English Jewish students feel threatened

LONDON, March 26 (JTA) — Students in the northwest of England are bracing for possible violence after the defeat of an anti-Zionist motion at a student union resulted in an attack on a Jewish residence hall. Proposed by Manchester University´s Islamic Society, the motion called for the student union to label Israel an apartheid state. With tensions high before the early March meeting, Jewish students were assailed as "Nazis" and "baby butchers." The General Union of Palestinian Students distributed anti-Zionist literature on the day of vote, the first time the Palestinian group had resorted to openly anti-Semitic slogans. A week later, bricks were thrown through the windows of Hillel House, and a poster reading "Slaughter the Jews" was pasted on the building´s door. Meanwhile, Orthodox Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks publicly voiced his concern over the apparent rise of anti-Semitism in the United Kingdom in recent years. Speaking to the Parliamentary Council Against Anti-Semitism last month, Sacks issued a "cry of warning," stressing the events in Manchester. He maintained that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was being used as a platform for open displays of Jew- hatred. An official with the Union of Jewish Students, Clive Gabay, said the Islamic Society´s motion had resulted in "the persecution and victimization of Jewish students on campus," and warned of further threats to Jewish students in Manchester. In a separate incident, the Jewish Chronicle newspaper reported a motion put forward at York University calling for a boycott of all Israeli goods. No vote was taken however because the meeting didn´t have a quorum.