The president-elect of the National Union of Students (NUS) was invited to a Buckingham Palace garden party, despite allegations of antisemitism.
Pictures posted publicly to Shaima Dallali's LinkedIn page show her in the grounds of Buckingham Palace yesterday alongside many other guests. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge appear to be hosting the event, appearing in a series of photos posted by Ms Dallali.
She captioned the post: "Honoured to represent City, University of London at the Queen's Garden Party at Buckingham Palace."
Ms Dallali is coming to the end of her term as President of City University's Student Union. She is currently slated to be taking up her role as President of the NUS in the summer.
Her invitation to the Palace event comes despite a number of allegations of antisemitism. The JC revealed in March that Ms Dallali had sung the praises of a Jew-hating cleric and raised money for a Muslim advocacy group widely accused of having sympathised with terrorists.
She has also backed violence against Israelis, labelled a cleric critical of Hamas a “dirty Zionist”, and posted a video of anti-Israel protesters calling for an intifada.
On her attendance at a Buckingham Palace garden party, a Department for Education source told Guido Fawkes, who first reported the story: "There are plenty of decent, hard-working people in the university space who would have loved to go to a swanky event in the Palace who haven’t called people dirty zionists, stoked religious tensions and raised money for dodgy pressure groups”.
Shaima Dallali in the gardens of Buckingham Palace (Photo via LinkedIn)
Last week, the JC exclusively revealed that ministers believe that Ms Dallali's election to the role as president of the NUS may be invalid because she failed to commit to the International Holocaust Remembrance Association (IHRA) definition of antisemitism.
That came just days after the government announced that it was severing ties with the NUS due to accusations of antisemitism.
This means it will no longer receive Government funding and its leaders will be denied a “seat at the table” in talks with the Department of Education, the Office for Students and the Student Loans Company.
The NUS president-elect's Linkedin post (Linkedin)
The NUS is to set up an independent inquiry under a QC into both alleged antisemitism and Ms Dallali’s history.
Last week, The JC contacted Ms Dallali. Asked whether she is committed to the IHRA definition now, she said only: “I am committed to creating an NUS that is open to all students… a community that is free from and stands against all forms of discrimination and injustice.
She added: “My commitment to antiracism has not changed.”
Buckingham Palace has been approached for comment.
