Jonathan Sacerdoti Jonathan Sacerdoti

Why couldn’t this elite school cope with my talk on anti-Semitism?

UWC Atlantic College in Wales(Getty images)

Perhaps it is a rite of passage these days for a journalist to be cancelled. But I never expected that an elite school – one designed to create tomorrow’s international leaders, founded by a Jewish refugee from Nazi Germany – would be the ones to cancel a talk about anti-Semitism from me, the son of a Holocaust survivor.

My invitation was not controversial – at least, not at first

As a journalist and columnist with extensive experience reporting from Israel, covering terrorist attacks across Europe, and documenting the rise of anti-Semitism internationally, I have encountered hostility before. But I had not expected it to come from an institution dedicated to fostering global understanding.

The school in question is UWC Atlantic, a boarding school in Wales with an esteemed reputation. Founded in 1962 by Kurt Hahn, a German-Jewish educator who fled the Nazis, the college was meant to be a beacon of international cooperation, bringing together students from diverse backgrounds, including conflict zones, to engage in rigorous education and meaningful dialogue.

Get Britain's best politics newsletters

Register to get The Spectator's insight and opinion straight to your inbox. You can then read two free articles each week.

Already a subscriber? Log in

Comments

Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months

Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.

Already a subscriber? Log in