The Union of Jewish Students (UJS) has said it is “deeply troubled” by “antisemitic” social media posts by a candidate for the National Union of Students’ (NUS) executive committee.
Zeid Truscott, a University of Bath student, is said to have shared an article five years ago alleging that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of Isis, was trained by the Mossad.
He has also been linked to tweets calling Israel a “racist, apartheid state… created through terrorism and ethnic cleansing”.
Truscott has also made a number of inflammatory tweets in relation to the IHRA definition of antisemitism (which NUS themselves have adopted). These include suggesting that anyone calling for adoption of IHRA cannot be anti-racist.......🤔🤔 pic.twitter.com/PtypvWIe1t
— The Golem (@TheGolem_) April 4, 2019
The UJS said it was “deeply troubled” by the posts, demanding an immediate apology from Mr Truscott.
A UJS spokesman said: “The suggestion that Israel or the Mossad has trained ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is antisemitic, echoes age-old antisemitic tropes of Jewish world domination and has been used by infamous conspiracy theorist David Icke.
So last Saturday the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (@PSCupdates) hosted a speaker outside the Israeli embassy who shared a post alleging that "ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi" was "trained by Israeli Mossad"...... pic.twitter.com/olczuo4pLi
— The Golem (@TheGolem_) April 4, 2019
“Those who engage in antisemitism should have no place in the student movement, let alone on NUS’ top policy-making body.
“This marks the third year in a row where a candidate running for election at NUS National Conference has been found to have engaged in antisemitism.
“That is not good enough from a movement committed to ‘anti-racism’.”
Mr Truscott declined to apologise for the posts, saying that he rejected accusations of antisemitism.
He also accused his critics of “trawling through peoples [sic] social media history” in order to “misrepresent their views”.
He said: “This relates to a post in 2014 when I was 18… I have consistently fought all forms of racism including antisemitism. I reject antisemitism and I abhor it and will work with everyone who opposes it, to combat it.
“Since my involvement in the student movement, I have always tried to advocate for justice, liberation and amplifying the voices of the marginalised.”
An NUS spokesman said: "The National Union of Students believes that all forms of hate and prejudice are unacceptable. NUS will continue to engage with the Jewish students and the community to identify ways in which we can ensure our spaces are inclusive and accessible to all students.
"NUS will continue to implement the recommendations from our recent Jewish Students’ Survey and encourage the student movement to do the same. We will always strive to create a sector, organisation and movement that gives everyone the opportunity to learn, share ideas and lead without fear."
