Further concerns raised after revelation that newly-elected NUS President reportedly praised cleric who called for Jews to be killed

Further concerns have been raised after more troubling tweets from the newly-elected President of the National Union of Students (NUS), Shaima Dallali, have surfaced. 

This most recent batch of tweets has come to light mere days after we reported that Ms Dallali was forced to apologise when, in 2012, during an escalation of tensions between Israel and the antisemitic genocidal terrorist group Hamas, the then-hopeful NUS candidate tweeted the words “Khaybar Khaybar, ya yahud, Jaish Muhammad, sa yahud.” 

Translated into English, this chant means “Jews, remember the battle of Khaybar, the army of Muhammad is returning.” It is a classic Arabic battle cry referencing the massacre and expulsion of the Jews of the town of Khaybar in northwestern Arabia, now Saudi Arabia, in the year 628 CE.

Ms Dallali issued a statement on 23rd March, saying: “Earlier today I was made aware of a tweet I posted ten years ago. During Israel’s assault on Gaza I referenced the battle of Khaybar in which Jewish and Muslim armies fought. I was wrong to see the Palestine conflict as one between Muslims and Jews. The reference made as a teenager was unacceptable and I sincerely and unreservedly apologise.”

Shortly after her apology, it came to light that Ms Dallali’s output on Twitter reportedly included other inflammatory messages as well, including one from 2018 in which she said: “So your special forces invade the Gaza Strip, attempt to kidnap a Hamas commander, kill him and others. Then cry about Hamas being the terrorists. Makes perfect sense. #GazaUnderAttack.” Hamas is an antisemitic genocidal terrorist organisation that is proscribed in the UK.

Other alleged tweets expressed support for Jeremy Corbyn, the antisemitic former leader of the Labour Party. On 17th November 2020, Ms Dalalli wrote a response to Mr Corbyn’s readmission to the Labour Party, saying that “He should never have been suspended in the first place.” A few months later, on 5th January 2021, Ms Hallami tweeted that “Jeremy Corbyn was too good for this godforsaken country.” At present, these tweets have not yet been deleted, though it has been reported that several others have.

However, a new set of historic tweets from Ms Dallali has now come to light, one of which includes the antisemitic “From the river to the sea” chant. The chant of “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” only makes sense as a call for the destruction of the world’s only Jewish state — and its replacement with a State of Palestine — and is thus an attempt to deny Jews, uniquely, the right to self-determination, which is a breach of the International Definition of Antisemitism.

Additionally, Ms Dallali reportedly referred to a preacher who condemned actions taken by Hamas as a “dirty Zionist” and has also raised money for the controversial activist group CAGE which, while it does not advocate violence, has previously been criticised for promoting problematic or extreme views, which they deny.

Ms Dallali also allegedly said that the cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi, who has been described as an “Islamist theologian”, was the “moral compass for the Muslim community at large”. In January 2009, Mr al-Qaradawi said on Al-Jazeera TV that he would “shoot Allah’s enemies, the Jews.” In a sermon that took place in that same month, he again spoke of Jewish people and called upon God to “kill them, down to the very last one.”

In a 2010 interview on BBC Arabic, Mr Yusuf al-Qaradawi reportedly said: “Throughout history, Allah has imposed upon the [Jews] people who would punish them for their corruption. The last punishment was carried out by Hitler. By means of all the things he did to them – even though they exaggerated this issue – he managed to put them in their place. This was divine punishment for them. Allah willing, the next time will be at the hand of the believers.”

Replying to UJS’s tweet about the “bridges broken” over the past few weeks in regard to NUS’ booking of the controversial rapper Lowkey, Ms Dallali said that her hands “are outstretched to all students and staff that work in our movement, including Jewish students, and would love to arrange a meeting once I’m in office,” though in the past, she has lashed out at UJS over Twitter, accusing them of having “a history of bullying pro-Palestine sabbs [sabbatical officers] and activists.” In that same tweet, she added: “You speak one word of solidarity and they’re after you. UJS and their likes need to be called out.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors the adoption of the International Definition of Antisemitism by universities.

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].