NUS president Malia Bouattia faces 'anti-Semitism' claims

Students at two of Britain's leading universities are campaigning to cut ties with the National Union of Students (NUS) after it elected a Muslim woman facing accusations of anti-Semitism as president.

Malia Bouattia, who has repeatedly denied the claims, became the first black woman to be elected to the post this week after running a campaign focused on fighting injustice and promoting equality.

But her victory was overshadowed by concerns over some of her previous comments, including calling her alma mater Birmingham University "something of a Zionist outpost".

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In a 2014 video from a Gaza and Palestinian Revolution event, Bouattia questioned the value of the peace talks and spoke of the power of "mainstream Zionist-led media outlets", the BBC reports.

She was also accused of blocking a motion condemning Islamic State, though her supporters point out that she merely asked for the document to be rephrased as she felt the wording could be used to target Muslims generally. The amended wording was later accepted by NUS members.

During her election campaign, around 50 Jewish student leaders published an open letter asking her to clarify her position on anti-Semitism. "In her reply, Bouattia denied she had ever had issues with Jewish societies on campus," says The Guardian.

Her response failed to placate everyone and some students at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge have submitted a motion to hold a vote to disaffiliate their student unions with the union.

"The NUS has just elected an arguable anti-Semite as its President," tweeted Oxford University NUS delegate Harry Samuels. "How on earth can it say it represents Jewish students now?"

Bouattia continues to reject the allegations, saying she is "extremely uncomfortable with insinuations of anti-Semitism" and that "for me to take issue with Zionist politics is not me taking issue with being Jewish".

During her election speech, she told NUS delegates: "Many of you will have seen my name dragged through the mud by the right-wing media. You'll have read that I'm a terrorist, that my politics are driven by hate. How wrong that is. I will continue to fight anti-Semitism, homophobia, xenophobia or any other bigoted idea." [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"content_original","fid":"93979","attributes":{"class":"media-image"}}]]

The Guardian's Iman Amrani argues that the attacks are evidence of the limit of free expression for Muslims.

"As we're seeing in Sadiq Khan's campaign to become London mayor, it seems that Muslims come in for special attention when seeking a public role," she says.