A Jewish student has revealed how his university group chat was infiltrated by racist pro-Palestine activists, who began posting vile antisemitic abuse.
Jacob Lederman, a student at Warwick University, told BBC Newsnight that he had been part of a WhatsApp group that included the campus JSoc. He said: “Four people infiltrated our group. They got through our security and posted some vile messages… It was pure antisemitism.”
Initially, the messages posted by the infiltrators were innocuous. One message read: “U selling any kosher meat? I’m struggling to find any round here.”
Then questions appeared about Israel, and the abuse started. One message accused group members of killing innocent Palestinians. “I don’t like it. Killing kids, killing mothers,” the infiltrator wrote.
Other racist messages then appeared: “F**k Israel” and “F*****g dirty Jewish c***s”.
Last weekend, Universities Minister Robert Halfon said campuses were becoming “invisible ghettos”, where Jewish students were being screamed at because of their faith.
UJS President Edward Isaacs told Newsnight: “I’ve heard from students who are deeply anxious. Many are nervous about attending events on campus.
“We’ve seen an unprecedented rise in antisemitism on campus – we’ve seen a year’s worth of incidents recorded in just three weeks. Every Jewish student is feeling this.”