Students activists at the University of Manchester were forced to backtrack following claims that Israel is responsible for genocide and ethnic cleansing in Gaza.
A 2,000-word motion making the allegations was lodged with the student union several months ago, drafted by the university’s Friends of Palestine group. Using all the familiar clichés, it alleged that Israel “in its entirety” is “an apartheid settler-colonial state committing ongoing genocide against Palestinians” and recognises that “as an occupied nation, the people of Palestine have the right to armed resistance under international law.”
Manchester University’s Friends of Israel Society argued that the proposal and the procedure for considering it were unlawful. It said the statement contained “false and one-sided allegations.” The society attempted nine amendments to the motion, all of which were rejected.
Supported by UK Lawyers for Israel (UKFLI), student campaigners were able to tease out how the motion endangered the students union itself, by committing it to objectives outside of its charitable brief and, indirectly, supporting a proscribed organisation.
Jonathan Turner, chief executive of UKFLI announced:
We are very pleased with this outcome, which clearly results from drawing attention to the student union’s legal obligations.
While it would have been preferable to see the allegation of Israel’s genocide broken down in open debate, it is useful to see one of the big ‘pro-Palestinian’ lies challenged in public. Whether the University of Manchester’s reputation will recover is another matter entirely.
