The Union Of Jewish Students elections in the UK seem to have devolved into a bad joke, with one of the main candidates a Jewish BDS-hole.
A pro-Palestine activist who supports Israel Apartheid Week and BDS is running to be Union of Jewish Students president, alongside two other contenders.
Eran Cohen of York University is one of three candidates vying for the top student position, with some complaining he’s ‘unfit’ for the role due to his pro-Palestine views.
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Criticism was directed at the UJS for allowing Cohen, who was raised in Israel, to run. Cohen was part of the University of York’s Palestinian Solidarity Society when it was criticised for holding a performance of ‘Seven Jewish Children’ – a short play described as “anti-Semitic”.
Eran contacted the Jewish News, objecting to being labelled “anti-Israel.” Calling himself a British-Israeli student, he said “my desire to end the occupation stems from a love of Israel, Palestine and their peoples. 71% of British Jews oppose the occupation, so I’m by no means in a minority.”
If elected, he has plans for UJS.
My hope is to become president in order to open up the debate within the community, and to create a space where the voices of 30-41% of Jewish students who aren’t uncritical supporters of Israel can be heard.
As a president I would aim to represent everyone equally, and I believe that in this case that might mean a need for the UJS to move away from a pro-Israel to a more neutral footing, where it doesn’t alienate either Zionist or non-Zionist students. If this happens, it will be a radical shift for such an organisation, as very few (I can’t think of any, actually) Jewish community organisations take a neutral stance on this issue. This can only be a good thing.
But it gets worse – he openly mocks Judaism and Israel, as this “campaign video” shows.
https://youtu.be/EYl9F0TB0CI
If you are a Jewish student in the UK, please vote and make sure this guy does not get elected.
