A new student campaign has been launched urging student societies across the UK to ditch the National Union of Students (NUS) over the ongoing genocide in Gaza and the NUS’ “failure” to defend pro-Palestine students.

The campaign called “Not My NUS” was sparked following rising tensions between student bodies over the NUS’s perceived lack of support for pro-Palestine activism and students being penalized over protest action.

A public letter to the NUS Board of Directors was published on July 11 which listed the many grievances of student groups against the NUS. The letter was undersigned by over 200 student officers, societies, and groups across at least 55 campuses.

The letter claims that the NUS has remained “neutral” amid the ongoing genocide in Gaza which is a “strategy” which “shields the oppressor.” The letter also details other issues such as the adoption of the controversial IHRA definition of anti-Semitism which equates criticism of Zionist and Israel to anti-Semitism.

The letter warns the NUS that if they fail to support pro-Palestine activism or implement a list of changes mentioned in the letter, that they face disaffiliation by student groups.

The letter has received backing from 10 legal, academic and human rights bodies, including ELSC, CAGE UK, BRISMES, and the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention.

The Federation of Student Islamic Societies (FOSIS) has informed 5Pillars that they are fully behind the campaign and have issued a call for other societies to abandon the NUS.

Source: 5Pillars