The rector of St Andrews University has been dismissed from its governing body after she condemned Israel’s “genocidal attacks” on Gaza.

Stella Maris’s statement to all students at the university last November caused “anxiety and fear” for some Jewish students, a situation that the university said gave it no choice but to remove her.

In her email to students, Maris described Israel’s actions in Gaza as “genocidal” and condemned “apartheid, siege, illegal occupation and collective punishment”. In the following weeks, she wrote social media posts that were found to be “discourteous and disrespectful”.

The university commissioned an investigation by Lady Morag Ross KC into Maris’s comments. The barrister found that some Jewish students were distressed and “feared for their safety” after receiving the email. Ross’s report said other students felt “validated and heard” by Maris.

In an 80-page report, the barrister concluded that Maris had caused reputational damage to the university and noted the rector “told me that she would take the same decision again and will not apologise”.

University of St Andrews (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

The university’s government court has removed Maris as its president. The chair of the court, Ray Perman, said the panel had “concluded that she is in serious and persistent breach of her responsibilities.

“Under charity law and the Scottish code of good HE [higher education] governance, regrettably, court has no choice but to discharge Stella Maris from two of the administrative roles that are traditionally associated with being rector of a university,” Perman said.

“Court wishes to stress that this decision has no bearing on Ms Maris’s freedom of speech, to which she is entitled and for which, like everyone else, she is personally accountable. We recognise that parts of the rector’s statement were an important source of comfort to students affected by the conflict in Gaza,” he added.

Maris, a former student at St Andrews, will remain rector until 2026. She said the decision to remove her from the governing body “sets a dangerous precedent for freedom of speech” and “shows a lack of respect” for her position.

“It is clear that I have been removed from university court because I called for an end to Israel’s war crimes against Palestinians, and I will not apologise for doing so. As a young, neurodiverse black woman with limited financial resources, I have faced the full force of the university, including a KC investigation, all because I made a statement supported by the overwhelming majority of students, calling for an end to a genocide.”

Maris said she intended to appeal the decision.

She was backed by Prof Ghassan Abu-Sittah, the controversial rector of the University of Glasgow who, the JC has revealed, has praised terrorists, sat beside a notorious plane hijacker and delivered a tearful eulogy to the founder of a terror group that was later involved in the October 7 atrocities.

The Union of Jewish Students welcomed the decision: “UJS welcomes the outcome of the Court of St Andrews University's decision to discharge the Rector, Stella Maris, as President of the Court and as a trustee.

“We are grateful to the university for acknowledging the experiences of its Jewish students and taking action to address these concerns.

“After a difficult year on campus, we hope that universities will start to listen more closely to the needs of their students.”