WIN! Student awarded settlement for anti-Jewish discrimination

Dear friends,

I write to share some positive news to close out the year. The Lawfare Project and UKLFI Charitable Trust (UKLFI) helped secure justice for a Jewish student who faced anti-Semitic bullying and intimidation on campus.

Noah Lewis, a former student at the School of Oriental and African Studies at London University (SOAS), was recently awarded a settlement following an examination of his complaint of a toxic culture of anti-Semitism at the school. Noah was a student at SOAS in 2019 but, unfortunately, had to withdraw because of a troubling pattern of anti-Semitic behavior in his classes and around campus. As Noah put it, "The Student Union, which represents the total student body, consistently fails to respect the identities of Jewish students on the same level as other minority groups."

In one instance, after expressing his Zionist views in class, Noah was verbally attacked by his classmates. He was told that he was complicit in covering up so-called Israeli war crimes and that he must be a "white supremacist Nazi" for ignoring the "genocide" and "apartheid" taking place in "Palestine." As the grandson of Holocaust survivors, nothing could be more offensive to Noah. In another instance, he was accosted by a classmate for his support of the Jewish state and the Jewish right to self-determination. The classmate approached him, saying, "Why are you even at SOAS if you have the opinions that you do?" Noah also reported that "Zionism" was considered a dirty word on campus—akin to "fascism" and "racism."

Noah spoke openly about his experience at the university, triggering an investigation in May of last year. While the investigation found that he had experienced an incident of perceived anti-Semitic behavior and Noah was awarded a small monetary settlement, it failed to address the broader culture of anti-Jewish discrimination on campus. Only the specific circumstances of one incident were addressed. Noah appealed the decision in August 2020 and an Appeals Panel was assembled to review the complaint.

The Lawfare Project and UKLFI were proud to assist Noah with his appeal and work towards justice for Noah and the entire SOAS Jewish community. Noah received a £15,000 settlement and the university's Appeal Panel recommended that there be a continued investigation by an independent panel into the existence of an anti-Semitic environment at SOAS.

Jonathan Turner, Executive Director of UKLFI, commented on the results of the appeal saying, "The Panel grasped the nettle and has set a benchmark of best practice which should be followed in other cases where there is prima facieevidence of an antisemitic environment. We congratulate Noah Lewis on pursuing the complaint and hope that other students who experience antisemitism at universities will now be encouraged to object. Organizations such as ours are here to help."

While it is never acceptable for students to experience anti-Semitism in places of higher education, we are glad to see that SOAS is working towards change. This is a great first step toward uncovering the root of the issue. We hope that continued efforts to right these wrongs will improve the university's conditions and allow SOAS to foster diverse student ideologies. SOAS has an opportunity to foster inclusive conversations regarding Judaism and Zionism—the national liberation movement of the Jewish people—instead of divisive ones.

Without your support, our intervention in this case wouldn't have been possible. I sincerely thank you for your involvement in the fight to uphold the civil rights of the Jewish people to campus environments free of harassment and bigotry.

Sincerely,

Brooke Goldstein
Executive Director, The Lawfare Project