UK: War on Free Speech at the National Union of Students

I didn't know poor Hannah Bladon was a student of that university, and its relation to the activities and words of the NUS President. Thank you for drawing our attention to this.

Also, Malia Bouattia said last year on Channel 4: "It's not for me to condemn Palestinian violence." As ever, trying to have it both ways - a fawning position in relation to Palestinian politicians and militants and wanting to please them, while not being prepared to openly admit it to the public. We've seen it all before, for decades, from left-wingers. She's nothing new. Just more obfuscation and evasive language from another left-winger. An truly modern politician in many ways, perhaps.

Speech that is action is an attempt to lower the standard of intelligence. That institutions of higher learning have reduced their efforts to activism demonstrates a great indifference by the part of some professors to educate and instead prefer to play g-ds.
More attention should be paid to the 240 "activists", racist-bigots, arrested in DC protesting the Trump inauguration by burning cars, assaults, destroying other property.
They are facing felony riot charges that carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail and a 250,000.00 fine. Many arrived in DC to act violently, provided with train tickets and $50.00 told that their actions would not amount to much more than a traffic fine.
Who incited bad behavior in these decadents?
Are they College kids excited by lower education?
Union or did the Clinton committee send them?
Perhaps they are the remnants of the Obama Brotherhood?
Whoever sent them should be arrested.
If they are some idiot teens sent by student organizations its a shame their lives may be over before they have gone. Who except maybe a union goon squad or public teachers group would hire someone with a felony riot record?
Speech?
They have absolutely no respect for anyone but themselves that is all these students are being taught. An ABC to becoming criminals.

One has to remember that students are mostly young and idealistic, not rational, knowledgeable or experienced, and their emotional sense of (in)justice is easily aroused by a convincing rabble rouser.

It seems that many places in the West where people congregate have long been targeted for brainwashing by fanatical proselytizers of a certain ideology.

In my view, the only reason incitement (direct & indirect) to violence and hate speech by these people has been allowed in the UK for so long, is because TPTB apprehend their ability to disrupt civil society. It's high time the British let it be known that their patience with this one-sided freedom of expression is exhausted.

Having no facts to justify their aggressive hypocrisy, all criminals will resort to using emotive 'arguments' to justify their crimes by playing the victims. So they (liberals, muslims) can be relied on to try to criminalize hurt feelings and to make offending people (criminals by accusing them of their crimes, illegal, too)!

SO: What is "hate-speech" and why should it be considered a crime if it's NOT already: a) a threat; and b) slander (fraud)?

If it's not either PHYSICALLY threatening speech - or emotionally threatening BECAUSE it could physically impact one's life, like how fraudulent slander causes other people to react to one as if one were a criminal in need of hating and beating - then it's THE TRUTH: and so it SHOULD cause one the emotional distress of 'hurt feelings!' So it isn't objectively "offensive," but is, in fact, socially beneficial in that it helps defend society from criminals, whether or not said predictably victim-blaming criminal is subjectively "offended" by their victims being notified about THEIR offenses!

As is rightly stated in the article, there is a clear connection between words and actions - words can encourage and incite to actions. This brings me to the terrible murder of the young student Hannah Bladon in Jerusalem and her Facebook page. Of course there is no connection between her FB page and the senseless murder.

The question is to what extent does liking anti-Israel FB groups strengthen the members of such groups. It is true that people can like such groups exactly because they do not support them, but out of interest to know what is going on.

Hannah Bladon used the Dome of the Rock as her profile picture and had liked a number of anti-Israel/pro Palestinian groups like Palestinian Solidarity Campaign UK, Jewish Voice for Peace, Breaking the Silence and others. Obviously her murderer did not know about this at all when he committed his despicable act. It was just a random killing and unfortunately it was Hannah who became the victim.

The question remains - to what extent does liking such groups strengthen the members through the written words, the often intense discussions, reinforcing their feeling that they have many supporters (the members cannot discern who supports them or who spies on them) which may give them the feeling they have a lot of backing to progress to real action?

We want to know what is going on in such groups, but liking them also fortifies them.

Miss Bouttaia just another of many leading university students away from education and into left wing anti semitic rhetoric. The so called NUS should like the UN be disbanded as it has become nothing more than another branch of the terrorist Muslim Brotherhood.

These people have never approved of free speech; this wretched woman in particular does not. I am surprised she was ever given office. Ghastly woman.

"Hate speech", "racist speech", and every other sort of speech are necessary. People must be allowed to voice their true opinions, regardless of who may find them offensive. How are people to understand what's going on around them, or make any decision about it, when they are not allowed to hear all sides of a debate. Because some particular group finds speech to be offensive and derogatory, doesn't necessarily make it wrong, or inaccurate.

This students movement to deny free speech in the whole Western world must be fueled by billions of petro$ (paid by the West for the ME oil) invested in the British, German, French and American economies (to mention only the major ones). Then we need to add the direct funding of Islamic studies by the same petro$ to prestigious and greedy universities full of antisemitic professors (many of them being Jews)! Voila. CQFD! In both situations the goal of the Muslims are ONE and the same: destroy the Western world, promote antisemitism and accuse Jews.
Jews are enemy number one and many Jews even subscribe to this falsification of facts.

Well put, Mr. Murray. I remember, as an American university student in the 1970's, that Muslim students, especially Arabs, were often subsidized agitators for their pet cause, "Palestine". I.e. subsidized by their home governments or other sponsors.That may be happening today as well.

Is one required to join the NUS, and pay dues to it, if one attends a British university?

If so, one obvious counterattack would be to attack the NUS source of funding: the requirement to join and pay dues to this outfit.

I have been waiting (but not holding my breath) to hear a statement of condolence to the family of Miss Bladon from the NUS. She was a UK student taking part in an exchange programme abroad. The fact that the NUS (which is supposed to represent UK students) has been silent is not surprising. What needs to be done is to draw more attention to this disgusting behaviour, exactly as the author is doing.

Sadly, Malia Bouattia is just the tip of the iceberg. There are a lot more 'Malia Bouattias' who have found their way into the UK in recent years and somehow seem to have got themselves into responsible or prominent positions in academia, politics and the media.

One prime example was a 'Diversity Officer' at (I believe) Goldsmiths College, South London (that needs checking), a young 'lady' of similar provenence to the 'heroine' of this article, who was letting it be known on the social media that 'all white men should be killed'. The college authorities took some time in reacting to this turn of events, but, surprise surprise, she eventually lost her job. For some unknown reason the police didn't think it merited any action; one wonders if it was someone with a paler complexion and a long family history in the UK who had suggested that black or asian men, or perhaps muslims, should meet an early demise, what the police action - or inaction - would have been then.

The NUS is supposed to represent British students, and, one would have thought, British values and standards. There must be hundreds of British students who would do an excellent job in this respect, just as they have done in decades past, so one wonders why the likes of Malia Bouattia are in these positions because, quite frankly, she is a disgrace and has brought the NUS into gross disrepute with the authorities in more than a few prominent universities cutting links with the NUS.

To all intents and purposes, a great British institution has been wrecked, but this wanton destruction based on an arrogance and bigotry that is quite foreign to the sensibilities of the British public has not gone unnoticed. The national patience is now running thin and if it finally runs out and that traditional spirit of tolerance that has enabled Malia Bouattia and her ilk to grotesquely over-promote themselves finally evaporates, it will be Malia Bouattia and her ilk are are to blame.

This Bouattia needs to be removed from her position for propagating hate speech and crimes. Look at the murder of the British "girl" by the Muslim "man" (just like the cowards that they really are, so called men killing women) in Palestine. These types of actions are definitely caused by adherents like Bouattia protecting the poor, misunderstood Muslims....!!

Let's not beat about the bush. Malia Bouattia is an anti-semite, and an apologist for Muslim terrorism.

The NUS should is institutionally racist, and should be ashamed of itself.

I remember in the past, the college and universities ran the madhouse, not the students. Everyone should be allowed to express their opinion. These so called activists whom are against opinions they don't like don't have to attend but if they still disrupt visiting speakers, expel them. Political correctness has gone too far. When we went to classes, we were taught all different views on politics and nobody went crazy as they do today, if they disagreed.

I like the term "civic hygiene". These people like Bouattia are bullies and it's time these students woke up to this fact.

I have no problem with Malia Bouattia being anti-Zionist and pro-Palestinian, anti-hate speech and pro-political correctness, anti-semitic and pro-multiculturalism. Her views don't have to conform to my views. Her speech doesn't have to please me. But if she stands against academic freedom, if she stands against freedom of speech, then she is unworthy of representing the students in the UK or in any country. The academy stands or falls on principles that underlie its legitimacy, its honor, its funding, its future. If all members of the academy do not adhere to these principles the whole project is in jeopardy.

Let's face it, whenever you hear anyone in today's world, refer to 'zionists' or 'zionism', it inevitably turns out to be a Muslim.

Has the human race not learned anything from WW2 and what happens when a specific group of people refer constantly to the Jews and the Jewish state with hatred and bias and evil plans?

Remember the numbers. Compare just how many Nazi's, or even fascists that were around back then - both groups pale in size to the global Muslim population.

The hallmark of the Left is the staggering hypocrisy evident in their double standards. The Left operates on the principle of projection: whatever the Left accuses the opposition of is exactly what the Left is doing themselves. The Left would cease to exist if it applied the same standards to themselves as they do to their opponents. So, if the Left ACTUALLY believed in free speech they would welcome opposing ideas instead of labeling opposing ideas hate speech. If the Left ACTUALLY believed in women's rights and homosexual rights they would welcome an open discussion of Islam's sharia law which institutionalizes misogyny and homophobia instead of labeling criticism of Islam hate speech. The Left has a serious credibility problem because they refuse to apply their own standards to themselves.

Tragic though the attack was I do not think that the attacker knew Miss Bladon was from Birmingham University. He probably thought she was Jewish, the latter being the usual target of these attacks. He also said he was hoping the soldier standing next to her would kill him. I do not understand how he could stab many times without the soldier tackling him. Once maybe but several times? Soldiers are trained to act immediately and forcefully so I would like to know what went on there while he was killing a girl.

Arab resort to terrorism is not resistance, it is degeneracy. There are legitimate avenues for negotiation but the resort to terror by arab 'palestinians' is through the dissatisfaction that negotiations have not yielded Israel's dissolution. Arab terror is designed to yield what negotiations never will. There is no desire for a 'palestinian' state only a desire for Israeli destruction. This cannot be achieved by negotiations nor can it be achieved by the terror that has been operated by arabs for nearly a 100yrs. starting in the early 1920's

This twisted outlook is actually being embraced by those considering themselves as the "intellectual" future elitists! Little do they know just how stupid and naive they actually are. It appears that inflammatory rhetoric is okay and completely acceptable when it is directed at Israelis and other religions but not so when directed at Islam. For some unknown reason, Islam and Muslims are above all criticism. But in reality, Muslims think that they are the supreme religion and that they are the supreme beings, and so their religion should in no way be questioned or challenged.
Or maybe, it is the rest of us that are the irrational beings?

When the political arm of Islam is allowed to encroach on our very culture and beliefs, and no one is permitted to question why it seems to be a one way street with these religious bigots then that in itself is questionable.

We seem to get a very biased viewpoint whenever a Muslim is in a position of power and that is something that needs to be addressed. It appears that all Muslims in positions of power promote Islam and accuse others of discrimination and bring up the well worn argument of Islamophobia given every opportunity.

IQs in Universities seems to have plunged dramatically, and students are easily lead and manipulated. Doesn't offer much for the future generation, if these students are so easily drawn in and used as a mouthpiece for a religion that has ambitions to destroy Western civilisation by any means at their disposal. Schools and Universities are easy pickings for Muslims to spread their doctrine using persecution of Islam as an excuse to rally the young and vulnerable to their aid. Common sense has truly been dead and buried!

It seems that British anti-semitism which in its past consisted of inquisitions and wholesale murdering of Jews is still alive in the collective unconscious of that nation. To have elected such a one to represent the students is a manifestation of hatred. Muslims will take any elected position and use it to attack Jews and Israel and ignore the slaughter of Christians, Kurds, yezidis, Baha'i, ahmadis, sigis and those of opposite religious sects.