A Cambridge college has been accused of failing to suspend students who made death threats against an undergraduate who visited Israel.
Bradley Smart, a 21-year-old third-year student, told The Telegraph he was targeted with threats after returning to Homerton College.
Smart took part in a trip to Israel organised by the Pinsker Centre think tank, which invited students from Oxford and Cambridge to meet both Israelis and Palestinians and to better understand the conflict.
Smart, who is not Jewish, alleged that upon his return, fellow students posted messages in a college group chat, including “I’m going to kill him”, “kill him”, and “he needs to die”.
He also reported the presence of abusive language, slurs, and antisemitic remarks, including comparisons between Israel and Nazi Germany.
According to Smart, he reported the messages through the college’s harassment procedures but was advised to contact welfare services or consider changing accommodation. He subsequently moved out of Homerton College a month later, citing concerns for his safety.
He also reported the matter to the police, but claimed he was told it was an “academic matter” and would not be investigated.
“As a Cambridge student, I expected my university to be a place where opinions could be refined through dialogue,” Smart told The Telegraph.
“The reality, however, was that this trip was enough to trigger a campaign of cancellation, including explicit death threats and being banned from a college club.”
Lord Walney, a former government advisor on counter-extremism, said: “It is entirely unacceptable that students at one of our leading universities would threaten to kill one of their peers for visiting Israel.
“The college’s response is wholly inadequate, and sets a dangerous precedent that intimidation and threats of political violence will be tolerated. Cambridge must do better.”
Ben Freeman, the executive director of the Pinsker Centre, said: “Jewish students and their allies are in fear for their lives. After recent attacks, this fear is all the more justified. Threats of violence cannot be normalised. We cannot allow intimidation to shut down dialogue.”
Gabrielle Apfel, the president of the Cambridge Israel Society, said: “Over the past two and a half years, Cambridge has become a lion’s den with regard to Israel and Zionism.
“At Cambridge University Israel Society, we have had progressives come to speak, including former Labour MPs, but we still determined it necessary to keep the locations of our events off the public record.
“Jewish and Israeli students feel like they have to keep their connections to Israel and their identities to themselves. No student should feel unable to be themselves because of their background or identity.”
A Homerton College spokesperson told The Telegraph that it had issued “formal warnings” and “made it clear that the behaviour in question was entirely unacceptable”.
“The safety and well-being of all our students is one of our highest priorities, and we have zero tolerance for anti-Semitism and threatening behaviour. The student was immediately offered support,” they said.
“Homerton prides itself on being a welcoming and supportive college for all students. Following the horrific attack at Golders Green, we issued a statement in solidarity with our Jewish students.”
Clarification: The original headline on this story has been changed
To get more news, click here to sign up for our free daily newsletter.