Goldsmiths’ Students’ Union refuses University’s call for antisemitism investigation after President reportedly calls Professor David Hirsh a “white supremacist”
It has been reported that the Goldsmiths, University of London Students’ Union has refused to investigate its President following allegations of antisemitism, despite being requested to do so by the University.
Sara Bafo, the President of the Students’ Union at Goldsmiths, is alleged to have tweeted: “D*vid H*rsch is a far right white supremacist. All you have to do is read his work and tweets and that’s all the confirmation needed.”
Ms Bafo’s alleged tweet was said to have been written in response to a tweet from Prof. Hirsch, a prominent and highly-respected antisemitism expert, which said: “There is an antisemitic edge to official, institutional, university campaigns to ‘decolonise’ education.”
Yesterday, a spokesperson for the University said that on 10th May, it had requested the Union to investigate whether online messages that had been posted were “antisemitic in nature,” adding: “Goldsmiths Students’ Union is an independent charity which has its own policies and processes for investigating and we expect them to follow these. Goldsmiths remains committed to supporting all members of our inclusive community and demonstrating there is no place for prejudice on our campus.”
In response to the request for the investigation, Ms Bafo tweeted that the University “has tried to get the SU trustee board to investigate me for a tweet I made in response to a Zionist Goldsmiths academic’s explicit racist history & his delegitimisation of ‘Decolonisation’ campaigns,” adding: “This was a dirty tactic from the institution to silence me further as I was leaving.”
Larissa Kennedy, President of the embattled National Union of Students (NUS), came to the defence of Ms Bafo, describing the call for an investigation as a “disgusting move” before labelling it “concerted suppression” and offering “Masses of solidarity to @SaraBafo1”.
However, it has been reported this afternoon that the request for the investigation has been denied on grounds of “free speech”.
Ed Nedjari, Head of the Student’s Union, reportedly said: “Goldsmiths Student Union is an independent charity that believes in justice and inclusivity, as well as freedom of expression. In her tweets, Sara was expressing her opinion about David Hirsh, formed via the experience of attending his lectures as a Black Muslim student.
“Sara’s term as SU President has ended. For that reason – but most importantly, because her comments are protected as free speech – we won’t be investigating this matter retrospectively.”
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].
