The newly elected National Union of Students’ (NUS) president, Shaima Dallali, is facing backlash over social media post she allegedly made as a teenager. The criticisms of Dallali come amid a wider campaign against NUS launched by pro-Israel groups and lawmakers.
NUS agreed to the antisemitism inquiry in response to pressure from a Jewish student group and a letter signed by 21 former NUS presidents. Multiple UK politicians have criticized the NUS over the issue in recent weeks including Nadhim Zahawi, who told the parliament’s education committee, “I am deeply concerned about the NUS – it feels to me that there is systemic antisemitism, because this is not the first time, it’s the second time I think, they have elected a leader who has got a history of antisemitic comments and statements, so that does concern me.”
One of the social media posts critics have objected to reads, “Khaybar Khaybar O Jews… Muhammad’s army will return Gaza,” an apparent reference to an assault on Jews that occurred in 628. Dallali has since apologized. “I’m not the same person I was,” she recently told The Guardian. “I have developed my political language to talk about Palestine and Israel. I stand by that apology…I want to reiterate my willingness to work with Jewish students to combat antisemitism, to address their concerns. I want to represent all students and their concerns are important.”
Dallali also spoke about the personal attacks she’s faced over the controversy. “I’ve had private messages of people calling me a raghead, people telling me to go and kill myself, calling me a Jew hater and an antisemite,” she said. “That has been difficult to read.”
The apology hasn’t quelled the efforts of pro-Israel groups like the Union of Jewish Students (UJS), who published an open letter condemning Dallali. “Over the past few weeks, we have become aware of multiple comments made by Dallali, both online and on university campuses, which are incredibly offensive to Jewish people, the LGBTQ+ community and other minority communities,” it reads. “It is deplorable that some Jewish students should feel excluded or unwelcome within NUS spaces..an NUS that doesn’t make room for Jews is an NUS that is unfit to represent any students.”
The group also criticized NUS for inviting the British rapper Lowkey to appear at an student event. The musician has been repeatedly targeted over his Palestine advocacy and pro-Israel lobbying groups are currently fighting to have his albums removed from the streaming service Spotify. Lowkey ended up pulling out of the event.
The Union of Jewish Students is not without controversy itself. UJS’s constitution declares that the group is focused on inspiring Jewish students to make an “enduring commitment” to Israel and former members of the group have gone onto work for the Israeli government. And it appears that the relationship between the organization the Israeli government might even be close than that. In Al Jazeera’s 2017 investigative series The Lobby a pro-Israel activist named Adam Schapira tells an undercover reporter, “The Israeli embassy in the UK gives money to the Union of Jewish Students. Once you’re involved with the Union of Jewish Students, they then connect you. My sister worked for the embassy for a bit, as her first job. It’s a good platform to do for like a year.”
Questionable signatures
The UJS letter seemed to have been signed by over 1,000 “Jewish students and allies”, but multiple people now say that their signatures were added without their consent. “Someone has added my name to this letter which I categorically do not want to sign (for a variety of reasons)…Pls remove immediately,” tweeted activist Em Hilton. “This undermines the credibility of the whole initiative by doing this.”
“A number of signatures – including mine, as well as those of [Barnaby Raine, Em Hilton, Aron Keller, and Ben Reiff]– have been falsified on this letter. How can we trust any of the others,” tweeted Novara editor Rivkah Brown.
Hi [USJ] why did you allow my signature and several others to be falsified on this letter?,” wrote Barnaby Raine. “Please investigate. This letter supports an IHRA text which denies Palestinians the right to talk freely about their dispossession, so you’ve associated me with racism without my consent.”
The National Union of Students called for an independent investigation of itself, which Dallali told The Guardian she welcomes. “In relation to the president-elect, the independent investigation will look into a range of comments and actions that are alleged to have taken place over the last decade,” said the NUS in a statement, “We will be appointing a highly regarded independent party to undertake the investigation and we will be consulting with the UJS in making the appointment. Whoever is appointed must have the confidence of Jewish students.”
“A number of signatures have been falsified on this letter. How can we trust any of the others?”
Indeed!
Let’s ask “Jewish students” whether they support apartheid as practiced by Israeli Governments and the policy of ethnically-cleansing Palestinians from swathes of occupied Palestine in order to create Jews / Zionist – only colonies and associated infrastructure. (which we see today and which are increasing despite Bennet’s alleged policy of allowing only natural growth of existing colonies to mollify Palestinian MKs in the coalition).