University bemoans Stella Maris’s email calling genocide genocide
St Andrews University in Scotland has caved at least partially in the face of pressure from the pro-Israel lobby after the university’s rector – a position elected by students – sent out an email recognising Israel’s apartheid and its genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.
According to reports in the Establishment media, a letter of protest was signed by ‘hundreds of students’ – but it appears that this was an open letter signed by 1,400 people, many of whom were probably not students since St Andrews only has 10,119 students registered, may not even have been in the UK and potentially might not even exist, as a university is unlikely to verify the names on the bottom of a letter. Pro-Israel pressure groups are known to coordinate pressure globally via social media – and even their own app – to try to suppress free speech that contradicts the Israeli regime’s narrative.
Maris’s email noted – entirely accurately – that Palestinians had been subjected to
apartheid, siege, illegal occupation and collective punishment
During Israel’s mass slaughter of civilians. She also linked to an article that discussed – again, entirely accurately – the fact that many, perhaps most, of those killed during the 7 October kibbutz raid had been killed by Israeli gunships and artillery, a fact inadvertently confirmed even by a senior Netanyahu adviser and former ambassador to the UK. Israel’s apartheid, ‘textbook genocide’ and other war crimes have been attested to by experts, including senior United Nations officials and human rights groups in Israel and internationally.
The university put out a statement saying it was ‘dismayed’ by Ms Maris’s accurate email and very disappointed that she had exercised her freedom of speech – and said it had offered her ‘support’ to retract her email:
As the senior management team which leads the University of St Andrews, we are utterly dismayed that the rector, on this occasion, put her right to freedom of expression ahead of her duty to represent all students, and to be concerned for their welfare.
We know that while some may have welcomed the message, others have been deeply offended and concerned by it.
While every one of us shares a desire for peace and an end to hostilities in Israel and Gaza, we regret that her message, the language that it used, and some of the sources it cited have caused alarm, division, and harm in our community, and more widely.
While she is accountable only to the student body whose interests she was elected to serve, we have, as individuals and as a group of senior leaders, asked her to reflect seriously on the evidence of the upset and fear she has caused, and to take such action as is necessary to restore confidence in her leadership amongst all students, and the wider community.
We have reached out to the rector to offer such support and help as she may require to address these issues.
The statement should, of course, have noted her right to free speech and then stopped there, but many craven universities are well known to have little spine in the face of pro-Israel groups’ manufactured outrage.
Interestingly, the supposedly outraged letter does not appear to have been circulated publicly online and is only quoted selectively by media outlets – which do not name the ‘group’ that sent it. However, the list of likely ‘usual suspects’ is fairly short.
Supporters of Israeli apartheid and war crimes have expressed their horror at Maris’s accuracy “inflammatory and unfounded accusations of ‘genocide,’ ‘apartheid,’ and ‘occupation’ concerning the Jewish State”, claiming it will foster division and “embolden attacks” on Jewish students.
The letter also condemned Maris for not mentioning recent attacks on two students who were leaving a talk by right-wing Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, who has compared marches for Gaza with support for terrorism and has previously said that Israel has ‘no choice’ but to use violence against Gaza. The alleged attackers, who threw eggs, were described by a spokeswoman as around twelve years of age.
Ms Maris told the Telegraph:
While people may disagree with the evidence presented, disagreement should be based on contradictory evidence, not simply because the notion is unpleasant.
Standing with innocents suffering war crimes trumps avoiding offence to supporters of the perpetrators. Every time.
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