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UK Jewish students raise concerns over candidate for national student president


This week, hundreds of students from British universities, signed a letter questioning statements made by Malia Bouattia, a candidate for the presidency of the National Union of Students in the UK.

Bouattia has referred to Birmingham University as a “Zionist outpost”  and referred to the fact that it has the “largest [Jewish Society] in the country” when describing the challenges she was facing at the time. These views have offended Jewish students and divided the national student body. For Jewish students, the prospect of the President of the National Union of Students (NUS) holding such views about Jewish students is quite obviously disconcerting. Should a person who uses such rhetoric become the President of NUS, it is likely that this would create a deep rift between NUS and Jewish students.

Just recently, Bouattia explained at an event at SOAS that the government’s Prevent counter-extremism strategy is the product of a so called “Zionist lobby”.

Bouattia’s response to the letter denounced the allegations as “false”. The President of Birmingham’s Jewish Society has answered.