By Patrick Sullivan, co-Editor-in-Chief
Undergraduate Education Officer, Nasra Ayub, posted a series of tweets on 20 May regarding an earlier retweet she later reversed.
On Monday evening on her private Twitter account, Nasra Ayub tweeted a series of threads apologising for her earlier retweet.
She has clarified her position in a statement to Epigram: ‘Earlier this week I retweeted a message, which I now realise was anti-Semitic and I deeply regret. I wholeheartedly apologise to Jewish students for my actions.
‘What I retweeted went beyond criticism of the Israeli government, and was an attack on Jewish people's right to self-determination.
‘I'm still learning and will do everything in my power to ensure that I am challenging anti-Semitism and supporting Jewish students at Bristol.’
The retweeted post, originally uploaded by an individual not knowingly affiliated with the University or the SU, read: ‘I hope I’m alive to see the downfall of Israel’
In a statement, Bristol SU said: ‘We welcome Nasra’s apology and will support her in her commitment to stand up for Jewish students at Bristol. The message Nasra retweeted was not acceptable. All students, especially elected representatives, have a responsibility to safeguard the Jewish student community.
‘We have adopted the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism. Throughout the year we have been working with all of our elected representatives, and staff, to improve their understanding of all forms of antisemitism.
‘But clearly there is still much to learn, and we understand that we must redouble our efforts. We will continue to seek input from Bristol J-Soc and the Union of Jewish Students to ensure Bristol SU effectively stands up for and supports Jewish students.’
Bristol J-Soc, the elected representative body of Jewish students at the University, said: ‘Jewish students are disappointed to hear of another anti-Semitic incident on our campus.
‘We will continue to work to ensure that anti-Semitism is eradicated from Bristol.’
As well as her role in the SU, which concludes at the end of the academic year, Nasra Ayub is also an outreach worker for Integrate UK, a charity empowering ‘young people to participate equally in an integrated, cohesive and representative society’.
She spoke at a Gender and Faith Conference hosted in December by Bristol SU and Nisa-Nashim, a Jewish and Muslim Women’s Network. The conference was organised by her colleague, the outgoing SU Equality, Liberation and Access Officer, Sally Patterson, who spoke out about anti-Semitism last month at the NUS National Conference.
Bristol Students Against Antisemitism, a group recently formed after comments made by incoming BME Network Chair Omar Chowdhury, said: ‘While we welcome her apology, it’s high time for Bristol SU to set a precedent that they will fight against anti-Semitism.’
'Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination' is anti-Semitic under the IHRA definition
The pictures...
Posted by Bristol Students Against Antisemitism on Monday, 20 May 2019
Featured Image credit: Twitter
Should the SU and University be doing more to prevent anti-Semitism on campus and educate on the issue?
