‘No place for antisemitism’ at Trinity College – university vows to strengthen messaging after bursary withdrawal

The son of a prominent Jewish man, who withdrew a 10-year bursary for disadvantaged students at Trinity College Dublin after becoming concerned that the university was becoming a “no-go zone for Jews”, has held a private meeting with the provost of the university.

Dr Edwin Abrahamson, a UK-based consultant paediatrician, met with Dr Linda Doyle and Siobán O’Brien Green — respectively the provost and head of equality, diversity and inclusion — to discuss how Trinity will respond to potential future acts of antisemitism on the campus, and by students on social media. Dr Abrahamson described the meeting as “respectful and constructive” and said a number of pledges have been made by Trinity to strengthen its messaging against antisemitism.

As part of the discussions, Dr Abrahamson said the university told him it will “consider adopting” the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of antisemitism. This is a definition which the Irish Government has not committed to.

According to the IHRA definition: “Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”

The definition has been accepted by the US, several European governments, including the UK and Germany. However it has caused controversy within some UK universities, with claims that it has led to “unreasonable” accusations.

Dr Abrahamson said: “Ireland is one of the few countries who have not adopted that definition of antisemitism. However any institution can adopt it.”

In recent days, Dr Abrahamson, who is a cousin of Irish film director Lenny Abrahamson, said the Union of Jewish Students in the UK alerted him to a photo taken of a sign which was allegedly posted in TCD. The sign read: “Jews shall not replace us.”

Describing the messaging as “violently antisemitic”, Dr Abrahamson contacted TCD to report the offending material.

He said the college acted “incredibly fast”, and instructed campus security to search the premises and locate the poster.

“They found it in the men’s toilet in the Buttery, where students meet to socialise,” Dr Abrahamson said.

He added that afterwards he received a lengthy email from a senior representative at Trinity, saying they were “horrified” at what had taken place.

“They were very grateful that I had raised it, because they hadn’t been aware,” he said.

​Dr Abrahamson and his mother set up the Maurice Abrahamson Bursary last year in memory of his father, a Trinity law graduate who went on to become a successful stockbroker in Dublin.

This weekend, Dr Abrahamson said “the door has been left open” with Trinity to the possibility of using the money in another way to honour his father, specifically in the area of raising awareness around antisemitism.

Dr Abrahamson had initially made the decision to withdraw the bursary after seeing the “apparent open tolerance of antisemitic rhetoric and images” at Trinity College, including the display of the flag of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) — a group which the EU has designated a terrorist organisation.

The flag was reportedly waved by students during the encampment organised by Trinity’s students’ union, who were protesting over the college’s ties to Israeli institutions in light of the country’s invasion of Gaza.

Dr Abrahamson said he also reached the decision after hearing first-hand the “lived experiences” of Jewish students at Trinity, who told him that they were “deeply distressed” over their treatment since October 7 last year — the date when Hamas attacked Israel.

He said their experiences included “a Jewish student who had been isolated in a lecture room and other students had refused to sit beside her” and “Jewish students who were intimidated walking around the college and had been accused of supporting genocide”.

He stressed that he is against the idea of “sides” when referring to the Israel-Palestine conflict.

“It adds to further division and polarised views where any sense of value of the lived experience of others is automatically considered invalid.”

When contacted, a spokesperson for Trinity College said: “Trinity was alerted to this offensive graffiti earlier this month after an image circulated on social media. The message was found in a toilet in the Buttery and immediately removed.

“We wish to emphasise that we take this matter very seriously — and there is no place for antisemitic behaviour at Trinity.

“Since nobody had reported having seen this in person, the equality, diversity and inclusion office is looking into how to raise awareness of the reporting process regarding concerns about this kind of material.”

In relation to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism, the spokesperson added:

“As part of its work on race and ethnic equality, Trinity is exploring definitions and declarations that could be supportive to our work on dignity and respect.”

Get ahead of the day with the morning headlines at 7.30am and Fionnán Sheahan's exclusive take on the day's news every afternoon, with our free daily newsletter.