The Jewish daughter of UK Secretary of State for Defense Grans Shapps has dropped a course following antisemitic and anti-Israel comments made by her peers.
Tabytha Shapps, the daughter of the Secretary of State for Defense in the United Kingdom, reported to be feeling unsafe at the University of Leeds since October 7, reports The Jerusalem Post.
Shapps says she has been surrounded by antisemitic chants and protests at her university campus, adding that she feels uneasy after witnessing „From the river to the sea” chants and posters saying „End Israeli state terror” throughout campus.
Additionally, Shapps claims to have dropped a module on Israel and Palestine at her ‘Politics and Economics’ course after her peers discussed „Israeli apartheid” and „Israel’s agenda as a genocidal state.”
„As the only Jew in the class… I’m sitting there, and I’m thinking, what about the injustices of the 1,200 Israelis killed on October 7?” said Shapps.
While appreciating free speech, Shapps said she cannot see how Jewish students can expect to feel safe on campus when they are confronted with „antisemitic” slogans, arguing that the university has allowed extremist attitudes to fester at an already scary time for Jewish people.
In response to her complaints, a spokesman for the University of Leeds said, „Whilst the university has a legal duty to support free speech, antisemitism or Islamophobia of any kind will not be tolerated, and we do not support any views or actions which make others feel unsafe or unwelcome on campus. Our security teams are liaising with local police and the Community Security Trust to ensure our students feel safe, and we urge students to report any incident for investigation and action.”
The University of Leeds is not the only institution affected by campus antisemitism. Across the UK, university students have reported feeling unsafe since the October 7 attack amid campus protests. Examples of hate crimes include Jewish students being screamed at and people knocking on the doors of Jewish chaplains, saying, ‘We know where you live’.
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