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Outrage over Cambridge student union motion calling for Palestinian 'mass uprising'
University's JSoc calls debate proposal an 'absolute disgrace'
October 23, 2023 18:47
University's JSoc calls debate proposal an 'absolute disgrace'
October 23, 2023 18:47Jewish students at Cambridge University are urging their students’ union to cancel a motion which calls for “mass uprising” to “free the Palestinian people”, which is due to be debated this evening.
The motion, titled, “Emergency motion for Solidarity with Palestine”, states that “Only a mass uprising on both sides of the green line and across the Middle East can free the Palestinian people, end the occupation and ensure equal rights for all peoples”.
It refers to the terrorist attacks of October as “the events on October 7”, describing them as “a direct consequence of decades of violent oppression of the Palestinian people by the Israeli state”.
The motion calls on its members to “mobilise and campaign against companies, banks, and institutions that aid the manufacture and delivery of arms to Israel” and “condemn the British government’s support for the Israeli state and the distortions of the mainstream media in Britain in its coverage of this conflict”.
A spokesperson for Cambridge JSoc, which has written to the students’ union urging it not to debate this motion, said: “This evening, our Students’ Union will be considering whether to endorse a ‘mass uprising’ in Israel, the likes of which we saw on 7 October when thousands of terrorists entered Israel and slaughtered 1,400 innocent civilians.”
“As we look with alarm and horror at the suffering of all innocent civilians, we are reminded that a ‘mass uprising’ is not a hypothetical topic of debate that should be accepted at any institution. Hamas’ actions were not a ‘mass uprising’ of liberation. They were acts of terror.
“For the Cambridge Students’ Union to consider debating a motion calling for a ‘mass uprising’ once again is an absolute disgrace. Jewish students in Cambridge deserve to learn in a safe and inclusive environment, without the murders of their relatives and friends being debated.”
At the time of going to press, the JSoc had not received a response from the students’ union.
This is not the first incident involving Cambridge Students’ Union since October 7. The Union of Jewish Students condemned the Cambridge Students’ Union welfare officer for “liking” a series of tweets supporting the terrorist attack on October 7, one of which called it a “day of celebration”.
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