Oxford Jewish and Labour students hold meeting to repair relations
search

The latest Jewish News

Read this week’s digital edition

Click Here

Oxford Jewish and Labour students hold meeting to repair relations

The two student societies held the event to clear the air after damaging allegations of anti-Semitism at OULC emerged

Oxford University (Jewish News)
Oxford University (Jewish News)

Oxford students at the prestigious University’s Jewish and Labour societies have held a clear-the-air meeting after allegations of anti-Semitism were made last year.

Members of the Jewish Society (J-Soc) and the Oxford University Labour Club (OULC) came together on Monday night to hear from Baroness Jan Royall, who investigated claims made by former OULC co-chair Alex Chalmers.

He resigned in February 2016, shortly after OULC voted to support Israel Apartheid Week, alleging that a “large proportion” of club members had “some kind of problem with Jews,” with use of the slur “Zio” and voiced support for Hamas.

Royall told the students that convening on Monday night was itself an accomplishment, while former student leader Ella Rose, who now heads the Jewish Labour Movement, spoke of the nationwide training that had taken place since.

In a joint statement, both groups said they hoped to “draw a line” under last year’s events, saying: “We recognise that there is more that needs to be done before this can be the case and that this will only come about by us working together.”

They added: “We believe that an important part of this process will be the result of disciplinary investigations from the Labour Party itself. The OULC and J-Soc look forward to working together and holding more joint events in order to ensure that Jewish students can, and know they can, feel comfortable within OULC.”

Support your Jewish community. Support your Jewish News

Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.

For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.

Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.

You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.

100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...

Engaging

Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.

Celebrating

There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.

Pioneering

In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.

Campaigning

Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.

Easy access

In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.

Voice of our community to wider society

The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.

We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.

read more: