UJS demands apology from NUS candidate over ‘antisemitic’ posts
Zeid Truscott promoted the claim Isis leader Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi was trained by the Mossad in 2014
The Union of Jewish Students has demanded an apology from a student running for a seat in the National Union of Students over “antisemitic” social media posts.
Zeid Truscott is running for a seat on the NUS national executive committee, which is the main scrutiny body for NUS’s political leadership.
A number of messages allegedly sent from his Facebook and Twitter accounts were uncovered by the Twitter account The Golem on Thursday afternoon.
Among them, a tweet from last year said: “Just your daily reminder that Israel is a racist, apartheid state. Founded on ‘divine right’ and created through terrorism and ethnic cleansing.”
Another tweet claimed the IHRA definition of antisemitism is “anti-Palestinian and anti-Arab.”
A Facebook post from 2014 linked to an article suggesting Isis leader Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi was trained by the Mossad.
Another message reads: “Some of the IHRA examples (Israel being a racist endeavour) aim to silence Arab lived experience and sideline oppression of Arabs.”
Daniel Kosky, UJS campaigns organiser said the union was “deeply troubled” by the posts.
“The suggestion that Israel or the Mossad has trained ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi is antisemitic, echoes age-old antisemitic tropes of Jewish world domination and has been used by infamous antisemite David Icke,” Kosky said.
“Those who engage in antisemitism should have no place in the student movement, let alone on NUS’ top policy-making body.”
“We expect Truscott to apologise immediately for their antisemitic social media posts, and engage with UJS to combat antisemitism in the student movement,” he said.
Truscott and NUS were approached for comment.
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.
