hate too. A child who is equipped to dismantle
antisemitic conspiracy theories is ready to reject Islamophobic
ones as well.”
