The National Union of Students (NUS) has scrapped a motion that claimed reports of rising antisemitism on campus had been exaggerated in the wake of Operation Protective Edge.

In a meeting on Wednesday, the NUS national executive committee agreed to withdraw the controversial proposal after lobbying from the Union of Jewish Students (UJS).

UJS President Ella Rose, 21, said she was “disgusted” at the motion which accused the Jewish student body of “mobilising antisemitism for political purposes” and claimed there was a “fabrication of examples of antisemitic occurrences in order to bolster a particular political agenda”.

She also attacked the executive committee for dismissing a report of antisemitism by Israeli student Noam Yossef.

Toni Pearce, the president of the NUS, said: “I’m really proud that as a movement we understand that when a woman tells you she has been harassed we believe her – we don’t accuse her of lying. When LGBT students speak about homophobia on campuses that we believe them. We must take the same stance on antisemitism.”

Delegates at the meeting passed a “defeating the rise in antisemitism” motion in a bid to fight racism and strengthen interfaith relations.

Maggie Suissa, UJS campaigns director, said: “When Jewish students stand together and stand up for themselves, the student movement pays attention.”

A motion to promote boycott initiatives and challenge Israeli “occupation” was not passed, although the JC understands that it failed because anti-Israel activists felt it was not tough enough.