On Wednesday the 13th of April 2016 a letter was put out by several representatives of Jewish societies up and down the country. It took issue with numerous aspects of Malia Bouattia’s credentials for NUS President;
“Just recently you explained at an event at SOAS that the government Prevent strategy is the result of a so called ‘Zionist lobby’. By peddling these conspiracy theories to student audiences we are concerned that you are creating an element of suspicion towards Jewish students on campus.”
This was based on a Telegraph article which can be viewed here.
Bouattia replied on Thursday the 14th of April 2016;
“At the SOAS event mentioned in your letter, I criticised the influence of organisations such as the Henry Jackson Society over policy making in the UK. I described it as promoting neo-con and pro-Zionist policies. In no way did I – or would I – link these positions to Jewish people, but to a particular (non-Jewish) organisation.”
Actually at the aforementioned SOAS event Bouattia said something else entirely:
“For Britain, suppressing activism and solidarity with the resistance or in support of Palestine more generally is crucial for it to maintain its relationship with Israel and all the benefits that that brings with it. Especially through PREVENT the British government has rendered the questions of Palestine alongside other issues relating to British foreign policy all but illegitimate and has eroded the space in civil society of student activism in which they can be explored and deconstructed. And so naturally it has been an agenda that has been pursued and fueled by all manner of Zionist and neo-con lobbies and interest over the years. And this totalitarian framework characterised by Islamophobic rhetoric banishing civil liberties and sophisticated surveillance mechanism has been shared and adopted by liberal Western democracies far and wide in defence of their immoral allegiances.”
But don’t trust us have a listen for yourself we have a recording of the entire meeting. Nope, no mention of the Henry Jackson society whatsoever. Bouattia speaks from 11:45 – 21:44, the above statement is made from 15:41 onward.
When Bouattia talks about suppression of activism and solidarity is she once again referring to Jewish Societies taking issue with Jews being compared to Nazis?
Bouattia should clarify what she means when she talks about “Zionist…lobbies” and should also give examples of how such lobbies are “fueling Prevent”.
There are plenty of Zionist members of the National Union of Students if she wants to be President of NUS she is going to be representing those students. When she says Zionist lobbies does she mean Zionist students?
Who does she mean?
Will she clarify what on earth she’s talking about?
