Parliamentary report on anti-Semitism

The Report of the All-Party Parliamentary Inquiry into Antisemitism is released today. It is here in full [pdf], and its summary of conclusions and recommendations is posted at Engage. Paragraph 23 of these reads:

We conclude that calls to boycott contact with academics working in Israel are an assault on academic freedom and intellectual exchange. We recommend that pro-democracy lecturers in the new University and College Lecturers Union are given every support to combat such selective boycotts that are anti-Jewish in practice. We would urge the new union's executive and leadership to oppose the boycott.

See also the reports here and here. And note this in particular, which many Jews in Britain can attest from their own experience:

Panel chair Denis McShane said the most worrying discovery was that anti-Semitism was entering the "mainstream".

"Anti-Jewish sentiment is appearing in the everyday conversations of people who consider themselves neither racist nor prejudiced.

"This behaviour is driven by ignorance and complacency and allowing it to continue unchecked is not just a problem for the Jewish community but society as a whole," Mr McShane said.

On Manchester:

Manchester has one of the UK's highest rates of anti-Semitic attacks, a cross party group of MPs has said.

The Parliamentary Committee Against Anti-Semitism said nearly a quarter of UK anti-Semitic incidents happened in Gtr Manchester in the last six months.

Only London had a higher level of anti-Semitic attacks.

When the group visited a Jewish school in Manchester almost every pupil they met had experienced some kind of abuse or harassment because of their faith. [My italics.]

Update at 4.40 PM: See, now, this follow-up post.