Jewish university chaplain who was forced into hiding with his family after receiving death threats from 'hate campaign' has condemned Leeds University for not protecting him and his family

A Jewish university chaplain who was forced into hiding over death threats has condemned the institution for not protecting him and his family.

Rabbi Zecharia Deutsch, who spent three years working at Leeds University with his wife Nava, said they will be moving back to Israel.

Rabbi Deutsch – an IDF reservist – claims to have suffered a shocking hate campaign after he returned from serving in the Israeli army for three months following the October 7 Hamas attack.

He was accused of 'genocide' and was targeted with an avalanche of more than 300 threatening phone calls. Police even advised the family of four to go into hiding.

The abuse was in part stoked by controversial Green Party councillor Mothin Ali, 42, who yelled 'Allahu Akbar' moments after he was elected to Leeds city council last month.

An investigation by the Mail in February found that Ali – a prominent YouTuber and TikTok influencer – had made a video about Rabbi Deutsch in which he called him a 'kind of animal', a 'creep' and a 'low-life', and falsely accused him of deliberately trying to kill women and children.

In one of the threatening phone calls made to Mrs Deutsch's, a man is heard screaming: 'Tell that Jewish son of a bitch we are coming for him. We're coming to his house, we're going to kill him, and you as well, you f****** racist bitch.'

In a statement the couple said: 'The past few months since October last year have been exceptionally challenging at both a personal and communal level.

'There were many moments when we felt the university should have been much stronger in protecting our family, and the Jewish students, from those on campus who were attacking Israel and our right to be Jews.'

Last night a university spokesman said: 'We totally condemn the anti-Semitic abuse directed towards the Chaplain and his family – such attacks on any individual are unacceptable and will not be tolerated.'