The University of Hertfordshire branch of the university lecturers’ union, UCU, has stepped back from attempting to cancel the European Maccabi Youth Games, due to take place at the University between 30 July and 6 August.

The UCU branch has postponed a meeting tomorrow (5 June) when there would be a vote on a motion to instruct the branch committee and members to ask the University’s Vice Chancellor to cancel the Maccabi games in view of the casualties in the current war in the Gaza strip.

The branch wrote to its members to inform them that yesterday it received “a potential legal challenge from two organisations, Academic Friends of Israel and UK Lawyers for Israel”, to the motion from a member opposing the University hosting the Maccabi Youth Games this summer.  It now intends to seek legal advice from national UCU’s lawyers about the potential challenge and the branch meeting is postponed until further notice.

UKLFI had written to the branch pointing out that the Maccabi movement promotes participation in sports by Jewish people. It historically played a role in the national liberation movement of the Jewish people leading up to the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, and it recognises Israel as the centre of Jewish life. However, it has no involvement in or influence over the Israeli government or army today.

Cancellation of the games by the University, thereby refusing services requested by the Jewish organisers, participants and spectators, would plainly contravene section 29 of the Equality Act 2010 by discriminating against them because of protected characteristics of ethnicity and/or religion as Jews and/or philosophical belief as Zionists.

University staff who participate in, cause, induce or aid this discrimination would also be personally liable under sections 110 – 112 of the Equality Act 2010.

Cancellation by the University is also likely to be in breach of contract, and staff who induce the breach of contract would also be personally liable.

It may also put the University in breach of charity law by participating in a political campaign outside its charitable objects.

The only basis given in the motion for demanding cancellation of the games is the “killing of tens of thousands of people in Gaza”. UKLFI wrote that  this does not justify the discrimination mentioned above, or breach of contract or charity law.   Furthermore, several studies by statisticians have shown that the figures produced by the Hamas-controlled Gaza Ministry of Health and Government Media Office, and circulated by the UN and media organisations, are likely to have been fabricated or manipulated.  UKLFI provided many references with evidence of this fabrication.

Jonathan Turner, chief executive of UKLFI commented: “The branch has taken a sensible decision. UCU nationally has received legal advice on the application of the Equality Act to academic boycotts of Israeli universities and regularly strikes proposed BDS motions from the agenda of its national conferences. We expect the UCU to conclude that this motion is also unlawful.”