Columbia University in the City of New York may be getting
more press coverage, but evidence about instances of
antisemitic behavior at the School of Oriental and African
Studies (SOAS) of the University of London has also been
delivered to Colin Bundy, the head of the school, with a
threat of legal action should he not implement his own
school's anti-discrimination rules.
The document was prepared by the Board of Deputies of British
Jews, following a meeting with the then education minister
Ivan Lewis last month, after six months of controversy
surrounding SOAS.
Jewish students have repeatedly complained about instances of
antisemitism and the college's failure to act to prevent them
— allegations which both the college and the student
union have strenuously denied. Three members of the National
Union of Students recently resigned from an executive
committee, citing the union's failure to tackle antisemitism
including at SOAS.
The dossier includes details of several disputes at SOAS,
including:
* A conference held at the college about the academic boycott
of Israel, titled Resisting Israeli Apartheid.
* An article in the student magazine Spirit which
said: "Those who benefit from the immoral actions of a
colonial state in which they have chosen to reside cannot be
considered as innocent."
* The union's banning of Roey Gilad, an Israeli embassy
representative, because of their policy which equates Zionism
with racism. Professor Bundy overturned the ban.
* The screening in the union of a controversial film,
Heaven, which describes Jews as "having no values or
ethics."
* Gilad Atzmon, a pro-Palestinian activist and musician, who
gave a talk to students this month, arguing: "I'm not going
to say whether it is right or not to burn down a synagogue, I
can see that it is a rational act."
Jon Benjamin, the director general of the Board of Deputies,
told the Guardian: "We wanted to pull together the
evidence to overcome hearsay and conjecture. Our conclusion
is that there are very clear breaches in the student union
and the school's own rules on equality and freedom of
speech.
"Depending on his response we would have to see whether there
have been any breach of statute. If they are not sticking to
their own principles then the law would have to be invoked
and that's something we would have to explore."
He added: "We're not saying there is institutional
antisemitism [at SOAS]. It certainly isn't the case that
everyone is antisemitic. But a platform has certainly been
given to antisemites. It's okay for there to be anti-Zionist
platforms, but there should be equal time for events from the
other side."
Professor Bundy told the Guardian that he was
preparing a detailed reply to the Board of Deputies'
allegations and that it would be inappropriate to comment on
the contents of the document.
A spokeswoman for SOAS' student union also declined to
comment on the dossier, which she said was "confidential"
while under investigation.
However, she added: "An overwhelmingly large number of
students, including a number of Jewish students, have
expressed their distress and frustration over what they
believe to be false accusations and the manner in which these
accusations have been made.
"We are happy to participate in this investigation as we hope
it gives people the opportunity to discuss the distinction
between antisemitism and criticism of Israeli policies."
