Yahoo News Charity Commission probes student unions over calls to boycott Israel
Student unions are being probed by the Charity Commission over their support for a boycott of Israel, which has been blamed for fuelling anti-Semitism on university campuses across the country.
The charity watchdog said that it is preparing to write to more than a dozen student unions which have endorsed the Boycott, Divest and Sanction (BDS) movements to demand further information.
The BDS movement, which calls for an international boycott of Israel, describes itself as a human rights organisation. It says it stands for "freedom, justice and equality" and "categorically opposes as a matter of principle all forms of racism".
But leaders in the Jewish community say that growing support for BDS has led to a rise in anti-Semitism on campus.
Working definition | Anti-semitism
Jonathan Arkush, chair of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said: “The Jewish community experience is that anti-Israel bigotry and agitation on campus is directly linked to a deterioration of the atmosphere to an extent where Jewish students feel personally threatened and unsafe.
“Since student unions generally enjoy charitable status and investigation by the charity commission into the legality of anti-Israel policies is in our view justified and long overdue.”
Baroness Deech, a cross-bench peer who formerly held the highest office dealing with student complaints, said that the extreme levels of hostility towards Israel at universities across the country can at times go so far as to equate to anti-Semitism.
According to charity laws, registered charities must not engage in political campaigns which do not further their charitable objectives. Since the stated objectives of student unions tend to centre around the promotion of education and welfare of their students, committing time and resources to campaigning for an Israel boycott could fall foul of charity law.
If the student unions refuse to comply with the Charity Commission’s request for further information about their BDS policies, they could face further regulatory action including a full statutory investigation or enforced removal of their trustees.
The Union of Jewish Students has identified 21 Students' Unions which have some form of BDS policy in place.
Of these, two are in Scotland so would be outside of the Charity Commission’s jurisdiction. Earlier this month the National Union of Students (NUS) conducted research into the experience of Jewish students on campus.
They found that the majority of Jewish students who belonged to student unions which had BDS policies in place did not feel comfortable. One respondent cited in the research said that they felt the BDS policies “threatens safety of Jews on campus” while another said it “seems like a front to get rid of Jewish culture in campus”.
A spokesman for the Charity Commission said: “Concerns have been raised with us about a number of student union charities – we have assessed those concerns in line with our usual processes.
“In addition, we will be writing to a number of further student union charities in England & Wales that are reported to have been involved in the BDS movement, to ensure that their trustees are aware of and fulfilling their legal duties and responsibilities, including to comply with our guidance on charities and campaigning.”
