NUS President leaves role after anti-semitism allegations

National Union of Students (NUS) President, Shaima Dallali, has been dismissed from her role following antisemitism allegations.

The dismissal results from an independent investigation conducted by Rebecca Tuck KC, which found that Dallali had made “significant breaches” of NUS policies. Due to confidentiality guidelines, the Union has stated that it will not be releasing any further information about the investigation.

Dallali’s election to the NUS presidency during the Union’s May 2022 conference was met with dismay by Jewish students – many of whom expressed worry about her views. In 2012, Dallali posted a tweet including an Arabic chant that referred to a massacre of Jews in 628 AD, which she later apologised for.

Jewish students across the country will be asking how an individual deemed unfit by NUS was elected in the first place

Union of Jewish Students

In 2018, she lauded the late Islamic scholar Muslim Brotherhood member Yusuf al-Qaradawi as a “moral compass of for the Muslim community”. Al-Qaradawi had an extensive history of making antisemitic screeds, suggesting in 2009 that the Holocaust had “put Jews in their place”.

In response to the dismissal, The Union of Jewish Students (UJS) noted that it “respects” the NUS’ decision:

“Antisemitism in the student movement goes beyond the actions of any one individual and in this case is a symptom of a wider problem. Jewish students across the country will be asking how an individual deemed unfit by NUS was elected in the first place.”

Dallali accused the NUS of failing to provide due appropriate notice of her dismissal, an allegation that was echoed by The Federation of Student Islamic Societies (FOSIS). FOSIS lambasted the Union’s decision, branding it “disgraceful and unacceptable,” and called on Islamic societies to organise NUS disaffiliation campaigns at their respective universities on the basis that the NUS “is no longer fit for purpose”.

“As the largest representative body for Muslim students, FOSIS have come to the conclusion that the NUS is no longer an organisation that [takes] Muslims or Islamophobia seriously and therefore is not a safe space for Muslims.”

Dallali plans on challenging the NUS ruling, with a statement by Carter-Ruck Solicitors on her behalf noting that “she is considering all available legal remedies”.

“Ms Dallali rejects the findings of the disciplinary panel, as she rejected the allegations about her that were investigated in the context of those investigations. She considers the process to have constituted – and that it continues to constitute – discriminatory treatment of her as a black Muslim woman and her beliefs concerning the plight of the Palestinian people.”

Chloe Field, Vice President for Higher Education, will serve as interim chair of the NUS UK Board until a new President is appointed.