To my dismay, for all the talk about the values of equality, diversity and respect at last week's NUS conference, in practice nothing could be furthe… - Luciana Berger

" "

To my dismay, for all the talk about the values of equality, diversity and respect at last week's NUS conference, in practice nothing could be further from the truth, in relation to anti-semitism. A leaflet was readily available on the GUPS stalls at the conference for two days. The text was the typical anti-semitic work; the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Once again, complaints were met with unacceptable delays and silence.
Many people claim that being anti-Israel/Zionist isn't being anti-semitic. But why does hatred of Israel lead them to turn a blind eye to the Protocols on a GUPS pamphlet? Furthermore, while the UJS has always preached a two-state solution and peace, time and time again we see others reject it. This is evident in the attack on a UJS peace stall at the European Social Forum. University authorities are also dismissive of these issues - look at the Israeli boycot motions put to this month's Association of University Teachers conference.

English
Collect this quote

About Luciana Berger

Luciana Clare Berger (born 13 May 1981) is a British former Member of Parliament who represented Liverpool Wavertree from the 2010 to 2019. Previously a member of Labour Co-op, she left in 2019 co-founding The Independent Group, later Change UK, before joining the Liberal Democrats. She rejoined Labour in 2023 at the invitation of Keir Starmer, the Labour Party leader. After the election of Labour's former leader, Jeremy Corbyn, Berger was appointed to the Shadow Cabinet in September 2015 as the first Shadow Minister for Mental Health. However, she resigned in June 2016 in the mass resignations of shadow ministers shortly after the referendum vote in favour of Brexit. Her situation was severely affected, as a Jewish woman, by Labour's antisemitism crisis and she suffered abuse (leading to criminal convictions for some of the perpetuators) throughout her parliamentary career.

Also Known As

Alternative Names: Luciana Clare Goldsmith Luciana Clare Berger Baroness Berger
Unlimited Quote Collections

Organize your favorite quotes without limits. Create themed collections for every occasion with Premium.

Related quotes. More quotes will automatically load as you scroll down, or you can use the load more buttons.

Additional quotes by Luciana Berger

The last local constituency meeting I attended was so awful, so toxic, there was no humanity in the room. [...]I went into detail about the threats I'd been subjected to — messages handed in to my office saying I was going to get stabbed and raped and have acid thrown on me. I was categorically committed to Labour. I worked seven days a week, true to the values that led me into politics, but because I would not commit to Jeremy Corbyn as prime minister that night, I was dead to them. I thought, "I just cannot be part of this any more."

I have to be very careful what I say here. I'm disappointed by the fact that they are playing to other parties' policies in order to discuss it all. Whereas the Labour Party in the past have been so strong and so active in combating and standing up for themselves, I'm surprised that on this particular issue, it's unfortunate that it's been played into.

[On receiving a vast number of hate messages on Twitter.] It’s personal and sometimes very extreme in its nature. Sometimes it's pornographic, sometimes violent, often very misogynistic. At its peak, there were 2,500 tweets. Some people who were shown just one message couldn’t believe it, so to receive thousands is difficult.

Loading...