Malia Bouattia accused of ‘failing’ Jewish students
UJS Campaigns Director claims the NUS head has 'one rule for Jews, another for everyone else'
Jack Mendel is the former Online Editor at the Jewish News.
The NUS president has ‘failed’ Jewish members, and used anti-Semitism “as a political stick to beat them with”, according to a Jewish student leader.
Malia Bouattia has been criticised as having “One rule for the Jews, another for everyone else” over the body’s treatment of anti-Semitism allegations.
The criticism comes after an interview with Bouattia in the Guardian, in which she says accusations of anti-Semitism were unfounded. She said, she has never said anything anti-Semitic, and “if my words were misinterpreted, then in future I’ll take the time to make sure I break them down and explain them.”
Her remarks caused anger within the Union of Jewish Students’, who have accused her completely denying “the right of Jewish students to define their experiences of anti-Semitism.”
Campaigns director for UJS Josh Nagli claimed that her “poor attempts to clarify her past rhetoric”, which includes smears about the ‘Zionist led media’ and calling Birmingham University a ‘Zionist outpost’, “are clumsy and do not remotely hold with Jewish students.”
His response article continues to say that Jewish students “have not misinterpreted her, nor misunderstood her. This was, and still are, their concerns, those of which she is still yet to adequately acknowledge, let alone appropriately address.”
Malia added, that anti-Semitsm allegations had raised NUS’s profile, and “helped to put out our vision of the future”. Nagli claimed this was “shocking”, saying that “If her vision of the future is one where Jewish students are made to feel intimidated by the things their National President says … it’s a future I, and I’m sure many, don’t want to be part of”
Claiming that her presidency has caused Jewish students to have “fears about going onto campus” and engaging with NUS, Nagli says Bouattia failed to listen to Jewish students and ignored their concerns.
Since being elected as National Union of Students president in April 2016, Malia has not met with representatives from the Union of Jewish students.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
