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Union of Jewish Students statement on Gaza solidarity action on campus

Comment posted by Solomon Schonfield at manunioccupation.wordpress.com
What follows is the entirety (apart from the introductory paragraph) of the Union of Jewish Students Statement on the current situation in the middle east.

As a Jew, this does not represent my views and i have written an email to the email address to that effect.

The Union of Jewish Students has strong ties with all Jewish Societies and should be encouraged to be a lot more thorough in its statements and a lot less instructive as to how Jews should respond to the crisis and to the reaction in this country.

http://www.ujs.org.uk/news/c-548/ujs-statement-on-the-current-situation-in-the-middle-east/

As is too often the case, recent events in the Middle East may well lead to heightened tensions and emotions on campus. All students have a right to be a vocal part of their university community without fear or intimidation, and Jewish students are no exception. As students, it is our responsibility to be involved in intelligent debate on campus and to express our views proudly. As always UJS will be right behind every Jewish student in the country.

UJS and Jewish students will not stand by while Israel is vilified and demonized for defending its citizens. Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of southern Israel who have lived in fear for too many years. We are all united in the hope for peace and security for all people in the Middle East.

Throughout the year UJS works in partnership with CST to ensure the safety of Jewish students on campus. Please continue to report any suspicious behaviour or antisemitic incidents to the CST on 020 8457 9999 (London and Southern regions), 0161 792 6666 (Manchester and Northern regions) or enquiries@thecst.org.uk. In an emergency always dial 999 and then call CST. CST can be contacted 24 hours a day via the emergency pager - 07659 101 668 (London), 0800 980 0668 (Manchester).

If there are any questions or concerns please be in touch with the UJS office on 020 7424 3299 or office@ujs.org.uk


And here's Melanie Phillips's appalling article attacking the student occupations which of course informs the blinkered thinking that urges Jewish students to defend the indefensible.

Thankfully many Jewish people are not willing to let the Israeli leaders off the hook so easily.


Is Israel really defending its citizens by killing hundreds and hundreds of innocent people? By way of an antidote, see Dan Mayer's article on zionism and anti-zionism here

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