Oxford professor rejects claims of increased antisemitism in university campuses

Israeli-British historian Avi Shlaim stressed that pro-Palestine protests in the UK are being held with participation from Jewish students, rejecting claims of increased antisemitism on university campuses.

In an interview with Anadolu, Shlaim, a lecturer of International Relations at the University of Oxford, evaluated the trajectory of anti-Gaza war student protests, which first started on the US university campuses and reached universities in the UK.

Shlaim said that the claim by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak that there is an unacceptable rise in antisemitism on university campuses does not reflect reality.

“I don't agree with what Rishi Sunak said. I think that this government is indifferent to Palestinian rights,” said Shlaim.

“It is indifferent to Islamophobia. Islamophobia is a much, much bigger problem in Britain than antisemitism. And this government is blindly supporting Israel, and it greatly inflates and exaggerates the extent of antisemitism. So they do it for a political purpose. And I can say with complete certainty that in the encampment at Oxford, there isn't a slight wave of antisemitism. Moreover, there are quite a number of Jewish students who have joined in the protest. And the point is that Israel is not Jewish. Israel does not represent Jews. Jews, outside Israel, are not responsible for what Israel is doing.”

- Jewish students condemning Israel for its actions in Gaza

Shlaim further said that an increasing number of Jewish students are dissociating themselves from Israel and condemning Israel for its actions in the Gaza Strip. “So I think that as far as Oxford is concerned, there is absolutely no basis for claims of antisemitism or students feeling uncomfortable, let alone threatened.”

He indicated that the student protests have also spread to Cambridge University, and there is cooperation between the student protesters at Oxford and Cambridge.

“I think it's the first time in the history of social media that Oxford and Cambridge students acted together in the campaign against the Israeli atrocities in Gaza.”

- Friendly, peaceful protests on Oxford campus

Shlaim said that the student protests spreading worldwide for Gaza reminded him of his time as a student in Cambridge in 1968, recounting how students protested against the war in Vietnam, and how this movement spread from Berkeley to Berlin campuses.

“It was a really important movement, which, in the end, influenced the policy to withdraw from Vietnam.”

Shlaim noted that after Israel's war on the Palestinian territory, a similar student movement is now spreading, and growing globally, reminding that Oxford University students also participated in these protests on May 6.

Stating that university students set up an encampment outside the Natural History Museum, he said: “I went to visit the encampment and I was most impressed with what I saw. The students were extremely well organized.”

Appreciating that the protesting students also set up a media tent and a study space, he underlined: “Everything is extremely friendly, peaceful and orderly. There are no tensions, and no one feels threatened.”

- ‘Selfish motives behind Netanyahu's prolonged war in Gaza'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's refusal to accept cease-fire proposals in Gaza stems from selfish motives, according to Shlaim.

“He faces three very serious charges of corruption. And he knows that once the war in Gaza ends, the countdown to his tenure's end begins because 80% of Israelis blame him and want him out. So there'll be an election and he would lose the election. So, politically speaking he is a dead man walking and he's so selfish that he doesn't care about the damage that he's inflicting, not just on Palestinians, but on the Israelis as well, by prolonging this war.”

Shlaim recalled warnings from all of Israel's allies, including the US, against launching a ground offensive in Rafah.

“Because this would lead to a real humanitarian catastrophe on a much greater scale. But, Netanyahu, so far, has defied the entire international community in pursuing his objective in the war on Hamas.”

“The sad thing is that Netanyahu's war is unwinnable. Netanyahu's aim is the complete defeat and eradication of Hamas. This is unattainable because Hamas isn't just a military wing. It's an integral part of Palestinian society. So it cannot be eradicated.”

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip in retaliation for a Hamas attack last Oct. 7, which killed 1,200 people. More than 34,900 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, mostly women and children, and over 78,500 others injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.

Over seven months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, pushing 85% of the enclave's population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January said it is "plausible" that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and ordered Tel Aviv to stop such acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.