Students accused of peddling ‘dangerous’ idea that Jews ‘don’t count’
The National Union of Students (NUS) has been accused of peddling a “dangerous Leftist ideology” that Jews “don’t count” after it emerged that some of its delegates called for the expulsion of the main Jewish representative body.
At the NUS annual conference in Blackpool last month, a group of delegates voted to sever ties with the Union of Jewish Students (UJS) at a workshop where members were told that Israel is a “racist project of colonialism”.
The NUS said that the non-binding vote was a “temperature check” rather than a formal commitment by the organisation.
A spokesman for the NUS said it “ensured that the democratic volunteers issued a swift apology” for the incident and issued a statement afterwards making clear that “questioning UJS’s place here is at odds with our policies”.
At the same conference, anti-Semitic graffiti was discovered and reported to the police, which the NUS also apologised for.
The details emerged as pro-Palestinian protests spread across British universities, with students attempting to replicate the occupations that have swept through US campuses.
US protesters are reportedly sharing advice about tactics and logistics with students involved in encampments at British universities.
The Government suspended engagement with the NUS two years ago, amid allegations of anti-Semitism, and said the organisation will not receive any taxpayer funding.
In recent months, the NUS approached officials at the Department for Education to ask if communication channels could be reopened, but they were turned down by Education Secretary Gillian Keegan.
“She didn’t feel they had made enough progress – and her caution has been proven right,” a government source said.
They added that the incident at the conference last month shows a “warped agenda” and a “dangerous Leftist ideology”, which is “more than a blind spot for anti-Semitism. It is a conscious attack on Jewish people”.
Demonstrators at University College London have added to a growing number of tent camps protesting against the war in Gaza, which have been seen at universities including Oxford, Cambridge, Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield, Leeds, Warwick, Swansea and Bristol.
The scenes have been a far cry from confrontations in the US, where there have been thousands of arrests and riot police have stormed campuses, but British student protesters are refusing to budge until universities meet their demands to cut ties with Israeli organisations and make commitments on Gaza.
Goldsmiths University of London has agreed to student demands by offering scholarships for Palestinian students, renaming a lecture hall after Shireen Abu Akleh, the Palestinian-US journalist killed in an Israeli military operation in 2022, and reviewing how anti-Semitism is defined on campus.
‘We’re deeply sorry’
An NUS spokesman said that it condemns “racist anti-Semitic incidents” that took place during its conference last month.
“Disciplinary action was taken and continues to be taken against some delegates due to unacceptable language and the drawing of anti-Semitic graffiti,” they said. “We take such incidents seriously and we are in contact with the police and Community Security Trust.
“We remain committed to ensuring NUS is a safe and welcoming place for all students – and we are reviewing all aspects of the conference to ensure that is the case. We’re deeply sorry to Jewish students and we won’t stop taking action until anti-Semitism is rooted out of all corners of our movement.”
