NUS failed to challenge antisemitism - report

The National Union of Students (NUS) has failed to sufficiently situation antisemitism and hostility towards Jews successful its ain structures, an autarkic probe has found.

Jewish students person been "subjected to harassment" and NUS policies person been breached, its study said.

The NUS apologised to Jewish students and said it would instrumentality the report's recommendations.

The Union of Jewish Students (UJS) called the study "damning".

The report, which outlines the findings of the probe announced by the NUS and led by lawyer Rebecca Tuck KC, did not urge immoderate sanctions.

Instead, it acceptable retired 11 recommendations - including the instauration of regular antisemitism grooming for NUS unit and officers, and producing acquisition materials connected antisemitism and the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

The study said determination was a "poor relationship" betwixt the NUS and Jewish students, which "stems from views astir and attitudes towards" the situation.

It said immoderate complaints of antisemitism person been viewed successful the NUS arsenic being made successful "bad religion to effort and avert pro-Palestinian oregon anti-Israel argumentation advocacy".

"This has resulted successful antisemitism, arsenic good arsenic hostility towards Jews, which has not been challenged sufficiently robustly oregon proactively by NUS," it said.

The study cites examples fixed by interviewees of antisemitism connected campus, specified arsenic Jewish freshers having swastikas drawn connected them during "white T-shirt parties". It besides lists examples wrong NUS spaces, specified as:

Kat Stark, manager of NUS, said incidents of antisemitism successful the study were "shocking" and it would beryllium implementing each of Ms Tuck's recommendations, arsenic good arsenic a "zero-tolerance" argumentation connected antisemitism.

"What we'd similar to accidental to Jewish students close present - past, present, aboriginal - is we're truly atrocious astir the antisemitism that you faced, and the moments wherever you felt unwelcome," she said.

"I privation Jewish students everyplace to cognize that you are invited successful colleges, successful universities. You are invited successful NUS."

Campaigning connected the Israel-Palestinian struggle is "entirely possible... without stepping implicit that enactment into antisemitism", she said. "That is wherever we request to get to successful the pupil movement."

Ms Tuck's study - which is based connected interviews with 46 groups and individuals - recovered that recommendations from "numerous" erstwhile investigations had been implemented inconsistently.

It noted that not each Jewish students would person had "hostile" experiences of the NUS, but added: "The information that immoderate students did not acquisition hostility does not successful immoderate consciousness trim the value of the trauma suffered by those who did, nor the culpability of the NUS successful failing to forestall it."

Other recommendations include:

UJS president Joel Rosen said the study was a "very damning indictment of the beingness of anti-Jewish racism astatine the bosom of pupil politics".

In 1 section, it says Jewish students person been seen arsenic "answerable for Israel" successful NUS spaces and "stripped of immoderate different characteristics".

"The students I correspond are diverse... they person precise antithetic views connected a full scope of issues," Mr Rosen told the BBC.

"But what we've seen is this benignant of stereotyping that the study lays out."

He said the proposal of an "advisory panel" was "encouraging", but added: "Producing a study is simply a diagnosis of the problem. It's not a solution to the occupation - and Jewish students volition privation to spot action."

Dr Sara Husseini, manager of the British Palestinian Committee, and Ben Jamal, manager of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, issued a connection to the BBC earlier the merchandise of the report.

In it, they said determination indispensable beryllium a "safe abstraction for Palestinians to talk to the facts of their oppression". They were "concerned astir the conflation of antisemitism with advocacy for Palestinian rights, including morganatic disapproval of the State of Israel". And these concerns were "exacerbated" by the November dismissal of erstwhile NUS president Shaima Dallali implicit antisemitism allegations.

Ms Dallali denied the allegations and antecedently told the Guardian paper it was perfectly not existent she did not similar Jewish people.

Her lawyers person besides said she rejected the findings which led to her dismissal.