NUS conference is broken beyond repair, say Jewish students

The annual conference of the National Union of Students has been called ‘broken beyond repair’ by the body that represents 9,000 students Jewish in the UK.

The Union of Jewish Students took to Twitter/X after attending this year’s NUS event in Blackpool between 17 and 18 April.

It said: “Following the Tuck Report (2023) which detailed nearly two decades of horrific antisemitism in the NUS, they committed to ensuring that Jewish students would be as welcome as any other student in their spaces. Yet at NUS Conference this week, Jewish students were faced with gross antisemitic rhetoric, with a swastika graffitied in the toilets, defence of Hamas in debates, and reports of Holocaust inversion from fellow delegates.”

The post has been viewed more than 24,000 times.

As reported by Jewish News, the allegations come just over a year after the National Union of Students repeated its apology to Jewish students over the “failure to address antisemitism head on”.

An NUS spokesperson told Jewish News: “Alongside UJS, NUS strongly condemns the racist antisemitic incidents that took place during this week’s NUS conference, which resulted in some delegates being removed from the event.

“Disciplinary action was taken and continues to be taken against some delegates due to unacceptable language and the drawing of antisemitic graffiti. We take such incidents seriously and we are in contact with the police and CST. We remain committed to ensuring NUS is a safe and welcoming place for all students – and we are reviewing all aspects of the conference to ensure that is the case.

“We’re deeply sorry to Jewish students and we won’t stop taking action until antisemitism is rooted out of all corners of our movement.”