Recently, as the Canary previously reported over 70 student officers and almost 120 student groups from across more than 50 campuses in the UK, issued the National Union of Students (NUS) with a letter condemning its silence on Gaza, accusing it of complicity in Israel’s genocide, and demanding it take a decisive stand. Now, the NUS has threatened signatories of the letter with action if they don’t “unsign” it.
At its core, the letter – which was backed by 10 legal, academic and human rights bodies, including ELSC, CAGE UK, BRISMES and the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention – opposed the use of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, which equates anti-Zionism and criticism of Israel with antisemitism.
Adopted by the NUS in 2017, the use of this definition of antisemitism is merely a tactic used to silence those speaking out about Israel’s crimes in the occupied territories, and impede action against its unjust treatment of Palestinians. Even its main drafter, Ken Stern, has described it as ‘a blunt instrument’ that is ‘used to label anyone an antisemite’.
Students say the NUS is an agent of repression
Students have told the Canary that they expected the union to be an agent for justice and solidarity but feel a deep sense of betrayal because it is, instead, an agent of repression.
This could be seen on Friday 18 July, when the NUS leadership wrote to the CEOs of the student unions which signed the letter, demanding that the pro-Palestine sabbatical officers, from universities across the country, remove their signatures from the letter, with Student Unions such as Sussex even being sent a pack called ‘How to convince your officers to unsign’.
These Sabbatical officers – who are elected and employed student representatives and receive a salary – were issued an ultimatum by the NUS: remove their signatures from the letter, or get banned from attending NUS events, including the upcoming Lead and Change national conference, and face the possibility of investigation.
Antonia Listrat, Guild President at the University of Birmingham Guild of Students, told the Canary:
The NUS has reached out to Student Unions and elected officers with threats to intimidate them into removing their signatures. Student trustees have been threatened with investigation from the Charity Commission, and even with losing their jobs.
This is an unprecedented attack on our student movement, and one of the worst cases of conflation between Zionism and Judaism. Not even the government has targeted us in such a direct way, simply for our beliefs and political expression.
Instead of protecting marginalised students, and defending our rights, the NUS is instead paving the way for more repression. I am terrified of losing my job during this cost of living crisis. I’ve just received my first pay cheque, and I was going to use it to pay for the medical treatment I could not afford when I was a student.
Now I am not sure if I will be able to pay my rent in the coming months. But I will not remove my signature. In times like this, we all need to show moral courage, especially in the face of unjust repression.
‘Denouncing the IHRA definition of antisemitism is antisemitic’
The NUS leadership made the following claims, among others, in their correspondence with the sabbatical officers:
- The letter was ‘antisemitic’ and ‘misinformed’, because it denounced the IHRA definition of antisemitism, the definition the NUS says ‘the vast majority of British Jewish organisations and individuals choose to define the terms of their own oppression’ and the definition that is ‘repeatedly and unanimously voted for by the Union of Jewish Students’ (UJS).
The reality is that the UJS is a pro-Israel lobby group, which gets funding directly from the Israeli embassy, and has been criticised in recent years for its role in attempting to subvert student democracy.
- ‘There is a dangerous falsehood implied in the letter, that any connection to Israel carries ‘settler-colonial’ and ‘genocidal’ intent or complicity with the current actions of the Israeli government, and this narrative is central to antisemitic tropes…’
However, a recent survey by Professor Tamir Sorek of Pennsylvania State University, and published in Haaretz, found that the vast majority of Israeli Jews-82 percent-do actually back expelling Gazans out of the Strip, and almost 55 percent were ‘very’ supportive of this move.
- ‘It is entirely possible to be vocal and active on pro-Palestinian liberation without breaching the IHRA definition of antisemitism, and without breaching codes of conduct’.
This statement is ridiculous- there is no way of achieving any justice for Palestine if we pretend Israel has done nothing wrong, and prohibit any criticism of the occupation.
The NUS alleges that by not recognizing the IHRA definition, signatories have violated its Code of Conduct, framing them as antisemitic and justifying bans and sanctions, even if they happen to be Jewish.
Right to criticise state violence is protected under human rights law
One signatory, who is refusing to remove their name from the letter, told the Canary:
As a Jewish sabbatical officer, whose family survived cultural genocide and antisemitic persecution, I take the fight against antisemitism seriously.
It’s precisely because of this history that I feel compelled to speak out against the ongoing genocide in Palestine. The right to criticise state violence – including the political application of the IHRA definition of antisemitism- is protected under the Human Rights Act. Silencing students, including Jewish students, for raising these concerns undermines both anti-racist principles and freedom of expression.
I remain committed to protecting student safety, upholding human rights, and ensuring our movement remains democratic, inclusive and accountable.
The Canary has approached the NUS for comment.
Conflict of interest at NUS
Zionism has long been a contentious issue within the NUS, and many concerns have been raised about representation and free political expression. But it is not only the strict enforcement of the IHRA definition of antisemitism which silences critics of Israeli state policies and suppresses Palestine solidarity at universities.
Institutional bias and conflict of interest lie at the heart of the NUS.
People such as Noah Katz, who is not only a member of the NUS UK Board, but also a senior official in the Board of Deputies of British Jews – a prominent pro-Zionist organization. Katz’s overlapping influence raises serious concerns about NUS impartiality, and skew NUS decision-making toward pro-Zionist positions.
The trust of pro-Palestinian students in their union’s impartiality have been seriously undermined, and so to has their confidence in the NUS’s ability to represent their views. They are feeling disillusioned and let down, and are calling for change. This is why they sent the letter to the NUS last week, to try and rectify the situation.
Instead, sabbatical officers now find themselves in conversation with human rights groups and lawyers, and are preparing to bring a joint claim against the NUS for discrimination and exclusion based on anti-Zionist philosophical beliefs.
Featured image via the Canary
By Charlie Jaay
This post was originally published on Canary.