MPs slam ‘unacceptable’ language aimed at University of Birmingham
COMMENTS by the president of the National Union of Students describing the University of Birmingham as a “Zionist outpost” smack of “outright racism”, the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee has found.
In scathing findings, the committee said that Malia Bouattia did not appear to take the issue of campus anti-Semitism “sufficiently seriously” and showed a “worrying disregard” for her duty to represent all students and promote balanced and respectful debate.
Ms Bouattia’s statement in a coauthored 2011 blog that Birmingham “has the largest Jsoc (Jewish Society) in the country whose leadership is dominated by Zionist activists” was condemned in the MPs’ report as “unacceptable, and even more so from a public figure such as the president of the NUS”.
The report questioned whether the NUS was effectively addressing the issue of anti-Semitism, and called on the union and the Union of Jewish Students (UJS) to “work to mend their broken relationship”.
The UJS should be given the power to elect a Jewish member of the union’s Anti-Racism Anti-Fascist (ARAF) taskforce, without requiring the approval of the NUS president, said the report.
If the UJS felt, after a one-year grace period, that ARAF was not taking anti-Semitism on campus seriously, then a dedicated AntiSemitism Taskforce should be set up at executive level of the NUS.
The president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, Jonathan Arkush told the inquiry he regarded Ms Bouattia’s comments about Birmingham and her reference in a speech to “mainstream Zionistled media outlets” as anti-Semitic.
In response to the inquiry, Ms Bouattia said she was “deeply concerned” about the reported rise of anti-Semitism in universities and regarded tackling the problem as “a key priority”.
Referring to the Birmingham blog, she insisted: “I do not now, nor did I five years ago at the time of publication, see a large Jewish Society on a campus as a problem”.
She added: “I want to be clear that for me to take issue with Zionist politics, is not me taking issue with being Jewish... As NUS national president I intend to fight for the rights and safety of all students, including Jewish students.
“I want to reiterate that at NUS we are absolutely clear that there is no place for any form of racism, including anti-Semitism, within the student movement or within wider society.”
But the report found: “The current President of the National Union of Students, Malia Bouattia, does not appear to take sufficiently seriously the issue of anti-Semitism on campus, and has responded to Jewish students’ concerns about her previous language with defensiveness and an apparent unwillingness to listen to their concerns.
“Ms Bouattia’s choice of language (and ongoing defence of that language) suggests a worrying disregard for her duty to represent all sections of the student population and promote balanced and respectful debate. Referring to Birmingham University as a ‘Zionist outpost’ (and similar comments) smacks of outright racism, which is unacceptable, and even more so from a public figure such as the president of the NUS.
“The unique nature of anti-Semitism requires a unique response, which may not be effectively addressed by the steps that the NUS is currently taking. For the sake of their own credibility and to ensure Jewish students across the UK are treated appropriately, the NUS and the Union of Jewish Students should work to mend their broken relationship.”