Every coin is a bullet if you’re Marks and Spencer. And when you’re sipping Coca-Cola, that’s another pistol in the holster of the soles soldier. You say you know about the Zionist lobby, but you put money in their pocket when you’re buying their coffee […] How many more resolutions have to be violated? How many more children have to be annihilated? Israel is a terror state, they’re terrorists that terrorize. I testify, my television televised them telling lies. This is not a war, it is systematic genocide.”
These are just a few of the lyrics of British rapper Lowkey’s 2011 single ‘Long Live Palestine.’ In another song, titled ‘Terrorist?,’ Lowkey — whose real name is Kareem Dennis — downplays the threat of suicide bombers, as well as terrorism against Israeli citizens.
In 2011, when ‘Terrorist?‘ was released, at least 20 people died in Israel as a result of terror attacks.
Given the anti-Jewish bigotry espoused in his lyrics, which clearly fall foul of the IHRA’s working definition of antisemitism, one must wonder why the National Union of Students (NUS), which represents more than seven million students in the United Kingdom, thought it was appropriate to invite him to perform at a conference marking its centenary.
In addition to lyrics that peddle antisemitic tropes, Lowkey has previously defended former UK member of parliament Chris Williamson, who claimed the Labour Party had been “too apologetic” over allegations of antisemitism within its ranks.
Lowkey has also found the time to lend support to sacked Bristol University professor David Miller, who accused Israel of being a “violent, racist, foreign regime engaged in ethnic cleansing” and suggested students who took issue with his views were “political pawns” of the Jewish state.
Most recently, Lowkey was interviewed by Williamson alongside Miller and claimed European antisemites are aligned with the “Zionist movement.”
It should be noted the interview, which was posted on Twitter, was part of a series called “Palestine Declassified” — aired by Iran’s state-controlled Press TV, which had its press license revoked by the UK’s regulatory body Ofcom in 2012 for breaching the Communications Act.
The channel was fined £100,000 ($131,945) in 2011, which it failed to pay, after airing an interview with then-Newsweek journalist and human rights activist Maziar Bahari, who was imprisoned by the Islamic Republic and had given the interview under duress.
On March 15, Lowkey interviewed Asa Winstanley, a blogger with The Electronic Intifada, who was also suspended from the Labour Party, and claimed the press had “weaponized the Jewish heritage” of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to stave off “genuine inquiries into the nature of the groups fighting” against Russia.
MILLER: “Zelenskyy himself yes he’s Jewish, he’s also strongly oriented towards Israel, but that in itself is a sign of being oriented really towards the far right and the evidence all, as Lowkey’s just been saying, is he’s moved toward the far right…” pic.twitter.com/Gr0JO94gSS
— Harry’s Place (@hurryupharry) March 14, 2022
Following the announcement of Lowkey’s appearance, the British Union of Jewish Students (UJS) reportedly met with NUS leaders to raise objections, which it claims were immediately slapped down.
UJS President Nina Freedman told the Jewish Chronicle that instead, officials proffered “insufficient and frankly offensive mitigations,” while also suggesting that Jewish students feeling uncomfortable with his appearance should leave the conference and sit in an “existing safe space” that had been designated for people who are sensitive to loud noises.
Binyomin Gilbert, the program manager at Campaign Against Antisemitism, commented: “Headlining such a person is bad enough, but telling appalled Jews to go and stand in the corner whilst everyone else dances is segregationist and disgusting. Instead of showing solidarity with Jews, NUS is literally casting Jews aside.”
Yet, Lowkey was not the only controversial figure invited to headline an event for a union that claims to be actively working against “all forms of racism.”
Also asked to address students is the current Labour member of parliament for Coventry South, Zarah Sultana, who shortly after taking up her seat in the House of Commons in 2019, was forced to apologize after it emerged she had told an Israel supporter they should “jump off a cliff.”
In another Twitter message, Sultana reportedly compared the Holocaust to the death of people in Iraq, Afghanistan and Chechnya. She was furthermore asked to issue another apology for saying she would “celebrate” the deaths of former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and ex-British PM Tony Blair.
Following coverage of the controversy (see here and here), the NUS revealed in a statement that Lowkey had taken it upon himself to pull out of the March 30 event, with the union announcing “he will no longer be appearing.”
However, rather than admitting it had made an error of judgment, the NUS sent out a statement to students in which it suggested the union was “horrified” to learn that some Jewish members might feel uncomfortable despite the fact it was informed of this just several days earlier.
The NUS proceeded to claim that while it welcomes “genuine political debate,” it had been “sad to see the use of harassment and misinformation against Lowkey.” In addition, the NUS argued that media outlets that had simply republished the rapper’s own comments were guilty of using such “tactics” towards “activists and people of colour.”
The entire debacle sheds light on the type of hostility faced by Jewish and Israel-supporting students on university campuses — something HonestReporting has documented on numerous occasions (see here, here, here and here). A hostility that, as the NUS’ most recent statement appears to suggest, will continue to be ignored.
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