Lord Ahmad helps counter Israel Apartheid Week

by Stephen Oryszczuk

One of Britain’s most senior Muslim figures has met Jewish students in Nottingham to hear their campus concerns.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, fresh from his recent visit to Auschwitz, met the city’s Jewish student society (J-Soc) during ‘Israeli Apartheid Week,’ which highlights the different laws governing Palestinians and Jewish settlers.

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The Conservative peer’s visit comes at a time of tension, with anti-Israel activists constructing mock checkpoints and separation barriers in support of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign.

To help counter the BDS protests, Jewish students launched the ‘Israeli Appreciation Week,’ and Ahmad said they should “fight on the basis of education, and fight it strongly”. He urged J-Soc members to “take stances on points of principle, as boycotts damage those you are trying to support”.

Omri Shirion, an Israeli student who acts as Nottingham J-Soc Campaigns Officer, said: “It was a privilege to host Lord Ahmad on our campus. His support for a peaceful resolution to the conflict, away from nasty boycott tactics, gave our society the right message.”