A growing number of UK student groups are preparing to cut ties with the National Union of Students (NUS) over what they call its “shameful silence” on Israel’s genocide in Gaza and its failure to defend students facing repression for supporting Palestine. The “Not My NUS” campaign, launched last month, has already attracted the backing of over 200 student officers and societies from at least 55 campuses, along with endorsements from legal, academic and human rights organisations.

In an open letter to the NUS Board, campaigners condemned the union’s “neutral” stance on Gaza, arguing that such neutrality shields the oppressor. They criticised the NUS’s adoption of the controversial IHRA definition of anti-Semitism, which they say conflates criticism of Israel with anti-Jewish hatred, and warned that failure to act on a list of demands would trigger widespread disaffiliation. The Federation of Student Islamic Societies accused the NUS of silencing Muslim students, citing the dismissal of former president Shaima Dallali and the blacklisting of over 70 student leaders for signing the letter.

Tensions escalated further after reports emerged that NUS officials had pressured student representatives to withdraw their signatures, allegedly threatening them with bans from NUS events, investigations by the Charity Commission, and even loss of employment. Critics say such tactics are unprecedented and amount to an attack on political expression. Dallali’s controversial removal in 2022, after pro-Israel lobbying and amid an investigation into decade-old online comments, has remained a source of deep distrust among pro-Palestine students, despite her subsequent legal victory and settlement.

Campaign organisers say their message is simple: the NUS no longer represents the values or the voices of students who oppose injustice in Palestine. As one activist put it, “Disaffiliation is no longer a radical act. It’s a necessary one.”