Student fury as crisis over antisemitism engulfs NUS
We’ve been left feeling that the NUS is not a safe place for us
THE NATIONAL Union of Students was engulfed by an antisemitism crisis this week as hundreds of Jewish students wrote to the organisation accusing it of creating a climate of fear on campus.
It came as 21 former NUS presidents and several senior government figures warned the organisation it urgently needed to tackle deep concerns over internal racism or face losing official recognition.
The crisis follows the JC’s exposé last month of an alleged suggestion by current NUS president Larissa Kennedy that Jewish students could segregate themselves at a concert to avoid hearing an anti-Israel rapper.
Two weeks later, the student body again prompted fury with the election of a new president, Shaima Dallali, with a history of posting inflammatory messages including heaping praise on antisemitic cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi.
A letter signed by hundreds of Jewish students said the body had left them “scared, distressed and upset and feeling that NUS is not a safe place for them”.
Submitted ahead of an emergency meeting of the NUS board on Wednesday, the letter called on the organisation to launch an independent investigation into whether Ms Dallali was fit for office.
Meanwhile, on Monday, 21 former NUS presidents, including three former cabinet ministers, sent an unprecedented private warning to the organisation’s trustees, urging them to address Jewish students’ concerns.
Their letter followed another from education committee chair Robert Halfon to the Charity Commission asking it to look into “discrimination and harassment” of Jewish students by the NUS.
The letter from former presidents of
the NUS — whose signatories included former cabinet ministers Jack Straw, Charles Clarke and Jim Murphy, as well as the shadow health secretary Wes Streeting — said that the NUS’s “anti-racist principles” were at stake.
It added: “We hope that the trustees understand… the potentially existential threat that de-recognition of NUS poses to the future of the organisation — and your responsibility to act.”
The NUS had announced last week it would investigate Ms Dallali over her history of incendiary posts, including one which read: “Khaybar Khaybar O Jews… Muhammad’s army will return Gaza” — a reference to a 628 massacre for which Ms Dallali has apologised.
Ms Dallali has also said she would meet Jewish students to “listen to concerns on how we can make our movement inclusive and open to all”.
The statements, however, failed to allay concerns. Mr Halfon’s letter to the Charity Commission, written with the Campaign Against Antisemitism, accused the NUS of fostering a “culture of discrimination” against Jewish students. It added that under the terms of the NUS’s charitable status, its trustees had a duty to promote “equality and diversity” and “good citizenship”.
His intervention came after Universities Minister Michelle Donelan revealed the government was considering suspending engagement with the NUS over claims of antisemitism.
Tuesday’s letter from the UJS called for an external probe into “antisemitism within the NUS”.
It also requested a public commitment by NUS officials to the IHRA definition of antisemitism. “We as Jewish students have a right to be included in NUS and the wider student movement,” the letter stated. “It is deplorable that some Jewish students should feel excluded or unwelcome within NUS spaces.”
An NUS spokesman said: “The NUS is taking antisemitism allegations seriously. There is no place for antisemitism within the student movement. We have unreservedly apologised for the concern and worry caused in recent weeks, and are working to address any wrongdoing and rebuild trust.
“The Board are meeting to instigate our robust internal procedures including considering appointing an independent external party to support with this. If we find that action needs to be taken we won’t hesitate to take it.”
The NUS has denied it suggested Jewish students were meant to be segregated at the concert featuring Lowkey, an anti-Zionist rapper. Lowkey pulled out of the event amid the controversy.
Ms Dallali was previously contacted for comment on the allegations against her.
It is deplorable that some Jewish students should feel unwelcome