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To whom it may concern,
StandWithUs UK is an educational organisation and registered charity which supports Israel and combats antisemitism.
We are writing to you to express our outrage at the upcoming screening at King’s College London (KCL) hosted by KCL Students For Justice For Palestine.
The guest speaker, Omar Barghouti openly and uniquely denies the rights of Jewish people to self-determination. He is known for his founding role in the BDS (Boycott, Divest, Sanction) Movement and for his leadership position in the Boycott National Committee (BNC) - the body which coordinates BDS campaigns globally. According to the New York Times, “terrorist organisations, including Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine" are part of the BNC. All these groups promote antisemitic ideologies, in addition to engaging in violence against civilians.
Barghouti has stated in the past that, ‘the first and foremost demand is to recognise and enable the right of return for Palestinian refugees,’ whilst also asserting that a ’return for refugees would end Israel’s existence as a Jewish State.’
StandWithUs UK hopes KCL agrees that calling for the elimination of the world's only Jewish State encourages antisemitism and inflames discrimination toward Jewish and Israeli students on campus. While addressing the students may not be illegal, he - and the university authorities - should be called to account for what we believe constitutes a breach of the Universities’ obligation to a duty of care for its’ students wellbeing, regardless of ethnicity, religion and nationality. We urge KCL to express solidarity with its’ Jewish minority by clearly disavowing the event and the hateful message it sends across campus.
It would reassure us and our students at King’s College London to be made aware of your conclusion as soon as possible.
We look forward to hearing from you in due course.
Regards,
Raffy Lachter
Manager of Campus Affairs
About StandWithUs
StandWithUs (SWU) is an international, non-profit and non-partisan Israel education organisation that works to inspire and educate people of all ages about Israel, as well as challenge misinformation and fight against antisemitism.
Through university fellowships, high school internships, middle school curricula, conferences, materials, social media, educational films and missions to Israel, StandWithUs supports people around the world who want to educate their schools and communities about Israel. Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Los Angeles, the organisation has chapters and programs on 5 continents, including the U.S., Israel, UK, Canada, South Africa and Brazil. For the last 10 years, SWU has consistently received the highest possible ratings from Charity Navigator (4 stars) and Guidestar (Platinum).
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