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Last year UCU (University and College Union) drew criticism over allegations of its being 'institutionally antisemitic'. This followed complaints from jewish members of UCU of harassment and bullying, for the publishing of antisemitic comments on UCU's website 'activists list' and for the failure of UCU to address jewish members' and the British Jewish Community's concerns regarding antisemitism within the union.

Many jewish members have left UCU owing to the atmosphere of intolerance within the union (see Julius letter below).

The UCU union was further criticised for its adopting a motion advocating a boycott of Israel and its academia. This move is seen by many as antisemitic in that a boycott has never previously been aimed at institutions of learning or academics elsewhere. That only jews will be subject to such draconian measures has been compared with the boycotts instituted by the nazis before the implementation of the Holocaust. Jewish businesses were boycotted and professionals were deprived of their living.

UCU has now sponsored the visit of a Mr Mongani Masuku whose purpose in visiting Britain is to further the campaign for a boycott and to argue on British campuses that Israel is an 'apartheid' state. Mr Masuku was only last month condemned by the South African Human Rights Commission (concerned with racism in South Africa) for his statements that amounted to antisemitic 'hate speech'.

Amongst other utterances Mr Masuku has stated that Jews who are not anti-Zionist are "agents of apartheid and friends of Hitler".

Mr Masuku might be interested in what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had to say on this subject:-

"And what is anti-Zionist? It is the denial to the Jewish people of a fundamental right that we justly claim for the people of Africa and freely accord all other nations of the Globe. It is discrimination against Jews, my friend, because they are Jews. In short, it is antisemitism."
"The antisemite rejoices at any opportunity to vent his malice. The times have made it unpopular, in the West, to proclaim openly a hatred of the Jews. This being the case, the antisemite must constantly seek new forms and forums for his poison. How he must revel in the new masquerade! He does not hate the Jews, he is just 'anti-Zionist'!"

UCU needs to ask itself whether its reputation is enhanced through sponsoring the tour around British universities of an antisemite condemned by the respected South African Human Rights Commission.

The UCU should now condemn Mr Bongani Masuku and dissociate itself from him. COSATU of which Masuku is its International Relations Secretary,should do likewise.

Anything short of dissociation and condemnation of Mr Masuku by the UCU union will serve as a further indication of the institutional nature of antisemitism within the union.

From the SAHRC Ruling:

The analysis of antisemitism by Steve Cohen (a non-zionist who was highly critical of Israel) is worth reading, not least by UCU members and officials.

A letter by Anthony Julius to UCU:-   This letter followed claims of institutional antisemitism by the UCU union, of bullying and harrassment of its jewish members

Findings of SAHRC:-   Condemnation of Mr Masuku for 'hate speech'

A sociologist's (David Hirsch)   analysis of contemporary anti-zionism

Anthony Julius   gives a fascinating tour of the roots of anti-semitism from its beginnings in the New Testament through to modern anti-zionsim

The Livingstone Formulation   for legitimising anti-semitism