Anti-Israel student activists are campaigning for their universities to cut ties with the National Union of Students (NUS) because of what they claim is its “pro-Zionism”.
Campaigners at the universities of Birmingham, Sheffield, Newcastle, Bristol and City have all called all for a referendum to quit the union.
There have already been majorities voting to disaffiliate at Cambridge, Liverpool and the London School of Economics (LSE).
The activists claim the NUS has marginalised Muslim and pro-Palestinian voices “under the guise of antisemitism”.
At the University of Liverpool last month, students voted by 87 per cent to leave the NUS.
Supporters of the motion claiming the union had restricted members speaking out on Palestine.
One student accusing the NUS of “monstrous suppression” of Palestine activism.
At the University of Cambridge last October, students supported disaffiliation by 1,772 votes to 1,284. Led by Cambridge for Palestine (C4P), the campaign described the NUS as “pro-Zionist” and “Islamophobic”.
Last month at LSE, students voted by 62 per cent to disaffiliate, a process the students’ union said was already underway and would take up to 18 months.
A message circulating in Birmingham student WhatsApp groups and seen by the JC claimed the NUS had censored pro-Palestinian activists “under the guise of antisemitism” and “refuse[d] to take a stand against Zionists”.
The message read: “We're calling for a referendum to leave the National Union of Students (NUS), who are suppressing pro-Palestinian advocacy under the guise of antisemitism.
“Even after a genocide, they refuse to take a stand against Zionists, and yet we are paying £38k per year that could be better spent on students.”
In a video shared on social media, a Birmingham campaigner alleged that those “actively speaking out against Zionism” had faced disciplinary action, and that “anti-Zionist” students had been “banned” from NUS events. The student urged others to “take back our power”.
The campaigns across campuses are largely coordinated on social media, with Instagram infographics setting out arguments for leaving the NUS.
Protesters from London universities attend pro-Palestine demonstration in 2025 on second anniversary of October 7 attack on Israel (Dan Kitwood/Getty)Getty Images
In Bristol, campaigners claimed the organisation was “silent on the Gaza genocide for 2 years” and had “failed to address its institutional Islamophobia”.
At City St George's University, activists said “Muslim students have raised serious concerns about Islamophobia and the absence of a working definition”, while claiming “Jewish students holding anti-Zionist perspectives have reportedly felt ignored or dismissed”.
Finlay Deane, a Liverpool student who submitted the successful disaffiliation petition, said the campaign had gathered pace after last summer’s NUS national conference, when around 100 delegates walked out after the organisation declined to describe the war in Gaza as a “genocide”.
Last July, student leaders attached to the “not my NUS” campaign wrote to the national body “expressing urgent concerns around their silence on the ongoing genocide in Palestine.”
The letter accused pro-dialogue educational charity Solutions not Sides of “minimising the Palestinian experience of Zionism” and “normalising Israel’s illegitimate occupation”.
It claimed that accusations of antisemitism levelled at their campaign risked “weaponsising” Jew-hate to “silence Palestinian advocacy” and suggested that the UJS should be recognised within the government’s Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (Firs) over Israel.
Union of Jewish Students (UJS) president Louis Danker condemned the disaffiliation campaign, saying: “This year’s NUS officer team has consistently affirmed that NUS must be welcoming to students of all backgrounds, beliefs and identities.
“We commend that, and condemn those student leaders who have denied Jewish self-definition, not least through last summer’s ‘Not My NUS’ campaign.
“Anti-racism means listening to how minority groups define themselves and the oppression they face.
“Rejecting the IHRA definition, and accusing UJS of foreign influence, undermines that principle and exposes a clear blind spot on antisemitism.”
Not every result has been against the NUS. Cardiff students voted this month by 4,532 to 1,364 to remain affiliated.
Universities have periodically broken away from the NUS, often over questions of cost or political direction.
An NUS spokesperson told the JC: "We want NUS to be an inclusive, welcoming space for everyone. There is no space for antisemitism in our movement. Jewish students are facing a wave of antisemitism on campus, and we are committed to doing everything in our power to support them.
"The student movement is at its best when we all stand together. When we do, we can win material changes for students and young people.
"Democracy is at the heart of the student movement: while some campuses are voting based on students wanting to leave, others are voting to join and we will always welcome meaningful dialogue with students and students' union officers, while making sure to challenge misinformation wherever it appears.
"Our focus is improving the condition for millions of students and young people – from campaigning on student loan reform, challenging changes to the graduate route visa and taking on extortionate laundry companies. We are proud of the wins we have achieved these past 12 months, including the return of maintenance grants, the safe arrival of scholarship students from Gaza and bringing back Erasmus."
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