Question reference: S5W-35740
- Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 4 March 2021
-
Current status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 18 March 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many universities and colleges have formally adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism, and what steps it is taking to encourage more higher education providers to endorse this definition.
Answer
The Scottish Government, Universities Scotland, College Development Network and Colleges Scotland are clear that there is no place for antisemitism in further and higher education.
Universities, as autonomous institutions, are aware of the IHRA definition of antisemitism. Many are actively and presently consulting within their diverse communities and stakeholder interests on the definition, with two having adopted it to date. Universities and colleges are also addressing antisemitism through their ongoing engagement with the Scottish Funding Council to address discrimination and harassment on the grounds of race.
The SFC, in response to the recommendations of the EHRC report, Universities Challenged, published in October 2019, has developed resources to support challenging conversations on all aspects of racial discrimination, including antisemitism. These were developed with input of staff and students and was launched on 16 March 2021.