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Campus communities across the Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½á¹û will be deeply affected by the terrorist attacks by HamasÌýand Israel’s military response, and the tragic loss of civilian life.

We believe that our priority as Universities Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½á¹û, and the priority of our member universities,Ìýis to ensure that our campuses remain safe for all our students and staff. We will do everything we can to prevent hate crime, antisemitism, Islamophobia, and intolerance, and support our universities to respond appropriatelyÌýif incidentsÌýinvolving these take place.ÌýIn line with the sector’s clear commitment to freedom of speech, it is important that universities enable and support students and staff to debate and discuss this crisis, and the most challenging issues it raises, within the law, and with respect and tolerance.

Universities Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½á¹û has produced guidance on freedom of speech on campus, and on tackling antisemitism, Islamophobia, and other forms of harassment, and we have recirculated this guidance in the last week. We have been clear that Hamas is a proscribed terrorist organisation in the Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½á¹û and signalling support, including moral support or expressing an opinion or belief that is supportive, is a criminal offence, as outlined in the Terrorism Act (2000).Ìý

We will continue to bring universities together to share their approaches to managing campus relations in this extremely difficult period.

Hamas is a proscribed terrorist organisation and signalling support, including moral support or expressing an opinion or belief that is supportive, is a criminal offence, as outlined in the Terrorism Act (2000). Any student or staff member found to be supporting Hamas will be in breach of Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½á¹û law, and universities treat this with the utmost seriousness. Ìý

Any discrimination or intimidation against students or staff resulting from the attacks in Israel is absolutely unacceptable, and we urge any students facing antisemitism, islamophobia or harassment or discrimination of any kind to inform their university and seek support.