National Union of Students head Shakira Martin head pledges to beat hate

The head of the National Union of Students has expressed her dedication to “making a systemic change to the culture of the organisation” to combat Jew-hatred among its members.

Speaking at at a parliamentary briefing on campus antisemitism on Wednesday afternoon, Shakira Martin described having met the Union of Jewish Students (UJS) “a couple of times since being elected” in April and “working directly with the Holocaust Educational Trust” in an effort to improve relations with Jewish students.

The relationship between NUS and UJS had become strained under Ms Martin’s predecessor, Malia Bouttia, who had made antisemitic comments.

Professor Edward Byrne, principal and president of King’s College London, spoke about his previous experience as vice-chancellor of Monash University in Melbourne Australia, and said that prejudice against Jews was noticeably more prevalent on campus in the UK.