Warwick Jewish Society list of IHRA endorsements in breach of SU election regulations

Warwick University Students’ Union (SU) has announced that Warwick Jewish Society broke election regulations by publishing a list of candidates that would support the IHRA definition of antisemitism.

In a statement on negative campaigning and voting numbers, the Returning Officer and Adjudication panel had “previously advised” candidates to not reply to an email from Warwick Jewish Society (JSoc) which asked whether the candidate endorses the IHRA definition of antisemitism.

JSoc posted a list of candidates that did reply saying that they would endorse the IHRA definition, together with a list of candidates who either did not reply or would not endorse the definition.

The IHRA definition of antisemitism was formally adopted by the University on 28 October.

The SU statement explained that the JSoc list “would contravene regulations around negative campaigning, due to the publications of candidates who did not respond”.

Candidates that replied to JSoc before the SU advised candidates not to will have “no action taken against them”.

In a statement provided to The Boar  and cosigned by the Union of Jewish Students, a Warwick Jewish Society spokesperson said: “This post, and the decision more broadly, really puts into question Warwick SU’s campaign laws and their enforcement.

This post, and the decision more broadly, really puts into question Warwick SU’s campaign laws and their enforcement

– Warick Jewish Society

“After a decision made on Friday without proper jurisdiction, we’re only now hearing the results of the adjudication panel five days later, by a Facebook post at 8:30pm.

“All that we did as a society is ask a simple yes-no question to candidates and publish its results, something RAW and The Boar seem able to do without consequence, but when it’s a minority group seeking to inform their members on a liberation issue it’s suddenly seen as ‘negative campaigning’ rather than transparency and public scrutiny.”

The SU statement also addressed “social media posts from unofficial student groups which constitute negative campaigning”. This comes after a statement from Warwick Occupy that named two candidates and accused them of racism.

Put Warwick Students First (PWSF), a group set up in Term 1 to oppose the online teaching motion at the All Student Vote, has also produced social media content on the elections, endorsing several candidates.

Both PWSF and Warwick Occupy have not applied to be an official society, meaning they cannot provide endorsements and are prevented from involving themselves in SU elections.

The SU statement said: “This kind of activity is not allowed, and so the Adjudication Panel will be looking into who is responsible and taking any appropriate action.”

Both PWSF and Warwick Occupy have been contacted for comment.