A deputy from the Union of Jewish Students (UJS) has dramatically resigned during a Board meeting over the Gaza war, labelling the organisation’s position ‘untenable and morally bankrupt’.
Speaking at the Board plenary meeting on Sunday, Daniel Grossman said: “The Israeli government has been starving Gaza for over 11 weeks.
“Figures in our community are speaking out, the British government is finally taking action and even Yair Golan and Ehud Olmert are publicly recognising the atrocities being committed.
"The Board, however, continues to meet with the figures overseeing these crimes...this is both untenable and morally bankrupt.
"I have no confidence in the leadership of the Board. It has both failed to act ethically and, also, to represent the increasing diversity of opinion within our community.
“While I hope it can become a moral and representative body again, I will be resigning following this meeting in protest.”
Grossman, a former vice president of the JSoc at the University of Bristol, stood to be UJS president this year, with his manifesto calling for “comprehensive Israel engagement”.
This focussed on reflecting the “diversity of opinion” about Israel among Jewish students and “critically engaging with the Israeli government”.
Following his resignation, he told the JC: “Yesterday, I decided to resign from the Board in protest of the leadership’s refusal to explicitly and publicly criticise the Israeli government’s ongoing genocidal assault on Gaza.
"Private words in plenaries hold little weight as Palestinian civilians are starved and bombed while Israeli hostages are abandoned.
"Board leaders have continued to meet with Israeli officials and oppose any real action to stop these ongoing atrocities, such as the British Government’s suspension of Free Trade Agreement negotiations. It is imperative the Board gains the courage to act as a truly representative and moral body for all of British Jewry.”
The JC understands that Grossman’s term was due to expire anyway in July when he left university and that he was intending to seek re-election via his schul, but now will not do so.
Following his speech, Board President Phil Rosenberg said: “Daniel, I’m sorry to hear that you’re leaving. Goodbye. Or hopefully, LeHitraot. You’ll hopefully come back at some point soon/”
The Board declined to comment on Grossman’s resignation, but Rosenberg said during the plenary: “Food and humanitarian assistance to civilians should never be treated as a weapon of war.
“Israel must ensure a good supply of aid, and Hamas must not steal it. We have been making representations to various authorities to this effect over recent weeks.”
The Israeli government has long denied allegations of genocide, ethnic cleansing or violations of international law in its conduct of the Gaza war. It has also insisted that sufficient aid has reached the Strip and that shortages are due to Hamas theft.
Contrary to some media reports, the former president of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has previously stated that, in a genocide claim brought by South Africa, the court has not ruled that it is “plausible” the genocide is occurring. Instead, Joan Donoghue explained that the ICJ has established that it is plausible that “Palestinians had a plausible right to be protected from genocide and that South Africa had the right to present that claim in the court”.
