The University of London refunded the tuition of a Canadian-Jewish student who dropped out mid-year due to a “toxic anti-Semitic environment.”
The student, Noah Lewis, represented by United Kingdom Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) and the Lawfare Project, will receive £15,000 ($20,483) in tuition fees following a settlement with The School of Oriental and African Studies at London University (SOAS), a division focusing on the study of Asia, Africa and the Near and Middle East.
Lewis planned on attending London University for the academic year of 2018-19 but said he was unable to finish the year due to the anti-Semitic harassment he suffered.
Lewis’s legal complaint stated that anti-Semitic graffiti and symbols were plastered on lockers, desks and bathroom walls and that pro-Israel students were called “Zionists.” When he mentioned the dissertation he was writing on “systemic biases that exist in the United Nations and target the State of Israel,” other students called him a “white supremacist Nazi,” who whitewashed “Israeli war crimes of genocide and apartheid in ‘Palestine.'”
Lewis stated in his complaint that as a grandson of Holocaust survivors, he viewed being dubbed “a Nazi as amongst the most offensive thing you can call a Jew, and to be called one by individuals on campus was a horrific experience for me.”
Lewis returned to Canada and demanded that his tuition be refunded. A July 2019 university panel investigated the allegations, offered an apology and suggested compensation of £500 ($680). Lewis appealed the decision and a March 2020 appeal panel concluded that the original investigation was not adequate and another probe should be launched.
The university told The Guardian: “SOAS is extremely concerned about any allegations of anti-Semitism at our School. Diversity is key to the SOAS mission, and we want all our students to feel welcome and supported in their studies. We cannot comment on any individual student case or the outcomes of any appeal. However, where we have established an independent panel as part of a complaints process, we would of course consider the findings of such a panel thoroughly and take appropriate action.”
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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One Response
How interesting that it took a court appeal of the original offer to first merit launching an investigation into abhorrent behavior.
Diversity and wanting students to feel welcome?
Na.