Jewish Leeds University students have welcomed the news there will not be a campus-wide referendum on whether the students' union should do more to fight antisemitism, saying it would have caused "great distress".
A referendum loomed after a motion, that set out a number of measures to tackle Jew-hate, including the adoption of the IHRA definition of antisemitism, failed to pass at the Leeds University Union (LUU), coming two votes short.
Under the LUU constitution, this triggered a referendum, which the university’s Jewish Society (JSoc) condemned, saying it meant LUU resources could, in theory, be allocated to argue against fighting antisemitism.
On Thursday evening, the LUU published a letter of support for its Jewish students, announcing the referendum “will not be happening”, because “LUU and JSoc are confident that the content of the idea is already in place".
Letter from LUU (Leeds University Union) to Jewish students regarding antisemitism: pic.twitter.com/IrycYUAwzz
— Leeds JSoc (@Leeds_JSoc) March 14, 2019
Although it did not explicitly state LUU had formally adopted the IHRA definition, it said the criteria for its complaints process “has covered the working definition laid out by the IHRA”.
The Leeds JSoc welcomed the announcement, saying a referendum “would have caused great distress to Jewish students”.
A spokesman said: “It is clear that a number of steps need to be taken to clarify process and solidify provisions to protect Jewish students from intimidation or harassment, and we look forward to collaborating with LUU on this process.
“We are confident that Jewish students at Leeds University will continue to thrive, and that Leeds will continue to be a hub for a vibrant and diverse Jewish life on campus.”
Thank you to @LeedsUniUnion for working with @Leeds_JSoc and UJS to prevent a referendum and for reaffirming their support of Jewish students https://t.co/uvWFINy768
— Union of Jewish Students (@UJS_UK) March 14, 2019
The national Union of Jewish Students (UJS) also thanked LUU for “working with Leeds JSoc and UJS to prevent a referendum and for reaffirming their support of Jewish students”.
Besides the adoption of the IHRA definition of antisemitism, the motion proposed “training on issues that affect Jewish students and how to tackle antisemitism” for university sabbatical officers.
It also called for the university to hold “at least one Holocaust Memorial Day per year to educate students and remember the victims of the Holocaust”, and to run “awareness and educational events to ensure people understand the issues around the Holocaust and antisemitism”.
