Police officers stand at the vehicle barrier to the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, London, Britain, August 15, 2018. Photo: REUTERS/Hannah McKay.

British Members of Parliament urged the government’s Minister of State for Universities to take stronger action against antisemitism on campus, with one MP saying, “Students should not feel that they’re living in 1930s Germany.”

The Telegraph reported that Minister Michelle Donelan was quizzed extensively on the issue by MPs at an Education Select Committee session. The MPs advocated ending government subsidies to universities that fail to combat antisemitism, as well as dismissing university heads.

The exchange came in the wake of an investigation by the University of Bristol into one of its professors, David Miller, who was found to have used virulently antisemitic language to attack Israel.

Miller, a Professor of Political Sociology and member of the university’s School for Policy Studies, was criticized by Jewish student groups and members of parliament for “inciting” antisemitism, promoting conspiracy theories, and calling for the “end” of Zionism. Miller claimed that the attacks on him were “directed by the State of Israel.”

MPs were told that, as a result of Miller’s actions, Jewish students were “subjected to weeks of harassment and abuse.”

The Education Select Committee Chairman, MP Robert Halfon, said the Bristol situation was “appalling” and a “disgrace.”

“Students should not feel that they’re living in 1930s Germany who go to Bristol University and other universities,” he said.

He told the minister, “I think it’s become such a serious national issue, been raised in Parliament a number of times, that you should take a proactive role and do what you can to speak to the senior management and tell them to get a grip and deal with this once and for all.”

Donelan replied that she was “not washing her hands” of the problem and that antisemitism was an “area of focus” for the government.

She noted that 98 universities have so far adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism.

“Antisemitism is abhorrent in universities and we have been working to encourage as many as possible to sign the IHRA definition,” she said. However, she admitted that “Bristol already had done and that highlights the fact that that’s not the panacea to addressing this issue.”

Halfon countered, “There’s been some awful things going on in terms of Jewish students. They feel unsafe, they feel unprotected, they feel that now the university is a hotbed of antisemitism, and yet all the government can do is say, ‘We’ll wait for a review and not intervene.’”

“I mean, surely you should look at things like funding,” he said, “or at least meet with the vice-chancellor early on and say ‘What on earth is going on here? Why do thousands of Jewish students feel that Bristol University is not a safe place for Jews?’”

“Do something,” Halfon urged. “Protect these students, which is your duty to protect them.”

MP Jonathan Gullis pressed for antisemitic academics to be fired and the removal of vice-chancellors if they do not deal adequately with the problem.

“Until we start bringing that kind of scrutiny and action into our university sector, like you would do if you were in a primary or secondary school, these incidents will keep happening,” he said.

Donelan expressed opposition to this idea, saying, “We can’t sack professors, or people like that, because we are not their employers and this is the difference with the university sector because they are autonomous, we haven’t actually hired them.”

“I agree with you that certain universities do need to go further on this area and it is deeply concerning that Jewish students feel put off from applying to certain universities,” she added. “That’s not modern Britain and that’s not the country that we all want to live in.”