THE University and College Union (UCU) and the National Union of Students (NUS) condemned Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi today for “threatening” the preservation of democratic freedoms over his comments about Palestinian supporters.

In an interview with the Jewish Chronicle, Mr Zahawi called for students who chant in solidarity with Palestinians to be reported to the police.

He was referring to the slogan “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” which is widely used by protesters, incorrectly claiming that the chant supported Hamas.

In a joint statement, the UCU and NUS called on him to immediately withdraw his comments.

The statement said: “These comments should deeply alarm not only all those concerned with the struggle of the Palestinian people for freedom, justice, and equality, but anyone who wishes to preserve democratic freedoms from authoritarian encroachment.

“Zahawi’s demonisation of the phrase denies the legitimacy of the Palestinian call for liberation from all aspects of this system of racial domination.

“His rhetoric must therefore be understood as part and parcel of a wider attempt to silence and erase activism for Palestinian rights through the creation of a chilling effect.”

The statement referred to Amnesty International’s recent report warning that Israel’s crime of apartheid, and a report by Israeli human rights organisation B’Tselem, which stated that Israel has established “one regime between the Jordan river and the Mediterranean sea and we must … see it for what it is: apartheid.”

NUS national president Larissa Kennedy said Mr Zahawi was “seeking to conflate a chant chosen by Palestinian people to fight their oppression with something more sinister,” and called the comments “dangerous and wrong.”

She said: “[The comment] is a further demonstration of this government’s authoritarian intentions and their disregard for human rights.

“Palestinians have made clear that this chant speaks to the reality of living under a system of apartheid which denies basic rights.

“It is unconscionable that the secretary of state would suggest otherwise.”

UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: “The Education Secretary casually suggesting that a university should refer members of their community engaging in legitimate protest to the police is alarming and a dereliction of his responsibility to ensure universities are spaces which protect academic freedom and freedom of expression.”

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “Hamas is a terrorist organisation and proscribed as such by the UK Government.

“Freedom of speech does not include unlawful bullying, harassment and intimidation which have no place on our university campuses. The right to protest is a freedom which must be protected but it is not acceptable if the effect is to shut down debate in an unlawful manner or if it unlawfully infringes other peoples’ rights.

“Statistics published today show an increase in antisemitic incidents at campus last year and is exactly why we hosted a summit with vice chancellors and leading Jewish groups, to discuss measures and commitments to eradicate antisemitic abuse.”