Student Union ruling a ‘significant’ victory in the battle against BDS

Pro-Israel advocates and lawyers in the UK have hailed a “significant” development that will curtail the ability of university student unions to boycott Israel.

It follows a ruling from the Charity Commission regarding a Student Union motion at City University in support of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement in December 2021.

The motion was challenged by StandWithUs UK Fellow Begzat Mirayev in cooperation with UK Lawyers for Israel, the result of which they described as “an historic precedent in combatting institutional antisemitism at UK universities”.

It comes as the Charity Commission said the motion was in breach of the Student Union’s charitable objectives. It ordered the union to rescind any actions taken to enforce the BDS policy.

“It gives me great pleasure to contribute positively in this fight against antisemitism and ensure that my people are safe,” Mirayev said.

StandWithUs UK director Isaac Zarfati said: “We hope that this trailblazing decision will empower Jewish students around the country to stand up for their rights in the face of antisemitic BDS resolutions, which seek to turn universities into political battlegrounds, sow division and suppress Jewish voices.”

In December 2021, City University’s Student Union was led by Shaima Dellali, who was subsequently elected president of the National Union of Students, before being suspended for antisemitism.

Lawyers said BDS policies “are part of a campaign of hate, aimed at cutting all ties with the State of Israel… Not only do such policies ostracise and create an increasingly hostile campus environment for Jewish students, but they also directly compromise the Union’s charity obligations”.